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Description
This linguistic ethnography follows three journalism students (Petra, Penélope, and María) as they engaged in experiential language learning (EX-LL) via collaboration with community members during their Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP) internship sites in the fields of journalism and medicine within the local Metro Phoenix community. Data were collected over the course of a 15-week semester via ethnographic methods (field notes, interviews, observations, and participant-reported data) to explore how the interns (i) took advantage of their SSP internship experiences to engage in identity work that exceeded the goals of the program and how they (ii) implemented their strategic knowledge via communicative strategies (CSs) during breakdowns in communication with community members related to their SSP internship sites/the social function of such strategies.
In order to answer the first research question, the data were analyzed via open and focused coding (Dyson & Genishi, 2005), followed by discourse analysis (Gee, 2005) informed by Critical Applied Linguistics (Pennycook, 2001) and Positioning Theory (Davis & Harré, 1990). To answer the second question, all instances in which the interns implemented communicative strategies were analyzed based upon the categorization repertories established by Dörnyei and Scott (1995a, 1995b, 1997), Lafford (2004), and Tarone and Yule (1987). To go beyond understanding what the interns were saying to why were they saying it, discourse analysis was used (Gee, 2005).
The findings show that Petra, Penélope, and María appropriated their SSP internship to engage distinct, yet interrelated language- and ethnic/racial-based identity work. Each intern utilized language (and extra-linguistic elements, such as corporeal expression) to position themselves in different ways within social discourse. Furthermore, this identity work influenced which CSs they utilized, as the social function of many of these strategies was to maintain and/or protect their desired identities.
Drawing on these insights, a variety of implications are offered from four viewpoints: implications for (i) EX-LL-based research: colonized versus humanizing research, (ii) critical community collaboration inside and outside of EX-LL, (iii) CSs and communicative competence, and (iv) EX-LL/Languages for Specific Purposes pedagogy and internship design.
In order to answer the first research question, the data were analyzed via open and focused coding (Dyson & Genishi, 2005), followed by discourse analysis (Gee, 2005) informed by Critical Applied Linguistics (Pennycook, 2001) and Positioning Theory (Davis & Harré, 1990). To answer the second question, all instances in which the interns implemented communicative strategies were analyzed based upon the categorization repertories established by Dörnyei and Scott (1995a, 1995b, 1997), Lafford (2004), and Tarone and Yule (1987). To go beyond understanding what the interns were saying to why were they saying it, discourse analysis was used (Gee, 2005).
The findings show that Petra, Penélope, and María appropriated their SSP internship to engage distinct, yet interrelated language- and ethnic/racial-based identity work. Each intern utilized language (and extra-linguistic elements, such as corporeal expression) to position themselves in different ways within social discourse. Furthermore, this identity work influenced which CSs they utilized, as the social function of many of these strategies was to maintain and/or protect their desired identities.
Drawing on these insights, a variety of implications are offered from four viewpoints: implications for (i) EX-LL-based research: colonized versus humanizing research, (ii) critical community collaboration inside and outside of EX-LL, (iii) CSs and communicative competence, and (iv) EX-LL/Languages for Specific Purposes pedagogy and internship design.
ContributorsVollmer Rivera, Alexis Ann (Author) / Lafford, Barbara (Thesis advisor) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Bernstein, Katie (Committee member) / Beaudrie, Sara (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This dissertation explores the possibility of Critical Communication Pedagogy outside of traditional classrooms through a critical and performance ethnographic approach from 15-months of data collection. Specifically, the author embraces the Chicana/Latina feminist methodology pláticas to co-create space with Latinx high school students who have experienced the foster care system. Through sixteen pláticas, the major themes explored include interrogating power, embracing embodied knowledge to question civility, and examining culture and identity. Additionally, the author embraces critical auto/ethnography to grapple with the tensions that arise for her, as a communication scholar, embracing a radical approach to laboring with youth beyond the classroom.
ContributorsTerminel Iberri, Ana Isabel (Author) / LeMaster, Loretta (Thesis advisor) / O'Connor, Brendan (Thesis advisor) / Chávez, Karma (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This qualitative study explores the perspectives of six Indigenous learners and two instructors to analyze and reconceptualize pedagogical practices in the Spanish as a Heritage Language (SHL) classroom. Although there have been numerous proposals and perspectives that have successfully incorporated the sociopolitical realities of SHL learners, there is progress to be made to better understand the multifaceted identities of learners and instructors in the Latinx community. Thus, the perspectives of Indigenous learners and pedagogues are necessary to not only acknowledge but to meet the needs of a part of the Latinx community that is often erased by centering mestizaje. Thus, the present study utilizes Critical Latinx Indigeneities (CLI) as a framework to uncover salient themes in the individual testimonios, sharing circles, and written reflections of these eight Indigenous instructors and learners that have taken and/or taught an SHL course. The findings in this study indicated eight prominent themes: 1) dynamic identity development and identity negotiation, 2) connections between language and identity, 3) impacts of anti-Indigenous discrimination among Latinx people, 4) maneuvering language and identity in K-12 education, 5) implications of teachers’ positionalities and practices, 6) discrepancies on knowledge and holders of knowledge, 7) inclusion of indigeneity in SHL courses, and 8) tensions between taking/teaching SHL courses and being Indigenous. Additionally, pedagogical suggestions and reflections are offered alongside a discussion on the concept of allyship. By foregrounding Indigenous Latinxs, I argue that decolonial theory and praxis, based on Indigenous ways of being and knowing, can lead to crucial advancements in SHL Education. By extending the theoretical boundaries of critical pedagogies in SHL Education, we can begin to dismantle deficit- based orientations to researching and teaching SHL learners with dynamic and racially diverse identities. This study has the potential to make an invaluable contribution by disrupting ongoing settler colonial logics that persist in language education by offering pedagogical considerations from Indigenous instructors and learners that would result in an increasingly inclusive Spanish classroom in which Latinxs of varied backgrounds can thrive.
ContributorsOchoa, Valeria Alejandra (Author) / Beaudrie, Sara (Thesis advisor) / Gradoville, Michael (Committee member) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The oppressive legislative policies and polarizing media narratives of undocu/DACAmented Latinx im/migrants in the United States have created unfavorable campus climates, which have further marginalized those students in higher education who fit into this category. As a result of Donald Trump’s presidency and rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that soon followed, undocu/DACAmented Latinx students are experiencing an increase in stress, anxiety, and fear to the point that they become silent, depressed, and feel the need to advocate more for their existence and worth on campus. My critical ethnographic case study investigates the everyday experiences of Mexican undocu/DACAmented students enrolled at a public university in Arizona – a state that borders Mexico – as they pursue their undergraduate degrees in the Trump era. This study is guided by critical race theory and LatCrit, sense of belonging, and resistance capital theoretical frameworks, and seeks to answer the following: (a) how race and racism shape their collegiate experiences, (b) where these collegians find belongingness to persist towards graduation while navigating an anti-im/migrant sociopolitical climate, and (c) how these students exercise agency via their activism efforts. The broader case study includes individual collaborative interviews, twelve months of participatory field observations, and a collection of documents. This study aims to expand the field of higher education’s understanding of how federal, state, and institutional policies and policymakers affect undocu/DACAmented students’ experiences in and persistence through college, highlight the agency exercised and assets these collegians bring with them to college, and offer research, policy, and practical recommendations for higher education and student affairs institutional agents.
ContributorsSanta-Ramirez, Stephen (Author) / McGuire, Keon (Thesis advisor) / Cisneros, Jesus (Committee member) / Jimenez-Silva, Margarita (Committee member) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Muñoz, Susana (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Despite the increase in enrollment of first-generation college students at four-year institutions, this student population was more than twice as likely to drop out before their sophomore year compared to their non-first-generation peers. Specifically, a subgroup of first-generation college students that has been identified as greatly disadvantaged yet received little attention in the literature are those from migrant and seasonal farm worker (MSFW) backgrounds. The unique educational needs and risk factors of these students demand that postsecondary institutions develop resources and support services in an effort to better serve them. While the literature identified co-curricular involvement as a factor contributing to the sense of belonging and retention of college students, it failed to acknowledge the unique experiences of minoritized and/or marginalized student populations. This study introduced and supported the argument that merely offering involvement opportunities did not work for this student population, and suggested that institutional agents who interacted or worked closely with them had to facilitate validating conversations and build close relationships early on to encourage co-curricular involvement. The innovation supported first-generation MSFW students’ participation and engagement in conversations and activities in an effort to help enrich their experiences, and enhance their overall sense of belonging and college retention. The innovation demonstrated the many benefits stemming from first-generation MSFW students’ participation in a peer mentor program, and allowed for collection of feedback in an effort to better serve this student population. Further, based on the results of this study, the innovation may have positive impacts on the sense of belonging and college retention of first-generation MSFW students.
ContributorsOrnelas, Zujaila Mizar (Author) / Basile, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Aska, Cassandra (Committee member) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Borders have deep symbolic, cultural, historical, and religious meanings, and can therefore become mobilized for various political endeavors. Using a critical educational ethnographic approach, my dissertation examines educators’ memories of bordering practices and experiences to rethink national borders and identities in Armenian education. I argue that teachers have the potential to act as key change agents in transforming the Armenia-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Turkey conflicts of the Caucasus region through their distinctive influence both on curriculum and pedagogy, and by creating supportive learning environments in classrooms. This dissertation suggests that borders are central to the defining of identity – as studied among Armenians – and that border thinking has the potential to expand pedagogical practices to not only inform/(re)define identity, but also to sustain peace and make room for an alternative way of being that refutes the dichotomies of colonialism and imperialism, and other prevalent isms. Specifically, my research focuses on the ways in which the idea and reality of “the border” – as well as teachers’ memories of the “border” – shape classroom practices, textbook content, and pedagogical theory in post-conflict Armenia. This research analyzes the capacity and potential of educators to contribute to more peaceful relationships and makes clear the constraints of schools in fulfilling this role. My dissertation contributes to the current scholarship of border studies, post-Soviet transformations, and education in conflict territories by expanding the scope of pedagogical practices necessary for peaceful coexistence. Fieldwork for this study was conducted in Armenia between June 2019 and March 2020 with a one-month site visit in Turkey. This study includes textbook analyses, interviews with teachers, fieldwork observations, as well as document and visual analyses.
ContributorsPalandjian, Garine (Author) / Silova, Iveta (Thesis advisor) / Brown, Keith (Committee member) / Carlson, David L (Committee member) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This paper examines the function of grammar and pragmatics in testimonies and cross-examinations, specifically in sexual assault cases in the United States. Past research demonstrates a society’s view of sexual assault, particularly as a means of control, is reflected in cross-examination methodologies, which propagates into the laws surrounding sexual assault. This aims to investigate the impact the shift in societal perspective on sexual assault has on the cross-examination methodologies and ultimately the laws surrounding sexual assault in the United States. The incorporation of Conversation Analysis (CA) is used as a framework to evaluate the court transcripts. The framework is coupled with guidelines previously used to examine sexual assault cross-examinations in other countries. It is imperative to apply this to the United States as the view on sexual assault differs. The cross-examination and testimony transcripts in three court cases are examined. The guidelines for grammar include transitivity, use of adverbials and modals, nominalizations and subjects of unaccusatives, while the pragmatics focus on strategic questioning, presupposition, and selective reformulation. The findings in this qualitative study demonstrate the lack of progress the United States judicial system has made in terms of sexual assault. While the societal perspective shifts, the cross-examination methodology and the language of the laws remain constant, despite increase in awareness and supporting Acts. Given the small scope of research conducted in the United States, more research is necessary, along with reformation of the court proceedings and laws surrounding sexual assault.
ContributorsTodd, Jillian (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis advisor) / Neal, Tess (Committee member) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023