Page 83 - Linguistically Diverse Educational Contexts

so that students can acquire independent learning skills during the course. The focus is on meaning making rather than the form of language itself. In order to create such a course, I had to redefine linguistic norms (rigid adherence to linguistic standards) in favour of an educational dialogue in which multiple linguistic variants clash (Lankiewicz, 2013), thus putting the variable pedagogical norm (PMS) at the centre of my activities.
A focal point in the development of this course was to build a sense of value and respect for others and otherness, including greater sensitivity to issues of race, nationality, gender, disability, linguistic diversity, and social problems. These issues are not addressed in the foreign/second language textbooks produced by publishers. My aim was to give the learners catalysts for discussion and a space for active participation in preventing injustice, inequality, and exclusion. Social responsibility was a core element of every module on this course. This is also reflected in the titles of the learning modules: "Cultural biographies", "Narrative account", "Community matters", or "Language variation in sign language".
4.5 Research procedure
As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, a small-scale preliminary in-depth pilot study was carried out in order to gain some preliminary knowledge which could provide the basis for further questions153.It was conducted by asking students from different cultural contexts to complete a Scenario-based Assessment of Learning Experiences questionnaire in an attempt to assess the actualised learning potential of learning materials154from the language course I developed and to establish the relevance of the information obtained155.
The Scenario-based Assessment of Learning Experiences questionnaire is based on a method proposed by Haynes et al. (2009, p. 3)156. It is used to both evaluate and (re-)design learning activities during a course with learners. It helps teachers to understand the results of learning activities and gives insights on how to improve them. In this questionnaire, the students described the learning activities that took place during the course. The format of the questionnaire proposed by the authors is as follows:
• Scenario title – short description of the scenario
• Actor –usually the student
• Setting – a description of the context in which the scenario takes place (e.g. in class or outside
of class)
• Scenario goal – the objective of the interaction with the application being designed
• Scenario narrative – a detailed account of the activity
• Claims analysis – statements of why the scenario is effective or ineffective as a learning
opportunity
The following is the English language questionnaire adapted for this preliminary study, which was given to students after classes:
153 Nowak, 2007, p. 59.
154Bundsgaard & Thomas, 2011, pp. 31–44.
155 The research was conducted in early 2021 during a remotely conducted class. 156https://www.researchgate.net/publication/224088814_Scenario- based_assessment_of_learning_experiences
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