LARC -- Seth McCombie Presentation

How do students understand themselves as study abroad students? When communicating aspects of their study abroad experience, which perceived aspects of their identity (e.g., introvert, extrovert, social, anxious, etc.) do they draw on to account for their study behaviors and preferences? Using conversation analysis (CA) and membership categorization analysis (MCA), this presentation examines how Arabic study abroad students draw on self-categorizations as pre-sequences to narrative tellings. The findings describe how students may initiate a telling by invoking a self-characterization that carries possible context-specific liabilities for their language acquisition. In doing so, they present a complicating action in their telling and create a narrative framing, allowing them to co-construct an identity as strategic and proactive language learners. Seth McCombie will discuss how these findings relate to supporting our students while they are abroad. He also offers suggestions about how eliciting narratives from students can help them navigate personal uncertainty and better understand their potential as lifelong language learners.

4010 JFSB

12:00–12:50 p.m.

• September 17 – Why Don’t Students Like School? & Teaching Skills vs. Teaching Facts (Ch. 1–2)
• October 15 – Why Do Students Forget Lessons but Remember TV? & Why Are Abstract Ideas Hard? (Ch. 3–4)
• November 12 – Is Drilling Worth It? & Thinking Like Experts (Ch. 5–6)
• January 21 – Different Types of Learners & Helping Slow Learners (Ch. 7–8)
• March 4 – Technology & Learning & What About My Mind? + Conclusion (Ch. 9–10)

Book Access: Why Don’t Students Like School? (2nd edition) – EbookCentral link

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