An experiment of cross-language and cross-disciplinary collaboration

Abstract

This chapter presents an experiment of incorporating text-based arts into Chinese and Japanese L2 courses as a cross-language and cross-disciplinary course project aiming to engage both Chinese and Japanese learners in a shared discursive space built upon their knowledge of hanzi/kanji and upon their creative use of hanzi/kanji. More specifically, this joint project was designed to help both Chinese and Japanese L2 students reflect collectively on their hanzi/kanji learning while encouraging them to contextualize hanzi/kanji within and beyond their own communities. Through this collective exploration, these L2 students were expected to discover and reflect upon the language ideologies that they were previously unaware of, such as monolingualism (Heinrich, 2012). In addition, this project aimed to develop a new learning community among the Chinese and Japanese L2 learners by including Xu Bing’s text-based arts, which are readily accessible to L2 learners of East Asian languages. This chapter first introduces the theoretical framework employed in this joint project and then moves on to its description and learning outcomes with a concluding discussion of its implications and suggestions for future implementation. Samples of student work and feedback are included to illustrate how this cross-language and cross-disciplinary project helped Chinese and Japanese L2 learners develop their critical and creative thinking skills, in addition to enhancing their hanzi/kanji learning.