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Taxi Problems

11/11/2014

This first #languagestory comes from my time with U.S.-based learners of Arabic on study abroad in Amman, Jordan in spring 2014.

I already had been interviewing them one-on-one or in groups of two, talking about their experiences in Amman, when the subject of rush-hour traffic came up. Crossing the streets on foot near the University of Jordan, or most places around the city was like playing Frogger.

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What to do when you're trying to hail a taxi, and your taxi is usurped by another? What words do you use to express your frustration? To hail another cab? And then how do you communicate with the driver? It just so happens that one day after school, we all piled into a taxi together.

And this is what happened...

ليش؟ Lesh? Why (English Subtitles) from Jamie Thomas on Vimeo.

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Why #LanguageStory?

11/9/2014

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From Fieldwork to Digital Video Project

A student and her Arabic language instructor work together in Amman, Jordan, 2014.

What is it like to learn another language?

To animate this new language in your expression of self?

What role does language play in our daily lives?

To understand and know the world through language?

Walking around the downtown streets of Amman, Jordan, with learners of Arabic from the U.S., I was hearing their use of colloquial Jordanian Arabic, and observing the development of their friendships with local Jordanians. Sitting at cafes with these students, who were participants in my fieldwork study during Spring 2014, I came to realize that the best way to share with them what I was learning from them, was through video. I've always felt it's not enough to publish a paper on a subject geared toward specialists, if what I aim to do is to share this information with my participants and contribute to their communities.

Looking around the web in early 2014, I began to learn a lot about public ethnography, and how commmunity-oriented field scientists are using video and other means to share what they learn with participants for the betterment of their communities. But on the subject of language, and language learning, I could find no such contributions. Enter #languagestory, my foray into public anthropology, building upon my skills in active interviewing, digital media curation, and video editing.

Project Goals

Using video of interviews and language-focused activity both inside and out of the classroom, I aim to describe how it is to learn new languages and comment on learners' development of an expanded conception of self. The project begins with footage from my fieldwork on Arabic study abroad in Amman, Jordan, and focuses on U.S.-based learners, their goals for learning Arabic, and their challenges in navigating the local community while on study abroad. I use #languagestory to tweet about the ongoing project.

In short, the goals of the #languagestory project:

Produce 4-6 minute video vignettes documenting the experiences of language learners and users.
Relate the joys and challenges of navigating a new community of speakers.
Creatively use video to produce content that connects with language learners and their communities.

I'll keep you updated here on this blog with new videos, commentary, and general additions to the project. Thank you for your visit to this blog!

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#languagestory blog

Taxi Problems

Why #LanguageStory?

From Fieldwork to Digital Video Project

Project Goals

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