Application of the vignette technique in a qualitative paradigm

Vignettes are short depictions of typical scenarios intended to elicit responses that will reveal values, perceptions, impressions, and accepted social norms. This article describes how vignettes were developed and used in a qualitative linguistics anthropology study to elicit those responses as experienced by mixed-heritage individuals in attaining heritage legitimacy despite their inability to speak their heritage languages. The vignettes were administered during in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Eight participants were asked to reflect and respond to prompts which revolved around typical experiences where speakers were limited by their lack of heritage language proficiency. Based on the vignettes, the participants described how the speakers would linguistically strategize to compensate their limited abilities in using the heritage languages. At the same time, the cultural means through which speakers gain legitimacy within their own heritage groups were also identified. Essentially the use of the vignettes facilitated in generating data that would have otherwise been challenging to elicit given the culturally sensitive as well as highly private nature of the phenomena under investigation. The application of vignettes provided a less intrusive and non-threatening way of obtaining perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes based on responses or comments to stories depicting lived experiences of the participants that the researcher is otherwise not privy to as an observer. However, application of this data elicitation technique can prove challenging for the researcher. A critical analysis of the development, implementation and validity of vignettes as a research tool is extrapolated here within the setting of a heritage legitimacy study as an exemplar

Grammatical errors in spoken english of University students in oral communication course

The present study examines the grammatical errors in spoken English of university students who are less proficient in English. The specific objectives of the study are to determine the types of errors and the changes in grammatical accuracy during the duration of the English for Social Purposes course focussing on oral communication. The language data were obtained from the simulated oral interactions of 42 students participating in five role play situations during the 14-week semester. Error analysis of 126 oral interactions showed that the five common grammar errors made by the learners are preposition, question, article, plural form of nouns, subject-verb agreement and tense. Based on Dulay, Burt and Krashen’s (1982) surface structure taxonomy, the main ways by which students modify the target forms are misinformation and omission, with addition of elements or misordering being less frequent. The results also showed an increase in grammatical accuracy in the students’ spoken English towards the end of the course

Language choice in enquiries about accommodation in hotel telephone service encounters

Service encounters are complementary in that one interactant demands and another gives, resulting in much shorter but more formal conversations than everyday talk. In multilingual settings, the interest is not only in the staging of the service encounter but also the language choices used to fulfil various functions in the transaction, The study examined language choice in enquiries about accommodation in hotel telephone service encounters. The specific aspects studied were the staging of the telephone enquiries about hotel accommodation and the points ofdeparture from the initial language used for the telephone enquiry by the client and the hotel receptionist. The case study involved a trained hotel receptionist working in a three-star hotel. Her interactions with the clients were audio-taped with the permission of the hotel management. Analysis of the staging of the hotel accommodation enquiry was carried out using Halliday and Hassan's (1985) framework of the structure of service encounters. The analysis of 21 accommodation enquiries showed conformity to the Greeting ^Service Initiation ^Service Request ^Service Compliance ^Service Closure. The recursive elements were the stages of Service Request, Service Compliance and Service Closure. Analysis from the aspect of language choice indicated that English was the nonnative choice in handling enquiries about hotel accommodation. It is usually the client who initiated code-switching to other languages such as Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin. The study showed that in service encounters, the fonnality of the situation dictated the initial use of English despite the societal nonn of using the shared language when communication with those from the same language background, often evident in the accent and pronunciation of word

Survey of Techniques for Teaching Writing in Primary and Secondary School

The teaching of writing to second language learners has developed from a product orientation to a process approach, and now the genre pedagogy is taking root in some contexts. This paper describes ESL learners' reports of techniques used by English teachers for teaching writing during their primary and secondary school years at a time when the KBSR and KBSMt:urricula were already in place. Participants consisted of87 third year undergraduates completing a writing pedagogy course in a TESL degree programme at a Malaysian university. The results showed that there were differences in the techniques used to teach writing at primary and secondary level. The participants reported learning writing mainly through dictation, copying sentences and rearranging sentences in a story at primary school level. However, in secondary school the common techniques used for teaching writing were error identification, note .~ expansion, writing topic sentences, and writing and revising drafts. The findings will be discussed in the context of developments in approaches to second language writing instruction

Learning materials and human factors: looking at the Chemistry in the genre-based approach classroom

This action research project aims to find out how the genre-based approach worked with learners of limited English proficiency enrolled in an English for Social Purposes course focusing specifically on developing reading and writing skills. The course materials were designed using the genre-based approach and the concept of scaffolding. Instructors who taught the course in previous semesters were asked to compare the course materials with materials used in previous semesters, and to describe the delivery of their lessons and the strategies they used to achieve the purpose of the course. Students are also interviewed to find out their views on their language learning experience. The results provide some insights about the contribution of 'science' and 'art' into teaching language for specific purposes