This is the question investigated by a team of 19 researchers in Norway, Spain, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, and the U.S. (Rothman et al., 2022), who wrote the commentary that I summarize in this post. A commentary is an essay with examples from empirical studies (“empirical studies” being articles with an Introduction, research Methods,Continue reading “When is it fair and valid to compare bi/multilinguals with monolinguals?”
Category Archives: Methods
What is translanguaging as “critical pedagogy” or “decolonizing research”?
In this week’s post, I aim to answer the question, “What does it mean when translanguaging is said to be a ‘critical pedagogy’ or ‘decolonizing research approach’?” This question is answered in recent commentaries by Pramod K. Sah (in collaboration with critical English language teaching scholar Ryuko Kubota) and Prem Phyak. According to Sah, toContinue reading “What is translanguaging as “critical pedagogy” or “decolonizing research”?”
“Is bilingualism a superpower?” (Why this question makes me rant)
This spontaneous essay (hence, not posted on a Wednesday) was prompted by an annoying Youtube video that came up on my feed titled “Is bilingualism a superpower?” I don’t provide the link because there are a gazillion other posts/videos online (usually American) suggesting the same idea. Such a question can only be taken seriously inContinue reading ““Is bilingualism a superpower?” (Why this question makes me rant)”
Code-switching researchers comment on how translanguaging achieves its social aims
In this research-oriented post, I summarize a new book chapter (Bhatt & Bolonyai, 2022) in which code-switching researchers argue that bi/multilingual people accomplish things in the social world by recognizing codes, not rejecting them. In the authors’ view, code-switching is still a preferable term to translanguaging because the social affordances of translanguaging (such as creativeContinue reading “Code-switching researchers comment on how translanguaging achieves its social aims”
Researching translanguaging QUALITATIVELY… with GENERALIZABLE findings?
In this week’s post, I summarize a paper that I co-authored with my doctoral student, Jiaen (Cheryl) Ou, in the journal System. We demonstrate that it is possible to research translanguaging qualitatively, with generalizable findings, and a positivist epistemology, while adhering to the principles of critical pedagogy. First, we developed a COMPREHENSIVE “assessment-as-learning” instrument forContinue reading “Researching translanguaging QUALITATIVELY… with GENERALIZABLE findings?”
Translanguaging research by/with/for teachers: How might it ideally be done?
This week’s post summarizes what may be the oldest article I’ve ever summarized on the blog: “Research on Teaching and Teacher Research: The Issues that Divide” (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1990). What strikes me about this article is that 30+ years on, nothing has changed! Here, I summarize this short 10-page paper about research in primaryContinue reading “Translanguaging research by/with/for teachers: How might it ideally be done?”
Interviewing people about language learning: Know your epistemology
If you take a Masters degree in the social sciences, the first course you will take will be Research Methods, and the first chapter of your Research Methods textbook will address terms like methods, methodology, theory, and epistemology. Epistemology is the highest term in the four-level hierarchy: it is the way we understand social reality,Continue reading “Interviewing people about language learning: Know your epistemology”
Chinese-English bilingual education in China: A critical analysis of research
Chinese-English bilingual education is on the rise in China, particularly at the university level, with some trials in K-12 education in the form of (i) bilingual private schools and (ii) experimental public schools in socioeconomically elite areas. In this post, I summarize an article about this educational trend by Prof. Guangwei Hu, a Hong KongContinue reading “Chinese-English bilingual education in China: A critical analysis of research”
Qualitative researchers beware: How not to take interview data for granted
This is a method post summarizing applied linguist Steven Talmy’s (2010) well cited article on the interview as a social practice. In this commentary/opinion piece that also cites a lot of studies as examples, Talmy argues that we cannot take interview data for granted—that is, we should not collect and report it as a windowContinue reading “Qualitative researchers beware: How not to take interview data for granted”
How to analyze classroom talk: Part 4 of 4
This is the fourth and final post on methodology for analyzing classroom talk, preceded by posts on Turn-taking, Contextualization, and Narrative. In this post, we look at how to analyze Interactional Frames. First, we examine what “frame” means and look at ways to analyze how frames are used in small units of talk (e.g., 1-2 sentences) thatContinue reading “How to analyze classroom talk: Part 4 of 4”
annamend 