Abstract
This study explores the language ecology of graduate students through vocabulary contribution. Understanding students’ learning ecology may be done through the identification of pertinent sociomaterial networks with which students engage to initiate or complement learning. This study was set in an academic writing module taught by the researcher. An open invitation was extended to his students to contribute any vocabulary they encountered outside of his classroom. Along with the vocabulary contribution, students also had to provide the excerpt where the word occurred and the source-type. Contributions were made on an online Excel file. There was a total of 277 contributions made, of which 259 were unique (229 words and 30 unique strings of words). Students’ contributions of strings of words were not anticipated. A majority of these contributions came from academic sources, such as research articles or book chapters, which may be a pertinent aspect of the graduate students’ language ecology. Through the findings, it is recommended that English for academic purposes (EAP) or English for specific purposes (ESP) instructors identify language ecologies found in the broader university setting to glean relevant pedagogical materials that can support students’ language development.
References
Aldiabat, K. M., & Le Navenec, C. L. (2018). Data saturation: The mysterious step in grounded theory methodology. The Qualitative Report, 23(1), 245-261.
Belcher, D. D. (2006). English for specific purposes: Teaching to perceived needs and imagined futures in worlds of work, study, and everyday life. TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 133-156. https://doi.org/10.2307/40264514
Biesta, G. J. J. (2012a). Giving teaching back to education: Responding to the disappearance of the teacher. Phenomenology & Practice, 6(2), 35-49.
Biesta, G. J. J. (2012b). Knowledge/democracy: Notes on the political economy of academic publishing. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 15(4), 407-419. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2012.696705
Bourdieu, P. (1990). The Logic of Practice (R. Nice, Trans.). Cambridge: Polity Press. (Original work published 1980).
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Canagarajah, S. (2018). English as a spatial resource and the claimed competence of Chinese STEM professionals. World Englishes, 37(1), 34-50. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12301
Cargill, M., Gao, X., Wang, X., & O'Connor, P. (2018). Preparing Chinese graduate students of science facing an international publication requirement for graduation: Adapting an intensive workshop approach for early-candidature use. English for Specific Purposes, 52, 13-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2018.05.002
Casal, J. E., & Lu, X. (2021). ‘Maybe complicated is a better word’: Second language English graduate student responses to syntactic complexity in a genre-based academic writing course. International Journal of English for Academic Purposes: Research and Practice, 1(1), 95-114. https://doi.org/10.3828/ijeap.2021.7
Cobb, T. (2004). The Compleat lexical tutor, v.4. TESL-EJ, 8(3). https://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume8/ej31/ej31m2/
Cobb, T. (n.d.). Compleat lexical tutor, v.8.3: For data-driven language learning on the web. https://www.lextutor.ca/
Collyer, F. (2013). The production of scholarly knowledge in the global market arena: University ranking systems, prestige and power. Critical Studies in Education, 54(3), 245-259. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508487.2013.788049
Damsa, C., & Jornet, A. (2016). Revisiting learning in higher education--Framing notions redefined through an ecological perspective. Frontline Learning Research, 4(4), 39-47. http://dx.doi.org/10.14786/flr.v4i4.208
Dresner, E., & Herring, S. C. (2010). Functions of nonverbal in CMC: Emoticons and illocutionary force. Communication Theory, 20, 249-268. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2010.01362.x
Durrant, P. (2016). To what extent is the academic vocabulary list relevant to university student writing? English for Specific Purposes, 43, 49-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2016.01.004
Face with Monocle. (n.d.). Emojipedia. Retrieved August 22, 2021, from https://emojipedia.org/face-with-monocle/
Flushed Face. (n.d.). Emojipedia. Retrieved August 22, 2021, from https://emojipedia.org/flushed-face/
Gourlay, L. (2017). Student engagement, ‘learnification’ and the sociomaterial: Critical perspectives on higher education policy. Higher Education Policy, 30(1), 23-34. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-016-0037-1
Guerrettaz, A. M., Engman, M. M., & Matsumoto, Y. (2021). Empirically defining language learning and teaching materials in use through sociomaterial perspectives. The Modern Language Journal, 105(S1), 3-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12691
Hasko, V. (2021). Qualitative corpus analysis. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics. John Wiley & Songs, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0974.pub2
Jiang, A. L., & Zhang, L. J. (2019). Chinese students’ perceptions of English learning affordances and their agency in an English-medium instruction classroom context. Language and Education, 33(4), 322-339. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2019.1578789
Kessler, M. (2020). Technology-mediated writing: Exploring incoming graduate students’ L2 writing strategies with activity theory. Computers and Composition, 55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2020.102542
Kim, K. M. (2018). Academic socialization of doctoral students through feedback networks: A qualitative understanding of the graduate feedback landscape. Teaching in Higher Education, 23(8), 963-980. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2018.1449741
Kitchen, J. A., Hallett, R. E., Perez, R. J., & Rivera, G. J. (2019). Advancing the use of ecological systems theory in college student research: The ecological systems interview tool. Journal of College Student Development, 60(4), 381-400. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2019.0043
Kramsh, C., & Whiteside, A. (2008). Language ecology in multilingual settings. Towards a theory of symbolic competence. Applied Linguistics, 29(4), 645-671. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amn022
Li, L., Franken, M., & Wu, S. (2019). Chinese postgraduates’ explanation of the sources of sentence initial bundles in their thesis writing. RELC Journal, 50(1), 37-52. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688217750641
Loo, D. B. (2021). Am I promoting feedback cycle and sociomaterial learning? Insights from practitioner inquiry on written corrective feedback in final drafts. Issues in Language Studies, 10(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.33736/ils.2573.2021
Loo, D. B., & Sairattanain, J. (2021). Disrupting discourses of deficiency in English for academic purposes: Dialogic reflection with a critical friend. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2021.1947355
McCulloch, S. (2013). Investigating the reading-to-write processes and source use of L2 postgraduate students in real-life academic tasks: An exploratory study. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(2), 136-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2012.11.009
McKinley, J. (2019). Evolving the TESOL teaching-research nexus. TESOL Quarterly, 53(3), 875-884. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.509
Mercer, S. (2011). Understanding learner agency as a complex dynamic system. System, 39(4), 427-436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.08.001
Morita, N. (2004). Negotiating participation and identity in second language academic communities. TESOL Quarterly, 38(4), 573-603. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588281
Ou, W. A., & Gu, M. M. (2020). Negotiating language use and norms in intercultural communication: Multilingual university students’ scaling practices in translocal space. Linguistics and Education, 57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2020.100818
Peters, M., & Romero, M. (2019). Lifelong learning ecologies in online higher education: Students' engagement in the continuum between formal and informal learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(4), 1729-1743. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12803
Phirangee, K., & Malec, A. (2017). Othering in online learning: An examination of social presence, identity, and sense of community. Distance Education, 38(2), 160-172. https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2017.1322457
Reay, D. (2004) ‘It’s all becoming a habitus’: Beyond the habitual use of habitus in educational research. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 25(4), 431-444. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142569042000236934
Rose, H. (2019). Dismantling the ivory tower in TESOL: A renewed call for teaching-informed research. TESOL Quarterly, 53(3), 895-905. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.517
Sanscartier, M. D., & Johnston, M. S. (2021). Learning the language of craft: A publishing workshop for graduate students. Teaching in Higher Education, 26(2), 197-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2019.1648411
Seloni, L. (2012). Academic literacy socialization of first year doctoral students in US: A micro-ethnographic perspective. English for Specific Purposes, 31(1), 47-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2011.05.004
Simungala, G., Ndalama, D., & Jimaima, H. (2021). Communicative practices from the margins: The multilingual and multicultural repertoires on university spaces. Journal of Asian and African Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219096211035416
Skoufaki, S., & Petrić, B. (2021). Academic vocabulary in an EAP course: Opportunities for incidental learning from printed teaching materials developed in-house. English for Specific Purposes, 63, 71-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2021.03.002
Smith, E. (2003) Ethos, habitus and situation for learning: An ecology. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 24(4), 463-470. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425690301916
Soltani, B. (2018). Academic socialization as the production and negotiation of social space. Linguistics and Education, 45, 20-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2018.03.003
Sung, C. C. M. (2020). English as a lingua franca in the international university: Language experiences and perceptions among international students in multilingual Hong Kong. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 33(3), 258-273. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2019.1695814
Tang, Y., & Hew, K. F. (2019). Emoticon, emoji, and sticker use in computer-mediated communication: A review of theories and research findings. International Journal of Communication, 13, 2457-2483. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/10966
Tarnopolsky, O. B., & Goodman, B. A. (2014). The ecology of language in classrooms at a university in eastern Ukraine. Language and Education, 28(4), 383-396. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2014.890215
Tarrayo, V. N., Paz, R. M., & Gepila, E. C. Jr. (2021). The shift to flexible learning amidst the pandemic: The case of English language teachers in a Philippine state university. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching. https://doi.org.10.1080/17501229.2021.1944163
Tobbell, J., & O’Donnell, V. L. (2013). Transition to postgraduate study: Postgraduate ecological systems and identity. Cambridge Journal of Education, 43(1), 123-138. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2012.749215
Towns, S. G. (2020). Which word list should I teach? Using word lists to support textbook vocabulary instruction. THAITESOL Journal, 33(1), 20-35.
Upside-Down Face. (n.d.). Emojipedia. Retrieved August 22, 2021, from https://emojipedia.org/upside-down-face/
van Lier, L. (1997). Observation from an ecological perspective. TESOL Quarterly, 31(4), 783-787. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587762
van Lier, L. (2004). The ecology and semiotics of language learning: A sociocultural perspective. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
van Lier, L. (2010). The ecology of language learning: Practice to theory, theory to practice. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 3, 2-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.07.005
Wingate, U. (2018). Academic literacy across the curriculum: Towards a collaborative instructional approach. Language Teaching, 51(3), 349-364. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444816000264
Wingate, U., & Tribble, C. (2012). The best of both worlds? Towards an English for academic purposes/academic literacies writing pedagogy. Studies in Higher Education, 37(4), 481-495. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2010.525630
Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal
1) In signing this statement, the author(s) grant UNIMAS Publisher an exclusive license to publish their original research papers. The author(s) also grant UNIMAS Publisher permission to reproduce, recreate, translate, extract or summarize, and to distribute and display in any forms, formats, and media. The author(s) can reuse their papers in their future printed work without first requiring permission from UNIMAS Publisher, provided that the author(s) acknowledge and reference publication in the Journal.
2) For open access articles, the author(s) agree that their articles published under UNIMAS Publisher are distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
3) For subscription articles, the author(s) agree that UNIMAS Publisher holds copyright, or an exclusive license to publish. Readers or users may view, download, print, and copy the content, for academic purposes, subject to the following conditions of use: (a) any reuse of materials is subject to permission from UNIMAS Publisher; (b) archived materials may only be used for academic research; (c) archived materials may not be used for commercial purposes, which include but not limited to monetary compensation by means of sale, resale, license, transfer of copyright, loan, etc.; and (d) archived materials may not be re-published in any part, either in print or online.
4) The author(s) is/are responsible to ensure his or her or their submitted work is original and does not infringe any existing copyright, trademark, patent, statutory right, or propriety right of others. Corresponding author(s) has (have) obtained permission from all co-authors prior to submission to the journal. Upon submission of the manuscript, the author(s) agree that no similar work has been or will be submitted or published elsewhere in any language. If submitted manuscript includes materials from others, the authors have obtained the permission from the copyright owners.
5) In signing this statement, the author(s) declare(s) that the researches in which they have conducted are in compliance with the current laws of the respective country and UNIMAS Journal Publication Ethics Policy. Any experimentation or research involving human or the use of animal samples must obtain approval from Human or Animal Ethics Committee in their respective institutions. The author(s) agree and understand that UNIMAS Publisher is not responsible for any compensational claims or failure caused by the author(s) in fulfilling the above-mentioned requirements. The author(s) must accept the responsibility for releasing their materials upon request by Chief Editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
6) The author(s) should have participated sufficiently in the work and ensured the appropriateness of the content of the article. The author(s) should also agree that he or she has no commercial attachments (e.g. patent or license arrangement, equity interest, consultancies, etc.) that might pose any conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript. The author(s) also agree to make any relevant materials and data available upon request by the editor or UNIMAS Publisher.