Louisa Jane Vaughan Willoughby

Language Choice in Multilingual Peer Groups: Insights from an Australian High School.

Abstract Despite Australias strong tradition of research on language maintenance and shift, little is known about the ways in which migrant background students continue to use their heritage languages in Australian schools. This paper presents an in-depth case study of students’ linguistic practices at a multiethnic Melbourne high school, where over 95% of students speak a language other than English (LOTE) at home. Although virtually all students are bilingual, it shows that peer group divide sharply on linguistic lines, with recent arrivals from China and Sudan the only students to consistently speak their first languages with friends at school. More established students use English as their lingua franca with friends, but continue to deploy their LOTEs for a variety of purposes, including gossiping, crossing and communicating with recent migrants. The paper argues that while established students make only incidental use of their LOTEs at school, LOTE use performs important social functions for these students that could not be substituted by using English alone. Local conditions at the school clearly shape the meanings ascribed to LOTE use; and the paper thus argues that detailed analysis of students’ linguistic practices can be a valuable tool for examining interethnic relations in multiethnic schools.

Misunderstanding and Repair in Tactile Auslan.

This article discusses ways in which misunderstandings arise in Tactile Australian Sign Language (Tactile Auslan) and how they are resolved. Of particular interest are the similarities to and differences from the same processes in visually signed and spoken conversation. This article draws on detailed conversation analysis (CA) and demonstrates the power of this methodology for uncovering the subtleties of misunderstanding and repair in deaf-blind communication. In doing so, it aids our understanding of the challenges deaf-blind people encounter in adapting a visual sign language for tactile delivery. Above all, this article demonstrates that experienced tactile signers have a range of strategies at their disposal to resolve interactional trouble and deploy them quickly and effectively when misunderstandings arise.

Is the Cultural Cringe Alive and Kicking? Adolescent Mythscapes of Australian English in Queensland and Victoria

Although there is a growing literature on grammatical, lexical and phonological aspects of Australian English, there are comparatively few studies of attitudes towards this variety of English. What literature there is tends to be either anecdotal or based on media language or on findings from experimental, subjective reaction tests where samples of speech are matched against those produced by speakers of other varieties of English. This study aims to add to existing research through an examination of responses of Australian adolescents to the following question: ‘When you think about “Australian English”, tell me the first three things that come into your mind’. The findings fall into three broad overlapping categories: (i) comments about language features; (ii) comments about attitudes towards those features; and (iii) comments about culture. All three categories contain responses which suggest that young Australians associate Australian English with rural and informal lifestyles. Those who provide attitudinal judgments either describe the variety in neutral terms or give it evaluations typical of those reported for broad and vernacular varieties of English. Of particular interest is the frequency with which categories overlap and intersect, and the mythscapes they construct of Australian language and identity.

Language maintenance and the deaf child

Abstract For all families with deaf children, choosing communication methods is a complex and evolving business. This process is particularly complex for migrant background families, who must not only negotiate the role that speaking or signing will play in their communication practices, but also which spoken language(s) will be used – that of the host society or the heritage language? For many years, it was believed that oral language maintenance was an impossible goal for deaf children. However, recent advances in cochlear implant and hearing aid technology may make language maintenance a more achievable goal. This article reviews the literature and results from a case study of seven migrant background families with deaf children to shed light on the language practices evolving in migrant families with deaf children and the benefits and difficulties inherent in language maintenance with this population. It shows that a number of factors affect the degree to which deaf children are able to develop fluency in the heritage language, such as type of hearing loss and age at cochlear implantation. Regardless of the level of proficiency dveloped, it shows that attempting language maintenance has a positive effect on family relationships, communication and participation in the ethnic community.

Sign Language Users' Education and Employment Levels: Keeping Pace with Changes in the General Australian Population?

This article draws on data from the 2006 Australian census to explore the education and employment outcomes of sign languages users living in Victoria, Australia, and to compare them with outcomes reported in the general population. Census data have the advantage of sampling the entire population on the one night, avoiding problems of population comparability and sampling errors that may affect survey-based research. The analysis shows that sign language users are approaching parity with the general population on some measures of educational attainment, but there remains a gap in employment levels and particularly income. Sign language users aged 25-44 years show higher attainment than those in the 45-64 age group, suggesting that educational reforms in the last 30 years are having a positive impact on both education and employment levels. However, younger sign language users are still struggling to keep pace with improvements in certain employment outcomes that are seen in the general population.

Nicknames in Australian Secondary Schools: Insights into Nicknames and Adolescent Views of Self

Abstract Although it is widely known that language practices can significantly affect adolescent self-image, research studies on adolescent naming practices are surprisingly scarce. The only study to date on nicknames in Australia was undertaken by Chevalier (2006). Her study provides a comprehensive analysis of morphological and semantic features of names but makes no reference to adolescent language practices and their role in society. Our exploration of initial responses to questionnaire data administered to secondary students in Victoria and Queensland schools considers: (i) common adolescent nicknaming practices and (ii) attitudes of adolescents to nick-names used for others and towards nicknames. We end with suggestions for raising awareness of naming practices to promote cultural and linguistic sensitivity amongst high school students.

What their friends say about the way they talk: the metalanguage of pre-adolescent and adolescent Australians

Adolescence is a time in young peoples lives when identities are being constructed and what their friends say is particularly important. The teenage years are a critical period in terms of attitudes to language, yet there have been relatively few studies of student metalanguage and, to our knowledge, no studies which have considered age-graded differences in adolescence. This paper focuses on comments from Australian students in their initial and final years of high school about what their friends say about the way they talk. The findings, based on the written responses of 642 students to two questionnaire items, show that although there are common themes in the senior and junior students’ discourse, seniors are more likely to report that they choose their friends on the basis of the way they talk and to report that they remember their friends commenting on their speech. They are also more likely to provide detailed comment about social and regional variation. We conclude that written survey data hold explanatory power, enabling useful insights into Australian adolescent metalinguistic awareness and providing a window on ideologies and perceived identity.

Errors and Feedback in the Beginner Auslan Classroom

Although the literature on general characteristics of effective sign language teaching is growing, relatively few studies have looked in detail at classroom practices or classroom discourse. This article draws on detailed observations of six beginner Australian Sign Language (Auslan) classes and postclass interviews with the teachers in order to explore students’ errors and teacher feedback strategies. In line with prior experimental studies it shows errors of movement and handshape to be the most frequent type of mistakes and more phonologically complex signs to be especially prone to errors. Teachers expressed varied philosophies about error correction but were observed to correct mistakes at generally equal frequencies in their classes. The article closes by reflecting on the relationship between error-correction approaches and general teaching methods and suggests areas where the curriculum may benefit from reform.

Unpacking barriers to quality care for Deaf people in residential aged care facilities

Residential aged care providers often face difficulties in meeting the needs of residents with a lifelong disability. In this article, I explore these issues from the perspective of signing Deaf residents. While previous studies have documented a number of issues around staff training and communication for Deaf residents, there remains a dearth of literature considering the root causes of these problems. Drawing on interviews with a variety of service providers, this article suggests a number of ways current practices might be improved as well as discussing funding changes required to ensure Australian Deaf residents do not fall through the cracks.

Adolescent nicknaming as a rich linguistic and pedagogical resource for teachers

Despite an increasing international trend towards integrating linguistics into the mainstream English curriculum, many teachers struggle to find exciting and relevant ways to cover this material with their students. In this article, we describe how nicknames collected as part of a research study of Australian secondary students can be used as a pedagogical resource for Year 9 students. We argue that the linguistic analysis of nicknaming provides an ideal opportunity for teachers to introduce linguistic concepts to a teenage audience that is age appropriate, relevant and meaningful. Based on a survey of 642 Australian high school students, we present some common features of nicknames and provide suggestions for how teachers could use this as a platform for exploring language issues with their students. We also show how the study of the forms and functions of nicknames fits into the Australian national curriculum for English at the junior secondary school level.