Interview with Prof. Dr. Paula Kalaja

Paula Kalaja,Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer,Tatyana Sheila Friedrich,Bruna Pupatto Ruano,Francisco Calvo Del Olmo

doi:10.5380/rvx.v16i2.77304

Paula Kalaja, Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.5380/rvx.v16i2.77304

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Abstract

Paula Kalaja, Professor Emerita (University of Jyväskylä, Finland), is one of the pioneers in the use of visual methods in Applied Language Studies, having inspired a range of graduates, post-graduates, and researchers around the world. Her research interests crisscross the use of visual methods, beliefs about languages, language teaching and language learning, and identity, with astonishing creativity and a visionary sense of research. The editors of the special issue “Visual methods in the research with plurilingual audiences: multidisciplinary perspectives” talked to her about how she sees the past, present and future of visual methods in research and teaching, across disciplinary fields, and during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Highlights

The term visual can refer to the type data collected for a study, namely, visual data, or possibly combined with other types of data
Graduating from our MA programme and becoming an L2 teacher is a life-long process, and it involves identity work on the part of our students: from learners of English as a foreign language to professionals in the field of teaching English as a lingua franca
We (Sirpa Leppänen, Hannele Dufva and me) started collecting language learning histories or written narratives from our students for two reasons: firstly, to give our students an opportunity to reflect on their own careers as learners of English; and secondly, to do research

Summary

Introduction

Visual methods (or methodologies) are tough to define. The term visual can refer to the type data collected for a study, namely, visual data (for example, drawings, photos, collages, video-clips), or possibly combined with other types of data (such as interviews, classroom observations, language learning histories or biographies, and questionnaires). Visual methods can give participants in studies, be they learners, teachers, and users of more than one language, an alternative way of expressing themselves, in contrast to verbal means, whether written or spoken.

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