York's Hidden Stories

This book explores the mechanics of storytelling within a study aimed at focusing on a 'hidden' population of migrants in the city of York, UK. Taking applied linguistics to mean the consideration of real-world 'problems' as identified by a 'client', in which the use of (and beliefs about) language is a significant component, the authors describe the benefits and challenges of working in a partnership with a community organisation. With project participants from Africa, Europe, Asia and South and Central America who had lived in York between two and fifty years, the study considers the co-construction of meaning in interviews from a range of practical and theoretical perspectives. The book will be of interest to students, academic researchers and community project leaders who are interested in migration stories and interviews as a method of data collection.

Explores an applied linguistic project from conception to completion Exemplifies the difficulties and affordances of academic research that aims to make a positive impact on local communities Provides recommendations for community projects that aim to explore migration stories, particularly in towns and cities where these populations are somewhat invisible

Autorentext

Rachel Wicaksono is Associate Professor and Head of the School of Education, Language and Psychology at York St John University, UK.Dasha Zhurauskaya was awarded a Master's by Research from the University of Leeds after completing a BA (Hons) in English Language and Linguistics at York St John University, UK.

Inhalt
Chapter 1: Interviews: Perspectives from Applied Linguistics.- Chapter 2: Community Projects and Hidden Stories.- Chapter 3: Methodology.- Chapter 4: Analysis and Discussion.- Chapter 5: Conclusions.