By Khatuna Buskivadze, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University
July 26, 2022 at 5:00-6:30 PM Tbilisi Time (9:00 AM EDT)
The present study aimed to investigate the socio- and applied linguistic functions and frequency of lecturers’ language behaviors (code-switching (CS), code-mixing (CM), and translanguaging) in terms of showing lecturers’ social identity in Georgian educational discourse, namely, in teaching Business English (ESP) at the university level. An examination of Georgian discursive peculiarities was a novel addition to this field of research, as there were very few studies focusing on Georgian lecturers’ language behaviors in ESP. Both, quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to better illustrate the functions of using CS, CM, and translanguaging in ESP (lecturers’ recorded lessons (70 hours of ESP). Surprisingly, in contrast to previous studies’ findings, we found that the Georgian and English languages are equally used for informal/formal purposes. Both languages are used to express solidarity in the classroom conversations. The given study is a unique example, in which both, English and Georgian are used as marked/unmarked (“We-code”, “They-code”) choice, while in the previous studies L1 was only considered as “we-code” and a foreign language (English) was only regarded as “they code”. Within 70 hours of recordings (ESP), 120 cases of code-switching, 30 cases of code-mixing, and 5 cases of translanguaging, planned use of L1, were detected, generally used in teaching vocabulary.
Khatuna Buskivadze, recipient of ARISC Small Grant, works as an invited lecturer at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (TSU) and Ilia State University. She gained a BA degree in English Philology at TSU; MA in Methodology of Teaching English at TSU; MA in CLIL and Multilingual Education at the University of Tartu. Currently, as a Ph.D. student, she is studying Sociolinguistics at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. Khatuna has been giving lectures on Sociolinguistics within a framework of the Erasmus+ staff exchange programs in Poland and Estonia. She is an author of several scientific articles.
This talk is organized as a part of ARISC Online Event Series that showcase the work of ARISC fellows. ARISC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, physical or mental disability, medical condition, ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, or status as a covered veteran.