Contextualized Language Practices as Sites for Learning

Mealtime Talk in Short-Term Chinese Homestays

Datos Bibliográficos

ID22870535
AutoresCeleste Kinginger (0000-0002-5125-0988, Pennsylvania State University), Sheng-Hsun Lee (0000-0002-7698-6174, Pennsylvania State University), Qian Wu (0000-0001-5828-6468, Pennsylvania State University), Dali Tan (Northern Virginia Community College)
Año2016
Volumen37
Número5
Páginas716-740
Fecha de publicación2016-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaApplied Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0142-6001 • E-ISSN: 1477-450X
EditorialOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/applin/amu061
OpenAlexW2024711251
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas19
Referencias citadas23

When, in homestays abroad, mealtime is understood as key to the maintenance and development of family identity and involves routine gathering for nourishment and convivial talk, students attribute much of their language learning to these events. In this project, we adopt a microgenetic approach to the study of mealtime discourse as a learning opportunity for three American high school students of varying proficiency in Chinese and their Chinese hosts. Specifically, analysis of contextualized language practices at mealtime reveals the qualities of these interactions for learning Chinese and American culinary practices, related language, and associated ideologies. Our findings suggest that even short-term homestays can be particularly rich environments for language learning as hosts and students explore divergent views on the aesthetic, moral, and health-related dimensions of eating.

Applied linguistics · Language acquisition · Linguistics · Term (time) · Digital Communication and Language · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy · Psychology