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Wei, Li & Moyer, Melissa G. (Eds.), (2008). The
Blackwell Guide to Research Methods in Bilingualism and
Multilingualism. Malden, MA: Blackwell
Pp. 403 ISBN 978-1-4051-7900-3 |
University of British Columbia
June 25, 2009
The expressed purpose of this Blackwell guide to research
methods in bilingualism and multilingualism is to introduce key
concepts, approaches, methods and tools for collecting and
analyzing research data. It also provides some information on
locating research resources, choosing feasible topics for
research projects, making conference presentations and publishing
in journals (pp. xvi-xvii). The text is divided into three main
sections with each covering a different aspect of the research
process. Unfortunately, space constraints preclude commentary on
the majority of the 22 chapters in this volume. Instead, one
chapter from each of the smaller sections and two from the main
methods section of the text have been chosen for summary and
commentary based on their representativeness of the overall
quality of the volume and the noteworthy issues that they
raised.
The first part of the text Wei and Moyer present the major
theoretical traditions in the field of bilingualism and
multilingualism (e.g., linguistic, psycholinguistic and
sociolinguistic) as well as some of the more prominent questions
that are currently being addressed. In Chapter 1, Wei deals with
the major research perspectives on bilingualism and
multilingualism. He introduces the chapter with a series of
questions that touch on a prevailing public concern over the
possible negative effects of bilingualism and multilingualism as
well as what defines an individual or society as bilingual or
multilingual. From there, he moves on to outline the three
general research perspectives on bilingualism and multilingualism
which are linguistic, psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic. In
his account, he covers the central questions that are within each
perspective and gives a brief review of the research that has
tried to answer those questions. In the final section, Wei
engages in a discussion of transdisciplinary in which he notes
the main challenges in what he sees as a research area with a lot
of potential. Here he remarks on problems with mutually
incomprehensible jargon and favored research methods. He then
finishes with the thought-provoking comments that with doing
research in this largely uncharted area we will be generating
unconventional findings and we will often have to have to develop
our own tools and methods as we go.
In the second section of the book, the focus shifts from
theoretical questions to methodological concerns. The numerous
authors in this part detail a wide number of research methods and
the data collection tools and analysis techniques that are used
in each. The first few contributions to this section explore
general preliminary questions that a beginner researcher would
have such as identifying different types of
bilingual/multilingual data and sources of these data, guidance
on selecting participants and sites for collecting data. The
effect of the researchers’ own identity on their research
and some ethical considerations are also addressed
here.
Turell and Moyer’s primary aims in chapter 11 are to
tell the novice researcher how to transcribe and analyze
multilingual data (p. 193) and to reflect on critical issues
related to multilingual transcription (p. 192). Their first aim
is achieved through their cogent discussion of many of the
practical considerations in transcribing bilingual data. They
cover topics such as recognizing the various analytic units in
transcription (e.g., phonemes and morphemes), tagging (using
numbers to label the languages in transcription), and coding data
(highlighting particular features of the transcription e.g.,
grammatical or translation). Their discussion of critical issues
includes the observation that there is not one
“correct” transcription method (p. 192) and that the
form that transcribed data takes depends on the research
questions being asked. From this, they insightfully conclude that
“the outcome of rendering oral language into written form
is not a neutral process of representation.” (p.
193)
However, while they address the issue of transcription as a
political act they neglect to discuss its implications. The point
should be raised that “all transcripts take sides, enabling
certain interpretations, advancing particular interests, [and]
favoring specific speakers.” (Bucholtz 2000, p. 1440) In
fact, it is crucial to inform novice researchers that
“[researchers’ transcription] choices are usually
guided by their ‘scholarly
predisposition’…which frequently operates below the
level of consciousness” (p. 1446) and that the decisions
that we make as we transcribe a piece of text will largely
determine how readers will understand the meaning of that text
(Bucholtz 2000, p. 1446) and they way they see the people
portrayed in the text.
Chapter 18 was a piece by Pavlenko on narrative analysis. This
chapter is a good example of a recent development in qualitative
methodology applied to bilingual research. In it, Pavlenko
outlines the process of data collection and analysis in using
fictional and personal narratives for the study of bilingualism.
In her treatment of fictional narratives, she reflects on the use
of non-verbal stimuli such as cartoons, picture books and short
films to elicit fictional narratives that allow the researcher to
hold the semantic referent constant (i.e., the visual prompt that
is used to generate data does not change). She also stresses the
importance of thoughtful choice of prompts that suit the
participants (e.g., according to age and cultural
appropriateness) and elicit the type of data that the researcher
wants (p. 312). She then moved to a discussion of personal
narratives. Among the many insightful points that she makes, one
particularly sound warning was that autobiographical narratives
should not be treated as a collection of facts but instead as a
“discursive construction” (p. 322) This is very much
in accord with Polkinghorne’s (2007) observation that
storied texts are more concerned with the narrator’s
personal meaning than historical facts and events (p. 479). This
is a valuable caution for the research novice.
In the final section of the book, the editors provide advice
on locating research resources, presenting and publishing the
findings. An especially stimulating chapter in this section is
about potential research project ideas. In it, Wei and Moyer
state that their aim is to help students and new researchers
think more creatively and make connections between their research
interests and areas of wider concern. This section addressed the
four broad themes of change, migration, conflict and children and
provided sample research questions that could be asked from each
of the four disciplinary perspectives of linguistics,
psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and education. This chapter,
with its transdisciplinary research prompts, generates exciting
possibilities from their trans-disciplinary research prompts. One
particularly compelling suggestion was about the emotional links
that migrants develop with their various languages. This made me
curious about the role that emotion plays in bilingual
reading.
As one would expect, the individual chapters in this volume
were generally clearly written, informative and comprehensive.
Taking a wider view of the book, however, allows for more
discussion of its strengths and limitations. The significant
advantage of this volume was that it assembled a team of leading
international experts who each wrote on the methodology of their
expertise. This of course contrasts with other language learning
research methods books which are primarily written by one or two
authors. One real benefit of this format is that these experts
draw on their wealth of research experience to include many
helpful illustrations of research principles using a variety of
studies that they have conducted themselves. A second significant
benefit that many contributors took advantage of was their
advantageous position to effectively point out the pitfalls and
shortcomings involved in conducting research using their method.
This advice was more credible because the researchers giving it
acquired their wisdom through long experience with actually using
the method. This is not often the case with most other
introductory language learning research methods
books.
A final positive feature of the book was that it included many
forward-looking areas of research from a wide variety of sources
such as imaging technologies, social network analysis, critical
discourse analysis and media studies. This is quite beneficial
for graduate students as it demonstrates the ongoing evolution of
the field. A shortcoming of many of the textbooks on research
methods for language learning is that they generally tend to
cover the traditional methods that are introduced in most
introductory undergraduate methods classes but they do not
incorporate more recent developments in methodology. Thus, they
give the impression to the newcomer that methodology is rather
static. By contrast, this text presents research as still
developing.
The limitations of this book relate more to what is omitted
than what is included. For instance, one significant oversight
was that all of the research and examples in the book are based
on spoken language. There is actually very little mention of
biliteracy research. This was somewhat unexpected because issues
of bilingualism, literacy and academic performance are so tightly
bound together in much public discourse at present (Cummins 2008;
Bialystok 2007). Although researchers with a strong interest in
literacy might expect to find at least some reference to it in
this book they will be disappointed as although there were
occasional hints throughout, it was largely
overlooked.
Secondly, since this text claims to be interdisciplinary, it
was surprising that there was no mention of indigenous research
methods or their unique features such as their emphasis on
respect, community healing and infusion with indigenous
spirituality (Tuhiwai-Smith 1999). The lack of a chapter on forms
of indigenous research or the fact that it does not appear that
any indigenous scholars have contributed to the volume is in my
view a noteworthy oversight. I say this in light of the current
struggles on the part of indigenous peoples within the academe to
have their epistemologies and ontologies recognized as being
legitimate (Swadener & Mutua 2004). Wei mentions that
“academic researchers working in the field of bilingualism
and multilingualism …make significant contributions to
sociopolitical debates about the world we are living in
today.” (p. 17) (emphasis mine) Given this sentiment,
then actions must be taken to correct this omission. Otherwise,
what does the act of not including aboriginal scholars’
voices in an interdisciplinary volume such as this
say?
On the whole, the strengths of the volume are its varied cast
of contributors and the forward-looking methods it examines. Its
limitations are that it overlooks biliteracy research and
neglects to mention indigenous research methods. According to the
authors, this text is aimed at advanced undergraduate and
graduate students from a wide variety of disciplines that relate
to bilingualism or language teaching and learning. This is
probably the group that would find it most useful. Despite the
oversights discussed above, this volume does offer an informative
and broad introduction to the field largely owing to its diverse
and distinguished authorship.
References
Bialystok, E. (2007). Acquisition of literacy in bilingual
children: A framework for research. Language Learning, 57,
45-77.
Bucholtz, M. (2000). The politics of transcription. Journal
of Pragmatics, 32, 1439-1465.
Cummins, J. (2008). Teaching for transfer: Challenging the two
solitudes assumption in bilingual education. In J. Cummins &
N. H. Hornberger (Eds.), Encyclopedia of language and
education, 2nd edition, volume 5: Bilingual education. (pp.
65-75). New York: Springer.
Polkinghorne, D. E. (2007). Validity issues in narrative
research. Qualitative Inquiry, 13, 471-486.
Swadener, B. B. & Mutua, K. (2004). Decolonizing research
in cross-cultural contexts. In Mutua, K.N. & Swadener, B.B.
(Eds.), Decolonizing research in cross-cultural contexts:
Critical personal narratives. Albany, NY: State University of
New York Press.
Tuhiwai-Smith, L. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies:
Research and indigenous peoples. New York: Palgrave
Macmillan.
About the Reviewer
Dennis Murphy Odo
University of British Columbia
Dennis Murphy Odo is a first-year PhD student in the faculty
of language and literacy education at the University of British
Columbia. His research interests are in the areas of content area
literacy and secondary school ESL students.
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