"We Are Looking to Each Other, Waiting to Understand": An Examination of Spatial Repertoires in Newcomers' Communicative Encounters.
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| Title: | "We Are Looking to Each Other, Waiting to Understand": An Examination of Spatial Repertoires in Newcomers' Communicative Encounters. |
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| Authors: | Bhowmik, Subrata1 sbhowmik@ucalgary.ca, Lenters, Kimberly1, Zaidi, Rahat1, Spring, Erin1, Moura, Gustavo da Cunha1 |
| Source: | Canadian Modern Language Review. May2025, Vol. 81 Issue 2, p109-140. 32p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Communicative competence, *Multilingualism, *Second language acquisition, Linguistic identity, Solidarity |
| Abstract (English): | Research has underlined the importance of communicative competence in order for newcomers to succeed and build resilience in their adopted homeland. Studies on this topic, however, have generally assumed the primacy of linguistic competence as the principal locus of investigation without paying due attention to the nuances of how new immigrants use "spatial repertoires" – interactive assemblages of people, objects, language, and environment – in accomplishing day-to-day communicative goals. Part of a larger project that examined newcomer resilience, this paper reports on the findings drawn from five newcomer families in Canada regarding their assemblage of spatial repertoires to negotiate their communicative needs. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, written artifacts, art-based multimodal activities, field observations, and reflective notes. Using spatial repertoires in multilingual communication as the conceptual framework, we found that conditions that allowed our participants the following affordances were conducive for deployment of spatial repertoires: (a) translations and information mining, (b) translanguaging, (c) identity affirmation, (d) collaboration and solidarity, and (e) integration of semiotic resources. The findings provide insights into how these newcomers demonstrated success in achieving their communicative goals despite various challenges experienced as non-native speakers of English. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Abstract (French): | Selon la recherche, le recours aux compétences communicationnelles par les personnes nouvellement arrivées est gage de réussite et de renforcement de leur capacité d'adaptation dans leur pays d'adoption. Cependant, les études sur la question présupposent généralement le primat des compétences linguistiques, sans prêter une attention suffisante aux nuances qui caractérisent l'utilisation de « répertoires spatiaux » – des assemblages interactifs de personnes, d'objets, de langage et d'environnement, pour atteindre des objectifs communicationnels au quotidien. Cet article, issu d'un projet d'étude plus vaste sur la résilience des personnes nouvellement arrivées, traite de résultats de recherche portant sur les assemblages de répertoires spatiaux de cinq familles récemment immigrées au Canada tandis qu'elles gèrent leurs besoins en matière de communication. La collecte de données s'est faite à partir d'entrevues semi-structurées, d'éléments écrits, d'activités artistiques multimodales, d'observation de terrain et de notes de recherche. Notre approche conceptuelle de répertoires spatiaux en communication plurilingue nous a permis de déterminer les conditions où les participant·e·s trouvent de l'affordance pour déployer leurs répertoires spatiaux : (a) la traduction et l'extraction d'informations, (b) l'approche translangagière, (c) l'affirmation identitaire, (d) la collaboration et la solidarité et (e) l'intégration de ressources sémiotiques. Les résultats offrent des pistes de réflexion pour comprendre comment les personnes nouvellement arrivées réussissent à atteindre leurs objectifs de communication malgré les différents obstacles comme anglophones allophones. Nous concluons l'article avec une discussion sur les implications de ces résultats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Canadian Modern Language Review is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 185235929 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: "We Are Looking to Each Other, Waiting to Understand": An Examination of Spatial Repertoires in Newcomers' Communicative Encounters. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bhowmik%2C+Subrata%22">Bhowmik, Subrata</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> sbhowmik@ucalgary.ca</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lenters%2C+Kimberly%22">Lenters, Kimberly</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zaidi%2C+Rahat%22">Zaidi, Rahat</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Spring%2C+Erin%22">Spring, Erin</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Moura%2C+Gustavo+da+Cunha%22">Moura, Gustavo da Cunha</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Canadian+Modern+Language+Review%22">Canadian Modern Language Review</searchLink>. May2025, Vol. 81 Issue 2, p109-140. 32p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communicative+competence%22">Communicative competence</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multilingualism%22">Multilingualism</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+language+acquisition%22">Second language acquisition</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Linguistic+identity%22">Linguistic identity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Solidarity%22">Solidarity</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract (English) Group: Ab Data: Research has underlined the importance of communicative competence in order for newcomers to succeed and build resilience in their adopted homeland. Studies on this topic, however, have generally assumed the primacy of linguistic competence as the principal locus of investigation without paying due attention to the nuances of how new immigrants use "spatial repertoires" – interactive assemblages of people, objects, language, and environment – in accomplishing day-to-day communicative goals. Part of a larger project that examined newcomer resilience, this paper reports on the findings drawn from five newcomer families in Canada regarding their assemblage of spatial repertoires to negotiate their communicative needs. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, written artifacts, art-based multimodal activities, field observations, and reflective notes. Using spatial repertoires in multilingual communication as the conceptual framework, we found that conditions that allowed our participants the following affordances were conducive for deployment of spatial repertoires: (a) translations and information mining, (b) translanguaging, (c) identity affirmation, (d) collaboration and solidarity, and (e) integration of semiotic resources. The findings provide insights into how these newcomers demonstrated success in achieving their communicative goals despite various challenges experienced as non-native speakers of English. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract (French) Group: Ab Data: Selon la recherche, le recours aux compétences communicationnelles par les personnes nouvellement arrivées est gage de réussite et de renforcement de leur capacité d'adaptation dans leur pays d'adoption. Cependant, les études sur la question présupposent généralement le primat des compétences linguistiques, sans prêter une attention suffisante aux nuances qui caractérisent l'utilisation de « répertoires spatiaux » – des assemblages interactifs de personnes, d'objets, de langage et d'environnement, pour atteindre des objectifs communicationnels au quotidien. Cet article, issu d'un projet d'étude plus vaste sur la résilience des personnes nouvellement arrivées, traite de résultats de recherche portant sur les assemblages de répertoires spatiaux de cinq familles récemment immigrées au Canada tandis qu'elles gèrent leurs besoins en matière de communication. La collecte de données s'est faite à partir d'entrevues semi-structurées, d'éléments écrits, d'activités artistiques multimodales, d'observation de terrain et de notes de recherche. Notre approche conceptuelle de répertoires spatiaux en communication plurilingue nous a permis de déterminer les conditions où les participant·e·s trouvent de l'affordance pour déployer leurs répertoires spatiaux : (a) la traduction et l'extraction d'informations, (b) l'approche translangagière, (c) l'affirmation identitaire, (d) la collaboration et la solidarité et (e) l'intégration de ressources sémiotiques. Les résultats offrent des pistes de réflexion pour comprendre comment les personnes nouvellement arrivées réussissent à atteindre leurs objectifs de communication malgré les différents obstacles comme anglophones allophones. Nous concluons l'article avec une discussion sur les implications de ces résultats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Canadian Modern Language Review is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.3138/cmlr-2024-0034 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 32 StartPage: 109 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Communicative competence Type: general – SubjectFull: Multilingualism Type: general – SubjectFull: Second language acquisition Type: general – SubjectFull: Linguistic identity Type: general – SubjectFull: Solidarity Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: "We Are Looking to Each Other, Waiting to Understand": An Examination of Spatial Repertoires in Newcomers' Communicative Encounters. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Bhowmik, Subrata – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Lenters, Kimberly – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Zaidi, Rahat – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Spring, Erin – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Moura, Gustavo da Cunha IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 05 Text: May2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00084506 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 81 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Canadian Modern Language Review Type: main |
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