Douglas Fir Group Research Articles

An asymmetrical partnership: The shifting onus of Hmong heritage language teaching from families to dual‐language programs

AbstractFramed by family language policy (FLP), in conjunction with the Douglas Fir Group's ecological transdisciplinary framework for second language acquisition, this multiple case study investigates the FLPs of two Hmong–American families in relation to a Hmong–English dual‐language program (DLP) where their children are enrolled. Interviews, artifacts, and family‐recorded interactions were utilized to get a full understanding of what factors at the different levels of interaction shaped their FLP. The findings reveal that both sets of parents perceived the relationship between the home and school as a partnership for their children's heritage language development, with the school taking on the onus for Hmong literacy. This resulted in both families’ more secondary role and, thus, home language practices that merely supplement the school content. Importantly, while both sets of parents held similar beliefs regarding the role of the DLP in heritage language maintenance, it was their beliefs in the value of Hmong that led to the different FLPs between the families. The article concludes with limitations and implications for schools interested in wanting to better serve their heritage language learners and families.

Racialised identities of multilingual teachers: stories, experiences and agentic action of Indonesian teachers in Australian schools

ABSTRACT In a context of increasing deficit discourses about multiculturalism and multilingualism, this study examined the racialised identities of multilingual Indonesian teachers in secondary schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Informed by the Douglas Fir Group Framework (2016), the study unpacked teachers’ socio-cultural, and linguistic trajectories in schools to understand the ways in which they navigate, negotiate, and resist their racialised identities at micro, meso, and macro levels of activity. Through semi-structured interviews with six Indonesian teachers teaching Bahasa Indonesia in NSW schools, the study focused on three broad dimensions, namely: (i) teachers’ perceived racialised identities in connection with their students and colleagues in schools (micro); (ii) the perceived institutional practices that reproduce racialisation and marginalisation (meso); and (iii) the broader societal factors that contribute to ‘self’ and ‘other’ racialisation (macro). Thematic analysis of the interview data reveal that teachers identify systemic ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ that essentialise their racialised identities, Additionally, the racialisation of Indonesian language teachers in broader societal contexts is influenced by systemic factors, including language policies and institutional structures. Findings suggest that despite the pervasive forces which perpetuate monolithic thinking in schools, teachers engage in agentic action that seeks to resist and overcome their racialised identities.

Investigating Mixed Methods Research in Applied Linguistics: Methodological Avoidance and Possible Barriers in the Field

The field of applied linguistics is becoming increasingly transdisciplinary as recognition for the need to approach empirical questions from a variety of epistemological and theoretical perspectives grows (Douglas Fir Group, 2016). One methodological approach that holds promise for advancing sophisticated inquiry into complex issues of applied linguistics is mixed methods research (MMR); however, studies adopting MMR to its fullest potential remain infrequent. Employing an exploratory sequential mixed methods design that includes a focus group and survey questionnaire, this empirical study investigates the internal and external factors that may lead applied linguistics researchers to avoid conducting and/or publishing MMR. Integrated analyses revealed that participants’ methodological and publishing decisions were influenced by factors such as their socialization into research practices in graduate school, the pressure to publish, and the considerations of the research journal industry. Implications for future applied linguistics researcher education programs and the impact of the publishing industry on research agendas are discussed.

Multilingualism in digital spaces: utilising telecollaboration to raise multilingual awareness in language teacher education

ABSTRACT Multilingualism is becoming increasingly visible in digital spaces; however, current studies usually evaluate this potential from a qualitative perspective. However, quantitative studies could also contribute to broadening our perspective on multilingualism in digital spaces through telecollaborative projects. Based on Douglas Fir Group’s (2016) theoretical framework on the multifaceted nature of language learning and teaching, 103 teacher candidates participated in an eight-week controlled intervention. Teacher candidates’ progress was measured by multivariate (MANOVA) and several regressions and thematic analyses. Findings revealed that telecollaboration contributed significantly to participants’ plurilingual and pluricultural competence as well as crosslinguistic awareness. Students with higher crosslinguistic awareness and motivation also had higher plurilingual and pluricultural competence and their development during this process was also manifested through their reflections as 1) emerging multilingual awareness, 2) identity investment, and 3) technology and the multilingual turn. Considering the significant gains during the project, we provided several implications for including telecollaboration in the language teacher education curriculum.

Complex Dynamic Systems Theory in Second Language Learning and Teaching: A Textometric Review from 2008 to 2022

Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) has significantly reshaped our understanding of second language learning and teaching across the micro, meso, and macro levels for several decades since its systematic introduction by Larsen-Freeman and Cameron (2008). This study conducts a comprehensive review of empirical research on second language learning and teaching within the framework of CDST from 2008 to 2022. Textometric analysis, a computer-supported qualitative method for textual analysis, was employed to conduct the review by using the IRAMUTEQ software. A total of 198 publications were identified, leading to the emergence of three prominent research themes: research on the language system, research on the second language learner and learning, and research on the second language teacher and teaching. The chronological trends and distinguishing features of the three research themes were discussed against a mainstream model of language learning and teaching at the micro, meso, and macro levels (The Douglas Fir Group, 2016). The findings of this review hold the potential for enlightening future research endeavors in this field.

Motivoimalla monikieliseksi maailmankansalaiseksi

This article reviews one of the key concepts involved in the learning and teaching of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL), namely, motivation. The article attempts to define motivation and other closely related terminology and outlines developments in research on the issue over the past few decades by summarizing empirical research carried out in Finland and elsewhere. The article draws on the framework of the Douglas Fir Group (2016), and thus, motivation is approached from a variety of starting points: individuals, groups of people, and society, or the concept is viewed from micro, meso and macro levels of society. The article concludes by discussing some practical applications and indicating a need for further education of those involved in MFL teaching to ensure their agency in classrooms and to empower them in pursuing their professional careers.

Kielitaidon arviointi koulussa

While assessment is related to all levels of the Douglas Fir Group’s (2016 hereinafter, DFG) framework, in this paper, we focus on language assessment in schools, that is, institutional meso level. However, we will also discuss micro (individual) and macro (societal) levels of the framework. We will discuss school classroom assessment focusing on four themes: (1) the understanding of quality of assessment in formal education, (2) assessment literacy required from teachers, (3) technology in assessment, and (4) challenges and opportunities that multilingualism in society and schools brings for assessment. We will also discuss future developments in Finnish classroom assessment research and practice, or indeed, a combination of the two.

Bilingual heritage language learning in China: Applying the Douglas Fir Group's transdisciplinary framework

AbstractThrough the application of the Douglas Fir Group's transdisciplinary framework, this study investigated how three levels of mutually dependent influence (i.e., the micro level of social action and interaction, meso level of sociocultural institutions and communities, and macro level of ideological structures) operate across time and space to shape a bilingual heritage language learner's study‐abroad (SA) experiences. Data were collected from standardized proficiency tests; language contact profiles; pre‐ and midprogram surveys; and interviews with the learner, classroom instructors, tutor–roommates, host family members, and the director of the SA program. The transdisciplinary framework enabled this study to expand its research focus and analytical scope, demonstrating that language learning was mediated by the three levels of mutually dependent influence in a dynamic and complex manner. This study has generated a richer understanding of multilayered complexity in heritage language development, advanced bilingual performance and proficiency, and bilingualism in language education and society.

Multilingualism and language teacher education

In this paper, we present the increasingly complex nature of language teaching in a multilingual world and discuss the implications for language teacher education programs. We then draw on the Douglas Fir Group framework to develop a roadmap for language teacher education and share our views on how research scholarships can provide the critical disciplinary knowledge foundation for language teacher education. We hope that the journal System remains a leading platform for disseminating crucial research that helps to prepare language teachers for the complex task of teaching in a multilingual world.

Teaching English in the Muslim World against the Backdrop of 9/11 and Resurgent Nationalism: A Case Study of Bangladeshi ELT

AbstractThis article examines English language teaching (ELT) policy, textbooks, and pedagogy in the neo‐nationalist era that followed 9/11 in Muslim‐majority Bangladesh. Informed by the Douglas Fir Group's transdisciplinary framework of second language learning, the examination substantiates the ideologies of economization, de‐Islamization and awamization, which coalesce into the overarching ideology of secularization of ELT as a response to the global war on terror and the rise of neo‐nationalism in South Asia. This secular response to forces and developments in global, regional, and local contexts marks the distinctiveness of Bangladeshi ELT compared with other Muslim societies, which have sought to develop students' awareness of religious and cultural values while teaching English. The secularization of ELT can be explained by the rise of Hindutva nationalism in India and the latter's influence on the ruling Bangladesh Awami League government which has been in power for over 14 years. The article attests to the complex, multilayered ELT ideology shaped by local, regional, and global forces and interests, suggesting the formation of a national/social imaginary that seeks alliance with secular Muslims and non‐Muslim communities at home and in the region and excludes practicing Muslims in both contexts.

Sustaining Critical Approaches to Translanguaging in Education: A Contextual Framework

AbstractTranslanguaging remains a timely and important topic in bi/multilingual education. The most recent turn in translanguaging scholarship involves attention to translanguaging in context in response to critiques of translanguaging as a universally empowering educational practice. In this paper, seven early career translanguaging scholars propose a framework for researching translanguaging “in context,” drawing on the Douglas Fir Group's (2016) transdisciplinary framework for language acquisition. Examining translanguaging in context entails paying attention to who in a classroom wields power, as a result of their greater proficiency in societally valued languages, their more “standard” ways of speaking these languages, their greater familiarity with academic literacies valued at school, and/or their more “legitimate” forms of translanguaging. In our framework for researching translanguaging in context, we propose three principles. The first principle is obvious: (1) not to do so apolitically. The other two principles describe a synergy between ethnographic research and teacher‐researcher collaborative research: (2) ethnographic research can assess macro‐level language ideologies and enacted language hegemonies at the micro‐ and meso levels, and (3) teacher‐researcher collaborations must create and sustain inclusive, equitable classroom social orders and alternative academic norms different from the ones documented to occur in context if left by chance.

Critical Literature Review on Teaching Chinese as a World Language in the Context of Globalization

Using perspectives on language and language learning in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), including the traditional cognitive orientation, sociocultural theory orientation, and critical theoretical orientation as theoretical frameworks, this study critically analyzes 78 papers published from 2014 to 2020 in Chinese as a Second Language—The Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, USA (CSL), a leading journal that is devoted exclusively to the study of Chinese language, culture, and pedagogy. This study investigates how the teaching and learning of Chinese language and culture has been conceptualized and enacted in the field of SLA and explores factors that contributed to frustration, dissatisfaction, or criticisms in this field (e.g., Lantolf and Genung, 2002; Li and Duff, 2008, 2018; Thorne, 2005). Additionally, this study raises awareness of the value of sociocultural and critical perspectives on language teaching and learning (e.g., Douglas Fir Group, 2016; Fairclough, 1992; Halliday and Hasan, 1985; New London Group, 1996; Vygotsky, 1978), suggesting more critical and sociocultural-oriented research to support learning Chinese as a world language in the context of globalization.

Emotional tensions as rewards: An emerging teacher leader's identity construction in EFL textbook development

Textbook development plays an important role in teacher development and educational reforms. Although research has examined how textbook creation may afford teacher identity (re)formation, attention has rarely been given to how this process informs leadership identity construction, especially in times of educational change when leaders often serve dual roles: the role of seeking new teacher identity construction and the role of leader to guarantee the success of textbook development and thus the reform. The construction of both roles may involve great efforts to manage challenges and tensions encountered during the textbook creation process. Grounded in the Douglas Fir Group's (2016) framework of multilayered complexity of language development and situated in a Chinese higher education context, this 3‐year longitudinal case study examined how Gee, a newcomer in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teaching who also led the reform team, formed her identities as both an EAP teacher and a reform leader through her active tension engagement with an EAP textbook development process. Through Gee's narrations, we found that her emotional tensions were negotiated as a rewarding agentive resource for textbook development, from which she also learned to build her interactively co‐reinforcing EAP teacher and reform leader identities.

Plurilingual practice in language teacher education

Abstract Despite decades of research supporting the pedagogic value of learners’ plurilingual resources to their linguistic and academic development, pre-service teachers frequently arrive at university inculcated in ‘target language only’ practices underpinned by monoglossic ideologies. The challenge for teacher education is to productively disrupt quotidian beliefs about language beliefs and prompt reconsideration of future classroom practices. Drawing on the work of the Douglas Fir Group (2016), this paper explores the identities, beliefs and values of two student-teachers as they emerged over the length of an innovative English-German pedagogic project on plurilingualism. The project involved German student-teachers developing a language portrait project for Grade 6 students; student-teachers using project data for undergraduate assignments; and English MA students interviewing young learners about their language portraits via videoconference. The videoconference provided young learners further opportunities to use their plurilingual resources and MA students with data for assignments on identity and investment. Working with DFG’s framework (2016), we examine the interplay of the meso- and macro-dimensions of the larger project’s design and the sometimes contradictory indexing of values and identities within and across activities. Analysis reveals that design choices sometimes unintentionally reinforced linguistic ideologies inconsistent with the project’s objectives, though these conflicts also led student-teachers to unexpected insights. We close with personal reflections on the implications of the first iteration of this design-based research project for the advancement of plurilingual pedagogies in teacher education.

Towards multilingual turn in language classes: plurilingual awareness as an indicator of intercultural communicative competence

ABSTRACT Multilingualism research has predominantly focused on describing the various factors behind multilingual individuals’ beliefs and practices in language learning and teaching. However, language and culture are intrinsically related and how intercultural communicative competence can contribute to this alliance remains relatively unknown. To address this research gap, the current study examined the relationship between plurilingual awareness and intercultural communicative competence together with their experiences in language classrooms. The study was based on Douglas Fir Group’s (2016. A transdisciplinary framework for SLA in a multilingual world. Modern Language Journal, 100(Supplement 2016), 19–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12301) framework and Deardorff’s (2006. Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241–266) process orientation model, with 265 EFL teacher (pre-service and in-service) participants. In this mixed-method study, data were analysed using several multiple regressions and thematic analyses. Findings indicate that plurilingual awareness is a significant predictor of the relationship between language and culture, and individuals with higher plurilingual awareness have higher intercultural communicative competence. Classroom practices yielded complementary results manifested through a) translanguaging as a motivational practice, b) coping with intercultural tensions, and c) technology in multilingual classrooms. This study has several implications for the multilingual turn in language learning and teaching.

Uplift capacity evaluation of light-framed wood structure’s roof-to-wall connections

The load-displacement curves of six types of roof-to-wall connection joints were obtained through uplift experiments, while the mechanical properties of each type of joint were compared and analyzed, and the applicability of each joint was verified by the Foschi load-displacement curve model simulation. The specimens were made of three kinds of wood (Pinus sylvestris (PS), Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF), and Douglas fir (DF)) and two different metal connectors (A-type and B-type), and then the monotonic pullout tests were conducted on each specimen. The failure modes of each group of specimens were analyzed, and the characteristic values analysis method was used to analyze and compare the characteristic values of the load-displacement curves of each specimen, including six characteristic values: maximum load, yield load, deformation capacity, energy dissipation capacity, ductility ratio, and initial stiffness. The results showed that the load capacity of TA group (specimens with A-type metal connectors) was much greater than that of TB group (specimens with B-type metal connectors). The specimens made of DF had the best mechanical performance, but the specimens of DF group were prone to brittle failure. Finally, the fitting parameters of the Foschi model applicable to such joints were obtained.

The Multilayered Nature of Becoming Nonnative‐English‐Speaking Teacher

AbstractThis paper draws on an ethnographic research that examined Taiwanese international students’ identity movements before, during, and after their overseas education in Australia. Previous studies on nonnative‐English‐speaking teachers (NNESTs) studying TESOL in the West focused on the formation of their professional identity before and after the completion of TESOL programs abroad. This study pioneers a model which examines NNESTs’ multilayered complexity of identity formation by drawing on the Douglas Fir Group’s (2016) multifaceted nature of language learning and teaching and Wenger’s (1998) identification and negotiability of identity formation to analyze one Taiwanese student’s developing NNEST identity. We found the participant’s social life experiences reshaped her professional identity as NNEST. The user experience as a nonnative English speaker prompted her critical reflection on the notion of functional English user and teaching. This notion, shaped by social aspects of learning, was later demonstrated in her teaching practice. The study suggests: 1) that future research includes NNESTs’ social aspects of experiences as nonnative English users; 2) that SLA researchers for TESOL programs continue analyzing NNESTs’ deficit discourse with transdisciplinary approach.

Italian Language Learning and Student Motivation at Australian Universities

ABSTRACT Motivation in learning languages other than English has not being extensively explored. This appears to be particularly true for Italian at university level, for which few studies in the motivational literature can be found. It is particularly relevant then that, in this study, we focus on understanding the reasons why university students in Australia choose to learn Italian, and what motivates them over time once they have begun. In order to answer these questions, we collected qualitative data via two rounds of questionnaires. To facilitate our analysis, a three-level model (i.e. micro, meso, and macro) was adopted, following Gayton and the Douglas Fir Group. The levels were linked to three principal component factors with each one bringing together multiple motivational elements, which changed over time highlighting the dynamic nature of motivation for learners of Italian.

Essentials of SLA for L2 Teachers: A Transdisciplinary Framework

In celebration of the Modern Language Journal’s 100th anniversary in 2016, a special issue of the journal was published in which various contributors reflected on topics related to the evolution and current state of research and teaching in second language acquisition (SLA). Within this special issue, an article appeared by the Douglas Fir Group (2016), an ensemble of 15 scholars who adopt different theoretical orientations in their approaches to exploring facets of SLA. In their piece, the Douglas Fir Group (DFG) stressed the need for increased interdisciplinary approaches for understanding the complex, multifaceted nature of L2 learning. In doing so, they drew upon their respective backgrounds in order to propose a transdisciplinary framework that included different (yet interconnected) dimensions of language learning (e.g. social, ideological, emotional) with the aim of guiding future L2 scholarship and pedagogy. Since its publication, the DFG’s transdisciplinary framework has garnered much attention within the sphere of L2 research. However, the framework has to date had less impact within the sphere of L2 pedagogy, despite its potential to do so (see Gao 2019).

University Students’ Demotivation in Learning Second Languages

Prior studies report a tendency of university students in Australia to quit their beginner level second language (L2) courses at an early stage (Martín et al., 2016; Nettelbeck et al., 2007). Demotivational patterns are meta-analyzed to understand what hampers the interest in learning French, German, Italian and Spanish of continuing students, discontinuing students, and quitters over one year of studies at Australian universities. Such a distinction across categories of students is offered in line with Martín et al.’s (2016) research. Demotivators are structured on three levels of analysis drawing on Gruba et al.’s (2016) and The Douglas Fir Group’s (2016) frameworks, which encapsulate three levels of analysis, specifically micro, meso and macro. Findings suggest that beginner L2 students in Australia are demotivated by all three levels of analysis in very dynamic and interchangeable ways. Students were found to concurrently experience very different degrees of demotivation over time.