1 Implications of undertaking research bi-/multi-lingually: Extra resources and responsibilities Xiaowei Zhou (Vivien) University of Manchester

2 My PhD research Research focus on the academic acculturation of students from mainland China on an Economics-related Masters programme at Manchester. Explored via a mixture of weekly ‘mood data’ and their Chinese-medium narratives of ‘initial academic experiences’ as told at four points throughout their year-long MA programme. One finding was that the intensity of the storied acculturative experiences reduced over time.

3 Developing a “wait-and-why” habit The context: developing my researcher competence Masters research: Action only Doctoral research training: RationaleAction Instinct or Action Reflection Rationale / Justification Finetuned action Further reflection Doctoral research:

4 Supervision process Face-to-face tutorials One day, Richard commented … Why did I take notes bilingually? “Summary reports” of the tutorials

5 My study: contextualisation The phenomenon: influx of Chinese students to the UK since the late 1990s Social responses in China ? (e.g. “ 留学垃圾 ” / “Study-abroad trash” ?!) Social responses in the UK? (e.g. “a source of revenue”, “a threat to the UK HE” ?) Chinese students’ responses to their Masters education in the UK? (e.g. “short and valuable”, “I cannot learn much from the short course” ?)

6 My study: conceptualisation Started with the English-medium literature on culture, intercultural communication, acculturation, and Chinese students’ academic experiences abroad Why English-medium literature only? Looked for Mandarin-medium literature on 文 化，跨文化交际，文化涵化，中国留学生的留学经 历（学业方面） DisappointmentDelight Ongoing exploration…

7 My study: data generation My instinctive preference: Mandarin Why Mandarin and not English? negotiated with the participants … Outcome: mood data mostly in Mandarin but occasionally in English; narratives generally in Mandarin but with a bilingual element

8 My study: data transcription My instinct: write down whatever I hear (Example: 我觉得在 orientation 整个过程中，最最有趣的一件事情就是有一天老师讲的 teamwork 方面的东西。 I think the most most interesting thing in the whole orientation process is that one day, the laoshi talked about teamwork. Why? Why? Why? … Looked for insights … Established my general principles: working towards “faithful” transcription but making purposeful, systematic, and transparent choices Developed a detailed transcription protocol for my Mandarin data (Modified example: 嗯～我觉得在 orientation 整个整个过程中最最 / 最最有趣的一件 事情就是 / 就是有一天讲到 …… 有一天老师讲的是 teamwork 方面的东西 um ～ i think the most most / most most interesting thing in the whole / whole orientation process is / is one day he talked about... one day the laoshi talked about teamwork)

9 My study: data exploration My instinct: code bilingually Why? Used both linguistic resources and monitored the sources of the categories e.g. 自学 [self learning], from the data 英国硕士的价值 [the value of Masters courses in the UK], from my Mandarin- medium understanding of the broader social context memorisation [N/A], from the literature on Chinese students’ learning practice CogLearn about ACC2 [N/A], from the literature on acculturation Data analysis --- Interpretations --- e.g. Most of my participants seemed to view exam results as being important, whether the exams would be graded or not. One participant found it difficult to understand the varieties of English being spoken in the UK.

10 My study: thesis writing-up Presentational issues: present my data extracts (Transcript? Re-storied text? How much?) and bilingual operations in data analysis to the English readers Translation issues: appropriate for academic purposes e.g. 老师  lecturer, professor, course instructor, academic staff, administrative staff? 复习考试的战线拉太长了，有点扛不住了  ?? Transparency, reflexivity …

11 Conclusion Implications of undertaking research bilingually: extra resources and responsibilities throughout the research process 谢谢 THANK YOU