School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies

This paper explores the gender order and heteronormativity as salient ideological structures affecting identity construction and agency in a study abroad context. Drawing on a multi-layered case study of Hugo (a French university exchange student in New Zealand), I examine interactional and ethnographic data to shine light on processes involved in negotiating sexuality and gender identities in both the host and home contexts. Specifically, the analysis allows insights into the development of agency within changing structural environments during and after study abroad, and makes the case for a recognition of the force of ideological constraints. At the same time, I show that 'seeds of agency', sparked by a destabilisation of habitus, are planted in the study abroad context and argue that crossing borders can be the impetus for a liberating ontological excavation of what might be possible.

Slag merupakan limbah hasil pengolahan nikel yang dapat mencemari lingkungan perairan yang disebabkan karena limbah slag tersebut dapat terlindi oleh liquid. Tujuan penelitian yaitu mengetahui kualitas air lindian slag ferronickel, nickel matte dan nickel pig iron. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian yaitu uji kinetik (Free Draining Column Leach Test), uji sifat fisik dan kimia. Pengambilan data menggunakan alat intelegent meter, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) dan X-ray Flourosence (XRF). Diperoleh hasil penelitian dari tiga sampel air lindian yaitu slag ferronickel, nickel matte dan nickel pig iron. Air lindian slag ferronickel diperoleh parameter-parameter dengan nilai pH 8,24,

This paper explores the gender order and heteronormativity as salient ideologicalstructures affecting identity construction and agency in a study abroadcontext. Drawing on a multi-layered case study of Hugo (a French universityexchange student in New Zealand), I examine interactional and ethnographicdata to shine light on processes involved in negotiating sexuality and genderidentities in both the host and home contexts. Specifically, the analysis allowsinsights into the development of agency within changing structural environmentsduring and after study abroad, and makes the case for a recognitionof the force of ideological constraints. At the same time, I show that 'seeds ofagency', sparked by a destabilisation of habitus, are planted in the study abroadcontext and argue that crossing borders can be the impetus for a liberatingontological excavation of what might be possible.

This thesis examines the discursive negotiation of identities in study abroad (SA) settings, examining how university exchange students in New Zealand and France use language to enact, reflect on, and problematise social identities in interaction. I push beyond the more common focus on language learning as the end goal of identity scholarship in SA, focusing instead on an emergent approach to social identities for participants as they encounter ‘new’ Discourses and norms in their exchange settings. The post-structural perspective of identities as multiple, dynamic, and a site of struggle is enriched by attending closely to how identities are discursively co-constructed at ‘ground level’ in interactions with attention to wider sociocultural Discourses and ideologies. I approach this complexity by weaving a strong theoretical thread throughout the thesis, acknowledging (and problematising) the social categories, knowledge, Discourses and ideologies we (re)construct for ourselves, yet ...

This paper explores the concept of learning strategies through a prototype perspective. It is argued that "learning strategy" is not a clearly definable concept, because strategies differ from each other in terms of "family resemblance" or "graded degrees of membership". The prototypical core of a strategy is a dynamic process with problemsolving as its central aim. It involves selective attention, analysis of task, choice of decisions, execution of plan, monitoring of progress and/or modification of plan, and evaluation of result. A strategy varies in terms of prototypicality along the following dimensions: 1) intentionality, 2) self-initiation, 3) metacognitive regulation, 4) sequentiality of activities, 5) chunking of activities, and 6) automaticity in strategy execution. In addition, a "learner-task-context-strategy" framework is presented to provide the "learning" dimensions of learning strategies. It is hoped that the perspectives presented in this article will open up a new agenda on language learning strategy research.

Two case studies of the specific vocabulary learning strategies used by native Chinese-speakers learning English as a Second Language (ESL) at Beijing Normal University are presented and discussed. Subjects were two university students identified as "good" and "poor" language learners. They read two passages, one with about twice as many unfamiliar words as the other. The texts were marked for students to stop reading at certain points and verbalize their thinking processes. A post-reading think-aloud protocol was also used. The think-aloud processes were analyzed for vocabulary-learning processes and strategies, based on three stages of vocabulary learning: initial handling of a problem word, dictionary strategies, and reinforcement strategies to commit the word to memory. A flow chart of each subject's vocabulary learning proeess was developed, and the two were compared and contrasted stage by stage on both metacognitive and cognitive levels. These comparisons are presented, with specific examples of words learned by each subject. Some dramatic differences found in the processes and strategies they used are discussed, and implications for theory and practice are drawn.

Two successful non-English-major EFL learners at Beijing Normal University took part in a think-aloud and an interview session, respectively, on how they handled vocabulary learning during and after reading. Results show that, like successful learners everywhere, these learners (a) saw vocabulary as but one aspect of language learning that needs to be integrated with language use, (b) demonstrated high levels of self-initiation and selective attention, and (c) employed a wide range of vocabulary-learning strategies. The two learners also displayed revealing differences in learning style. Their highly flexible, skilful integration and execution of strategies may be due to a combination of Chinese conceptions of learning, traditional schooling, and literacy practice, the prevailing methods for teaching and learning English in China, the demands of the vocabulary-learning task, and individual learning style.

Based on personal experience, this paper examines the ambiguities of the Likert-type 5-point scale in learning strategy elicitation. Four parallel questionnaires consisting of the same batch of 20 items taken from the Oxford scale (1990) were administered among a group of 120 tertiary level, non-English majors in China. Questionnaire 1 used the Oxford scale without specifying dimensions of reference. Questionnaire 2 told the respondents to choose their answers by comparing with their peers in the same grade. Questionnaire 3 asked them to select their present behavioral frequency as compared with their own past learning experience in secondary schools. In questionnaire 4, subjects were told to check off the relevant frequency of a behavior by comparing its frequency of occurrence with that of other language skills. Results showed that out of the 20 items used, 13 were significantly different among the four questionnaires. Methodological implications for questionnaire research are dis...