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Problems portraying migrants in Applied Linguistics research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2009

David Block
David Block*
Affiliation:
Institute of Education, University of London, [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper is a very personal attempt to explore the problematics of portraying migrants in Applied Linguistics research. I begin with a discussion of identity, in particular what we might mean when we use the term, and from there I go on to explore its fundamental imprecision through an analysis of a census question about ethnicity. I then consider migration and the problematics of naming migrants in research, first examining an example of my own research and then expanding the discussion to wider issues. I conclude the paper with a brief consideration of the epistemological status of portrayals in research.

Type
Plenary Speeches
Information
Language Teaching , Volume 43 , Issue 4 , October 2010 , pp. 480 - 493
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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