Improvisation and Communicative Agency: Contribution of an Improvisational Model to the Analysis of Communicative Agency

Introduction: Persons with congenital deafblindness mainly communicate using the bodily tactile modality. Their expressive communication is often formulated by an authentic language that gives the persons with congenital deafblindness low readability towards the rest of the world. This can be an obstacle for the development of their communicative agency. In the present study it is investigated whether a theoretical approach to improvisation can contribute to the development of communicative agency in a person with congenital deafblindness with low readability and authentic language in a dialogical perspective. Method: The study employs a qualitative design conducted as a dialogical single case study. Even though this research is based only on one recording of a communicative encounter between a person with deafblindness and her communication partner, it is assumed that the study can be used as a representative case study for people with low readability and authentic language. A video of communication between a person with CDB and a sighted/hearing communication partner is transcribed and the transcription is analysed in three stages through 1) Conversational analysis (CA), 2) Improvisation analysis and 3) Subjectivity/intersubjectivity analysis. Results: The Conversation analysis proved useful to identify complex turn-taking patterns in the communication. Through the improvisation model it was possible to define the degree of subjectivity/intersubjectivity in every utterance by each participant, as well as how each act was met by the other. With the improvisation model discriminations could be made between the different modalities, as vocal speech and bodily tactile acts. Regarding communicative agency, the model was useful to analyze degrees of self-expression as well as the balance of subjectivity and intersubjectivity between the participants. Conclusion and discussion: The model of improvisation contributed to specify subjectivity/intersubjectivity and multimodality in communication, though it did not contribute to the analysis of turn-taking. The model contributed to the development of communicative agency by pointing to the open-ended outcome for each utterance as the most important factor for developing and sustaining communicative agency. Limitations: The main limitation of this study was that the analyses were performed on only one video-clip with one dyad. Due to time constraints, a consensus check could not be carried out. Recommendations for future research is that, since this is a very innovative method in the deafblind field, replications of the study should be performed on more dyads, different dialogues and more video clips. Recommendation for practice: The combination of conversation analysis and improvisation analyses can very well be used with focus groups of care professionals in clinical practice under supervision of a trained expert in this method of communication analyses.

Przełamywanie barier komunikacyjnych (na przykładzie wieloetnicznej i wielojęzycznej sytuacji społecznej Zaolzia)

Breaking Communication Barriers (on the Example of the Multiethnic and Multilingual Situation of the Society in the Zaolzie Region)The present paper describes the language situation in several parts of Cieszyn Silesia (the Zaolzie region) in the Czech Republic. The research is based on authentic language material from two music (art) schools in Český Těšín and Třinec. The Třinec school has the official status of a bilingual Czech-Polish educational institution. These two establishments share several common features: both students and teachers come from either majority Czech or minority ethnic Polish communities; Polish children study in both institutions, although a larger group of these "foreign" students attends the school in Český Těšín. The authors analyze not only the spoken language itself but also the competence and language awareness of the respondents. They have come to the conclusion that interactions between the users of two (different) languages can be successful regardless of the fact whether each participant uses their own native tongue or that of their interlocutor, although they speak this language only at a basic level. Przełamywanie barier komunikacyjnych (na przykładzie wieloetnicznej i wielojęzycznej sytuacji społecznej Zaolzia)W artykule została opisana sytuacja językowa w czeskiej części Śląska Cieszyńskiego w Republice Czeskiej na podstawie autentycznego materiału językowego pochodzącego z dwóch szkół muzycznych (artystycznych) – jednej z Czeskiego Cieszyna, drugiej – z Trzyńca. Szkoła trzyniecka ma oficjalny status czesko-polskiej szkoły dwujęzycznej. Obie placówki łączy kilka cech wspólnych: zarówno uczniowie, jak i nauczyciele wywodzą się bądź z większościowego środowiska czeskiego, bądź należą do polskiej etnicznej wspólnoty mniejszościowej. W obu placówkach uczą się także dzieci z Polski, choć o wiele więcej takich „zagranicznych” uczniów uczęszcza do szkoły w Czeskim Cieszynie. Autorzy zajmują się nie tylko analizą samego języka mówionego, ale również kompetencją i świadomością językową badanych osób, dochodząc do wniosku, że interakcja między użytkownikami dwu (różnych) języków może przebiegać pomyślnie nawet wtedy, gdy każdy z nich używa własnego języka ojczystego (względnie gwary ojczystej) lub języka partnera komunikacji, chociaż język ten opanował tylko na poziomie podstawowym.

The Use of English in SKAM. Exploring Authentic Resources in Learning Norwegian at BA Level at Babe?-Bolyai University

The goal of this paper is to explore how the use of the popular Norwegian web-based TV series SKAM (SHAME) can enhance cultural awareness by exposure to authentic language and to diverse discourse practices that have both a multilingual and a multicultural dimension. English, through the use of anglicisms and code-switching in SKAM, acts as a cohesive factor that reflects the changes within the Norwegian society while building bridges between different cultures because of its global influence, particularly upon the younger generations. These generations no longer perceive English as a foreign language, but rather as an essential part of their personal and collective identity, and this is reflected in their discourse practices. The analysis of the teenage informal discourse in the series SKAM provides insights into the benefits of using authentic resources to acquaint BA students with the Norwegian contemporary culture.

„Od Ognjene do Blage Marije“ u opusu Jovana Radulovića

The paper deals with the novel Od Ognjene do Blage Marije from the point of view of Radulović’s prose as a whole, and especially in the context of his novelisic work. The thematic basis of the novel is the tragic exodus of the Serbian people from the Republic of Serbian Krajina in August 1995, during the “Storm“, Croatian Army invasion on Knin. This topic, most frequently treated by the Serbian writers who have fled Croatia, has become especially important in contemporary Serbian literature. Jovan Radulović based his novel on his previous screenwriting text intended for an unrecorded TV drama. The main characters of the novel are the members of a Serbian family who leave their homeland in a long column of refugees and flee to Serbia. The voices and life stories of these char- acters and of other protagonists and witnesses of the Serbian exodus are intertwined in a polyphonic narrative sequence. Although the novel is dominated by dramatic and tragic life situations, literary characters still have hope for a new life in some other milieu. The novel is characterized by short scenes and sentences which reflect the authentic language; at the same time, the language emphasizes tragic life situation of the refugee people.

Powerful Pedagogies in Times of COVID: An Online Pedagogical Collaboration Between EFL Students and ESL Teacher Candidates

In the context of the global covid-19 pandemic, educators at all levels had to re-imagine their teaching practices to respond to the necessity of conducting all courses on-line. This article reports on the collaboration of two university instructors to create a trans-national model of learning in the context of the covid-19 pandemic. By virtue of this collaboration, the efl students based at a large public university in Colombia were engaged in four online sessions and paired with teacher candidates taking an esl endorsement course in the United States. This online collaboration afforded the Colombian efl students an authentic opportunity to practice their English learning and the us teacher candidates a meaningful context in which to conduct authentic language assessments. Using interview and questionnaire data, this qualitative case study explored the experiences of the efl students. The data demonstrate that online exchanges can afford students meaningful opportunities for language development. The results further show that online learning can be enriched through mutually beneficial collaborations across universities and transnational contexts.

Revisiting German two-way prepositions

German two-way prepositions have long troubled grammar writing. Unlike most other German prepositions, they occur with both accusative and dative case. Their case is difficult to predict and has been attributed to different underlying meaning construals. Recent exploratory corpus studies propose that, in addition, their case depends on multiple co-occurring contextual variables. Following this approach, this study uses multivariate regression and collostructional analysis to investigate what determines the case of two-way prepositions in a large sample of authentic language use. Based on the results, this study then attempts to provide a usage-based description of the case of two-way prepositions. Contrary to expectations, none of the proposed variables had much influence on case, suggesting that the effects observed in the literature only hold for specific contexts. Instead, the results indicated associations of accusative and dative with individual prepositions and specific lexical items in the context. Framed in terms of usage-based construction grammar, this is interpreted as item-specific constructional prototypes that emerge from typical usage patterns and, once established, determine case based on form-meaning overlap with the current context of use. In line with recent usage-based research on grammar, a first attempt is made to describe case as part of a network of associative links between constructions and lexical items.

“It is natural, really deaf signing” – script development for fictional programmes involving sign languages

Historically, fictional productions which use sign language have often begun with scripts that use the written version of a spoken language. This can be a challenge for deaf actors as they must translate the written word to a performed sign language text. Here, we explore script development in Small World, a television comedy which attempted to avoid this challenge by using improvisation to create their script. The creators framed this process as a response to what they saw as “inauthentic” sign language use on television, foregrounding the need to present “natural signing” on the screen. According to them, “natural signing” is not influenced by an English script but is varied language use that reflect a character’s background, their settings, and the characters that they interact with. We describe how this authentic language use is derived primarily from improvisation and is in competition with other demands, which are textual (e.g., the need to ensure comedic value), studio-based (e.g., operating within the practical confines of the studio), or related to audience design (e.g., the need to ensure comprehensibility). We discuss how the creative team negotiated the tension between the quest for authentic language use and characteristics of the genre, medium, and audience.

КОГНІТИВНІ ВИКРИВЛЕННЯ ЯК ЗАСІБ СУГЕСТІЇ В АНГЛІЙСЬКОМУ СУДОВОМУ ДИСКУРСІ

Purpose. This article aims to establish the specifics of the use of cognitive biases in terms of their impact on the recipients in the advocate court discourse. To achieve this aim, the following objectives are to be solved: 1) to clarify the terminological apparatus of the article; 2) to define language means expressing сognitive bias in advocate discourse; 3) to characterise these language means from the point of their suggestive influence on recipients.Methods. At the stage of terminological grounding the main method is comparison, that is comparing the views of different scholars, directions of problem analysis, etc. Whereas at the second and third stages the following methods as classification (identifying linguistic means), generalisation (summarising information), argumentation (in support of its position) were used.In our choice of approaches to the analysis we were guided by the contemporary scientific paradigms: cognitive linguistics, pragmatic linguistics, speech communication theory, lexico-semantic analysis methods. Elements of cognitive analysis helped to identify the dependence of court discourse on social conditions.To carry out our research, we selected and described the authentic language material (вказати який саме матеріал).Results. Based on the analysis of the linguistic material, it was established that in the absence of direct and irrefutable evidence, the advocate uses suggestive tactics and appropriate suggestive language means by which he first tries to influence the jurors’ emotions, and then their consciousness. The linguistic means used to express cognitive biases are highlighted. The following cognitive biases have been identified: the authority bias effect, the confirmation bias, Dr. Fox effect, the anchor effect and the Ellsberg paradox effect. Certain semantic groups expressing these cognitive biases are identified.Conclusions. It is concluded that the use of the highlighted cognitive biases, expressed through certain linguistic means, helped the defense lawyer, who argued that he had no direct and convincing arguments, to question the arguments given by the prosecutor and to postpone the jury’s verdict. Thus, the above cognitive biases serve as suggestive means in the advocate discourse.The piece of research is prospective, as the cognitive biases found may be supplemented by cognitive biases inherent to the prosecutorial discourse.Key words: advocate court discourse, cognitive biases, suggestive means, semantic groups. Мета. Мета статті –встановити особливості використання когнітивних викривлень з точки зору їх впливу на реципієнтів в адвокатському судовому дискурсі. Висунуті завдання щодо уточнення термінологічного апарату, встановлення мовних засобів, які вербалізують когнітивні викривлення, їхній вплив на реципієнтів, сприяють досягненню окресленої мети дослідження.Методи дослідження. На етапі термінологічного обґрунтування основним методом став метод порівняння, тобто огляд досліджень вчених, які займаються цією проблемою; напрямків аналізу проблеми і т.д. На другому і третьому етапах використовувалися наступні методи: класифікація (виокремлення лінгвістичних засобів), узагальнення (узагальнення інформації), аргументація (для обґрунтування своєї позиції). Вибір підходів до аналізу був обумовлений сучасними науковими парадигмами: когнітивною лінгвістикою, прагматичною лінгвістикою, комунікативістикою, методами лексико-семантичного аналізу. Елементи когнітивного аналізу допомогли виявити залежність судового дискурсу від соціальних умов.Для проведення дослідження бувобраний певний автентичний мовний матеріал. Результати. На основі аналізу лінгвістичного матеріалу встановлено, що за відсутності прямих і незаперечних доказів адвокат застосовує сугестивну тактику і використовує відповідні сугестивні мовні засоби, за допомогою яких він намагається спочатку вплинути на емоції присяжних, а вже потім на їх свідомість. Виокремлені мовні засоби слугують для того, щоб виразити когнітивні викривлення. Когнітивні викривлення в адвокатському дискурсі спрямовані, по-перше, на створення позитивного ставлення при-сяжних до сприйняття підсудного і, по-друге, на створення негативного ставлення присяжних до сприйняття аргументів сторони звинувачення. Визначено такі когнітивні викривлення, як ефект авторитетної думки, зміщення підтвердження, ефект доктора Фокса, ефект якоря, ефект парадокса Елсберга. Встановлено певні семантичні групи, які виражають ці когнітивні викривлення.Висновки. Зроблено висновок, що використання виокремлених когнітивних викривлень, виражених за допомогою певних мовних засобів, допомагає адвокату, який стверджував, що у нього немає прямих і переконливих аргументів, поставити під сумнів аргументи, наведені прокурором, та відкласти прийняття рішення присяжними. Таким чином, зазначені когнітивні викривлення стали сугестивними засобами в адвокатському судовому дискурсі. Практична значущість дослідження полягає в можливості використання отриманих результатів в курсі практики перекладу, юридичного письма, ораторського мистецтва.Зроблено припущення, що дослідження є перспективним, оскільки виявлені когнітивні викривлення можуть бути допо-внені з огляду на когнітивні викривлення в судовому дискурсі звинувачення.Ключові слова: адвокатський судовий дискурс, когнітивні викривлення, сугестивні засоби, семантичні групи.

Does Portfolio-Based Language Assessment Align with Learning-Oriented Assessment? Evidence from Literacy Learners and their Instructors

A high-stakes Portfolio-Based Language Assessment (PBLA) protocol that was fully implemented in all Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) programs in 2019 requires instructors and students to set language-learning goals and complete, compile, and reflect on numerous authentic language tasks. Due to the language barriers incurred when communicating with beginner English-as-a-second-language literacy learners (BELLs), no PBLA research has been conducted with BELLs. To address this gap, we interviewed 26 BELLs (n = 2 from 13 L1s) and their instructors (n = 4) about their understanding and use of PBLA. Student interviews were conducted with the assistance of bilingual interpreters in the students’ L1s. All the interviews were then transcribed and thematically analyzed in relation to PBLA’s alignment with the six dimensions in Turner and Purpura’s (2016) learning-oriented assessment framework: contextual, elicitation, proficiency, learning, instructional, interactional, and affective. Results have implications for optimizing learning, and task-based instruction and assessment practices in LINC.

TASK-BASED LEARNING IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL) CLASSROOM: WHAT, HOW AND WHY?

Task-based Learning is increasingly prevalent worldwide. It emphasizes on authentic language use and asks students to perform meaningful tasks. English teaching by tasks is considered useful in a language classroom because the students are expected to learn better the target language when tasks are used in language teaching. The tasks are designed to establish a real language use objectives and to create a natural language acquisition setting. Task-based Learning, often considered being the powerful Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) version, gradually becoming second-language learning. This article describes the Task-based Learning definition, to recognize the principles and characteristics of Task-based Learning, to examine how to implement Task-based Learning in the English classroom, and to clarify the advantages of this approach.