When: June 11, 2021, 9:00 am - Friday

Where: Ezell 207

Session 6

Session Abstract

As a uniquely human trait, language enables people to understand and create an infinite number of sentences that have never been before. This creative aspect of language is key to building relationships between individuals, bridges between cultures, and partnerships across various academic disciplines. Linguistics, the scientific study of language, is a highly interdisciplinary field that spans research topics and methods from natural and social sciences to humanities. This session includes papers from various areas of linguistics and related disciplines that explore the relationship between language study and the building of a more connected and livable world.

 

Paper Abstracts

Katrina J. Olson, Vanderbilt University, “Coming Together: How Language Shapes Worship’s Collective Imagination”

This paper will demonstrate how liturgical language shapes worship’s collective embodied imagination by applying a model of coorientation. This model draws on George Herbert Mead’s social developmental theory and Theodore Newcomb’s linguistic theory to bring an interdisciplinary eye to the dynamics present in preaching and worship. This type of critical analysis empowers ministry leaders to examine and adjust the language of worship for the purposes of offering a wider space for a more diverse audience and challenging worshippers to engage beyond their boundaries with a greater empathetic depth.

 

Olga Pahom, Lubbock Christian University, “Establishing Connections through Storytelling: A Conversation Analysis Approach to Bilingual Couples’ Interaction”

This presentation analyzes the role of gender in bilingual couples’ conversational storytelling practices. Data collected from 15 participating Spanish-English couples reveals that the participating men tell more first stories than the women, and that their stories differ in terms of the launching, the telling, and the function of the narratives in the conversational context. The presentation highlights both the differences revealed in the data, as well as the collaborative strategies used by both genders during the launching and telling of the first story, suggesting that storytelling is a venue for both cross-gender collaboration and gendered self-expression.

 

Abraham Mata, Lubbock Christian University, “Rethinking Language Teaching Practices in the Hybrid L2 Classroom: Lessons from Beginning and Intermediate Spanish Courses in the Texas Learning Consortium”

Over the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the format of L2 classes, challenging instructors to reevaluate teaching practices in face-to-face, hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous environments. Using Van Patten’s definitions of structured input and output, this presentation evaluates the pedagogical practices in face-to-face and distance-learning Spanish courses at Lubbock Christian University and the Texas Learning Consortium (a inter-institutional partnership between LCU, Schreiner, Texas Wesleyan, Texas Lutheran, and Concordia University). Instructors who attend this presentation will enrich their pedagogical repertoire with practical skills to bridge the technological divide between the language acquisition process and L2 learners in new classroom formats.

 

Carole Carroll, Lubbock Christian University, “The Best of Both Worlds: Online Curriculum in an Onsite Course”

When Apple introduced the first iPad and the corresponding App Store, an opportunity arose for language teachers that had never seemed possible before: a fully online curriculum that could be utilized successfully in a traditional, onsite course without the need for a computer lab. Such an opportunity can provide students with a way to learn a new language that feels organic and more readily connects with natural language acquisition particularly in access to the culture from which a language evolves.  This presentation offers my personal experience as well as current data to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using online educational curriculum and personal, electronic media in onsite classroom language instruction.

Speakers

Olga Pahom, Lubbock Christian University, Convener

• Katrina J. Olson, Vanderbilt University, “Coming Together: How Language Shapes Worship’s Collective Imagination”
• Olga Pahom, Lubbock Christian University, “Establishing Connections through Storytelling: A Conversation Analysis Approach to Bilingual Couples’ Interaction”
• Abraham Mata, Lubbock Christian University, “Rethinking Language Teaching Practices in the Hybrid L2 Classroom: Lessons from Beginning and Intermediate Spanish Courses in the Texas Learning Consortium”
• Carole Carroll, Lubbock Christian University, “The Best of Both Worlds: Online Curriculum in an Onsite Course”