Towards an ecology of context and communication : negotiating meaning and language education
Year: 1993
Type: dissertation
Abstract: In this thesis I set out to develop a social symbolic approach to context and \ncommunication which goes beyond a code-systemic perspective on language, and one \nof economic exchange in language use. I begin by reviewing relations between \nlinguistics and language teaching, and the dangers to the latter when it becomes preoccupied \nwith linguistic theory and description. I consider the potential of applied \nlinguistics to synthesise key ideas from various language related disciplines in \ndescriptively adequate accounts of communication in social situations. \nIn the remainder of chapter one I examine a number of 'centrifugal' approaches to the \nanalysis of language use, arguing a tendency for them to underestimate the importance \nof social symbolism in communication. \nTaking a range of social symbolic structures and processes in educational contexts as \nthe starting point for 'centripetal' investigations, in chapter two I describe salient \naspects of social symbolism in contexts of communication. These include contrasting \nsocial, educational and economic forces in educational institutions, conceptions of role \nand role relations between students and teachers, and structural symbolic features such \nas dominance and dependency within rites of transition. \nIn chapter three I explore further aspects of social symbolism revealed in \ncommunication, such as identity and risk-taking. I also discuss criteria for developing \nand appraising models of 'an ecology of context and communication'. \nChapter four deals with the notion of negotiating meaning as a key process in social \nencounters, and the influence of social symbolic factors on meaning negotiation in \ndyadic communication. \nHaving explored important dimensions of social symbolism in both context and \ncommunication, along with implications for the negotiation of meaning, I argue the \nvalue of raising awareness of social symbolism in educational processes in the final \nchapter of the thesis. I address ways of incorporating major aspects of social \nsymbolism into language education and discuss a range of issues involved in so doing.
Source: IOE EPrints
Author: Thomas John Simpson
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W180568718