1 Teaching Language and Culture Through Online Ethnographic Explorations Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Re
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Teaching Language and Culture Through Online Ethnographic Explorations Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Hope Marshall Wilson Graduate Program in Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures The Ohio State University 2019 Dissertation Committee Ludmila Isurin, Advisor Leslie Moore Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm 1 Copyrighted by Hope Marshall Wilson 2019 2 Abstract Becoming a competent speaker of a language requires learning how culture and language interact with one another. Language, broadly speaking, can be used to help project a desired identity. A competent L2 user can use language to bring about desired social effects, just as an L1 speaker can. For example, a competent L2 speaker of English should be able to use politeness to avoid disrupting commercial transactions; they should be able to recognize and use sarcasm to align with others; they should be able to vary their speech according to the level of formality of a given setting. Generally speaking, however, these aspects of linguistic competence are not taught in the language classroom. Instead, it is generally assumed that this knowledge will be acquired when a language user is immersed in the target-language context. Yet this is a problematic assumption for a number of reasons: first, prior studies have indicated that time spent in the target culture is not necessarily tied to higher sociolinguistic competence; and second, quite often, only a privileged minority have access to the target culture. This dissertation tests an educational intervention designed to teach Russian L2 learners about culturally-situated aspects of language in a way that is broadly accessible. Students of Russian were taken through an online program that taught them about the intersection of culture and language; this program also trained them in ethnographic ii methods. After this, the participants carried out small-scale ethnographic explorations of an online Russian-using speech community. At various points, quantitative and qualitative measurements of their intercultural competence and sociolinguistic competence were taken. Participation in this program was correlated with an increase in intercultural competence and sociolinguistic competence. Qualitative data showed that participants saw particularly strong development in certain aspects of their competence, while other areas lagged behind. However, while these results indicate that it is possible to design an educational program that allows students to learn about language and culture online, this program is not and likely cannot be a widely-accessible one: given that participants needed extensive guidance and help throughout their participation in this project, this program likely will always need an instructor to assist the students, and so it likely cannot be scaled beyond the classroom. iii Dedication To everyone who tries to do good in the world iv Acknowledgments If it were allowed, this acknowledgments section would be longer than the dissertation itself. This, then, is a very short list of the people to whom I am impossibly, indelibly indebted. First and foremost, I need to thank my advisor, Ludmila Isurin, who took me on when I was still shaky on my feet and uncertain of my path and gave me a grounding in the field and the academy. Thanks also go to my committee for their feedback and for much more than that: they go to Leslie Moore, the ultimate role model for a woman in academia, who is generous with her time and energy but who won’t take guff from anyone; and to Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm, whose intellectual, theoretical, and methodological rigor have inspired me to constantly challenge myself and my writing. I want to thank Brian Joseph, too, who started me in the program and gave me the grounding to be a linguist. Larysa Stepanova trained me to be a good teacher and provided constant challenge that drove me to improve myself. And Predrag Matejic and Pasha Johnson taught me about the academy beyond academia. Thanks are due, too, to the staff and organizers of the Summer Language Institute at University of Pittsburgh. In particular, Gina Peirce and Katie Mankunyan made this whole dissertation possible: without them, I’d never have been able to collect the data I needed. v I also want to acknowledge my absolutely stellar coworkers at Duolingo, who have been cheering me on while I’ve been finishing this dissertation. I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank all my participants. You truly were the backbone of this study: you were curious, dedicated, hardworking, and inspiring. Thank you all a thousand times for giving me your time and your intellectual energy. And thank you all for your dedication to making the world better. And finally, I want to thank the people who have kept me steady and sane through this whole process. To Ana and Becca, who kept me grounded; to Rachel and James and Ryan, who helped me figure out my place in academia; to Kate, who shared her knowledge and her resources and her time; and to Camila, my best friend in the word. Mom: you showed me the power of words and of humor. Dad: you have always been my inspiration, always, and showed me how to temper my ego with compassion. And to my sister, Chase: thank you for showing me how to grow up; thank you for teaching me how to be a person; thank you for laughing at my jokes, and for giving me jokes to laugh at; and thank you for putting up with me. vi Vita Education 2009 B.A., Russian Haverford College 2013 M.A., Slavic Studies University of Arizona Work Experience 2013–2018 Graduate Teaching Associate/Graduate Fellow The Ohio State University 2019–present Learning Scientist Duolingo Publications Isurin, L. & Wilson, H. (Forthcoming.) First language attrition in bilingual immigrants: Attitude, identity, and emotion. In: G. Schiewer, J. Altarriba, & B.C. Ng (Eds.). Handbook on Language and Emotion. Berlin: De Gruyter. Fields of Study Major Field: Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... v Vita .................................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiii Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1. Culture and Culture Pedagogy ......................................................................... 8 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 8 1.1. Defining “culture” .................................................................................................... 9 1.1.1. Big-C and little-c ............................................................................................. 10 1.1.2. Modernist approaches to culture ..................................................................... 12 1.1.3. Postmodern approaches to culture .................................................................. 13 1.1.4. Language and culture ...................................................................................... 15 1.2. Theoretical approaches to culture pedagogy .......................................................... 18 1.2.1. Perspectives, Practices, and Products ............................................................. 19 1.2.2. The “third space” ............................................................................................ 21 1.2.3. Critical cultural awareness .............................................................................. 22 1.2.4. Paradigms of nationality ................................................................................. 23 1.3 Intercultural competence ......................................................................................... 24 1.3.1. Assessing intercultural competence: General recommendations .................... 33 1.3.2. Assessing intercultural competence: Direct evidence ..................................... 34 1.3.3. Assessing intercultural competence: Indirect evidence .................................. 35 1.4. Training ICC .......................................................................................................... 38 1.5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 40 Chapter 2. Operationalizing languaculture: Sociolinguistic awareness and pragmatic knowledge ......................................................................................................................... 41 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 41 viii 2.1. Interactional competence in the L2 .......................................................................