Dear James
Thanks to you and others who have responded on this. Regarding my final question "at what level is the learner voice valid in English in terms of meaningful research data?", I guess it relates to binary "can/can't speak English" ideas that I sometimes encounter in my field (healthcare). Often the idea of enabling the learner voice is seen as a case of "call the interpreter". There is sometimes too little emphasis on the part of the healthcare professional on ideas such as language grading, honing listening skills or simply valuing non-standard forms of English. It was interesting to read a comment on this forum recently about beginner English learners "not knowing what they don't know" - having taught "beginner class" learners for many years I'd say just because someone isn't producing fluent speech doesn't mean they don't know stuff!
I have been considering such issues recently, as I am hoping to carry out some small-scale research on health service users' experiences of interpreter use, and I am anticipating some planning/justification regarding my own use of (or lack of use of) interpreters in said research.
Regards
Adrian Salmond
John Howard Centre
London
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Hello Adrian, all
Not with ESOL students specifically, but the first phase of the Translating & Translanguaging (TLang) project as it took place in Leeds worked with a community interpreter/translator, and the project report makes interesting reading.
Project https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/generic/tlang/index.aspx
Report is Working Paper #4, here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/generic/tlang/publications/index.aspx
I'm not clear about your last question (' at what level is the learner voice valid in English in terms of meaningful research data?') - can you explain what you mean? My guess is that you are alluding to a monolingual assumption that new (and not so new) arrivals who are English language learners only make their voices audible (listened, to, taken up) if they are using English, or have an English language interpreter to hand. I agree of course that interpreters can amplify voices - but I also think that in these superdiverse times we need to recognise the value of other forms of communication.
All the best
James
Dr James Simpson
School of Education
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
+44 (0)113 343 4687
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www.education.leeds.ac.uk/people/staff/academic/simpson
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-----Original Message-----
From: ESOL-Research discussion forum and message board [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Adrian Salmond
Sent: 29 June 2018 11:42
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Using interpreters in Esol research
Can anyone point me in the direction of any studies of using interpreters in research involving Esol learners, e.g. interviews, focus groups etc. E.g. any studies in which interpreters were used, and/or in which interpreter use in such research was critically reflected upon.
I'm thinking in terms of such questions as: in what situations would we need an interpreter to enhance the learner voice in research? does it relate to receptive/productive level? cultural competence? at what level is the learner voice valid in English in terms of meaningful research data?
This is specifically relating to a study in NHS secure services to give some context.
Thank you
Adrian Salmond
John Howard Centre
London
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ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds.
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