Dr Simon Coffey gives this talk as part of the University of Sussex lectures, language and cultural series.
Narrative research has gained enormous popularity in the social sciences over the last fifteen years, not least of all in the fields of education and second/foreign language learning, especially where these involve intercultural encounters. Narrative approaches can extend our understanding of the experience of language learning and go further than more conventional attitude surveys in capturing the contingent and multiple nature of learner subjectivity. Such insights may be especially fruitful in the case of modern languages study in the UK, often said to be in crisis, where motivation to learn languages does not fit neatly the instrumental needs assumed to apply to worldwide English use. In this lecture, Dr Coffey will examine an interview extract, analysed as a narrative episode, to look for agentive strategies deployed such as the use of canonical story type and character positioning.
Simon Coffey is an applied linguist teaching language education. His research interests focus on language pedagogy, language policy and interculturality. In particular, he uses language learner narratives to investigate differential take up of modern languages study, with a particular interest in French and what that signifies for different learners.
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Location: Language Learning Centre Arts A, Falmer Campus, University of Sussex
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