iholmesPGCert_2025

Author: Ian Holmes

Categories
IP Unit_ Reflective Report

IP Unit_ Reflective Report

This report aims to address:  

  • Retention of Language Development (LD) students at London College of Fashion (LCF) 
  • Translation, Mediation and Cognition 
  • Inclusivity in the “international” multi-cultural, multi-lingual university space. 

Contextualization 

Regarding my own positionality, and ontology, I am cognizant of my relative privilege – as a white man in my late 40s living in the capital city of an advanced capitalist economy in the Global North, not to mention the fact that I speak English as a first language – I am, ostensibly, close to the apex of the power pyramid. 

However, the murder of Steven Lawrence in Eltham SE London 1993, the consequence of the everyday street level racism of the 1980s and 1990s, and the demonstration that racism permeated institutions and social structures, provoked my belief in anti-racism (Kendi, 2019). “White privilege” often confused with wealth and power, being the “absence of having to live with the consequences of racism” (C4, 2020). I remember vividly the aftermath, the faces of his killers, assured that the system would protect them from justice. The murder eventually resulted in the Macpherson Report (1999), with the promise of “a pivotal moment in the advance of race equality in Britain” (Gillborn et al., 2017, pp. 848-849).  

Racism involves both ideological and practical subordination (Golash- Borza, 2016), the synthesis of prejudice and power structures to sustain the dominance of privilege; “white supremacy” being a system which grants protections and power (Saad, 2020). Racism is perhaps less about the measure of social characteristics than the relationship between the dominant and the subordinate (Bhavnani, Mizra and Meeto, 2005), can be covert (Coates and Morrison, 2011), and becomes institutionalized when organizations fail to provide “an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin” (MacPherson, 1999, para 6.34). Inequalities may emerge unintentionally (Banaji, Fiske & Massey, 2021) and, in the HE context, examples of systemic and structural racial inequality include gaps in award, retention and progression, and differing experiences of “othering” (Advance HE, 2021 – also see Holmes (2025a) blog post on race).  

Fig 1. Percentage Continuation by Ethnicity (5 way). (UAL, 2025) 

UAL data (see example figure 1) is useful in analyzing disparities among home students, however my intervention focuses, primarily, on a demographic, which must also be addressed reflexively regarding race and class. Chinese students axiologically represent global socio- economic superiority over home students given the price tag of their tuition fees being at least 100% more than their home student counterparts. The intersectional lens of social class, overlooked in the breakdown of data, and potentially a factor in the perception and treatment of Chinese students, ironically given the logic of disenfranchisements in Crenshaw’s (1991) thesis of intersectionality. 

Anecdotally, Chinese students themselves have indicated their cognizance of socio- economic class superiority over home students. This is further compounded by the data collected regarding different racial groups being orientated by the requirements of the 2010 Equality Act (Gov.UK, 2023), international students absent via the intersectional lenses afforded to the analysis of home students. There is no specific data about the actual number of Chinese students at UAL, yet it is common knowledge that they make up the vast proportion of international students.  

One struggle for (non-compulsory) LD is attendance, and one potential factor affecting this may be perceptions around inclusivity and identity. It is a conundrum that through the universal offer, those who are in most need of support may feel intimidated by more competent speakers (including L1) and are then less inclined to attend.  

In the multicultural, multilingual space of the LD classroom, Chinese students will usually all sit together, this is understandable from the perspective of a shared language and identity, and not surprising with over 150,000 Chinese nationally, 90,000 of whom are postgraduates, that many should end up spending a lot of time with other Chinese students (Ebel, 2024, p.7). These students disclose that they “want to integrate better” and diversify friendship groups but feel unable to do this; often citing that they feel like they are being treated as sources of revenue (“cash cows”) rather than as valued members of the community (Ibid).  

A critical incident observed during a presentation workshop illustrated this exclusivity. There were 8 students – all female – 7 home (mainly white – but one black British) and one Chinese. The Chinese student sat alone at the front, so I asked the student to sit with the others so that she could participate in group work. However, the home students worked together and still excluded the Chinese student. The refusal of the home students to be inclusive – struck me as being something endemic within the university. This student will be reluctant to repeat the experience – affecting attendance and learning. Students in HE do not acknowledge these microaggressions as being racism, although a deeper exploration reveals that this denial is rooted in the lack of discourse around “‘anti-Asian racism,” and may be obscured and complicated by intersections “with other power axes such as gender” (Yu et al. 2023, p.1700). The exclusion of the student was based on their racialized -“othered” characteristic. Central to this identity is the language barrier, although it is the plurality of languages that may hold the key to building an intercultural space and the mediation of worldviews, not restricted to the acquisition of the hegemonic (colonial) language: English.  

Translanguaging and Paraphrasing 

Translanguaging is the act of accessing different linguistic features or various modes of “autonomous languages,” to optimize the potential for communication (Garcia, 2009, p.140). However, as Friere (2005, p.90) notes, dialogue cannot exist when one or both parties lack humility. This means that teachers must foster a space where mutual inclusion can occur.  

Paraphrasing is an essential skill in academic discourse, both in the production of writing and speaking, for several reasons. AI and machine translation enables generic product but lacks process: the cognitive linguistic synthesis of academic voices. In the context of HE, it is this process which enables students to demonstrate understanding of ideas and discourse, and crucially, enable autonomous learning. It also offers opportunities to explore how the differences between language systems can reveal the plurality of paradigmatic world views. The relationship between culture and language is deeply rooted in how language reflects perspective, where the plurality of ideas results from the plurality of languages in use (Ponorac, 2022).  

A “worldview lack of awareness of our own language and language use arises from the fact that as we master our native tongue, it in turn masters us” (Fantini, 1989, p.2). This “Linguistic determinism” can be defined as the system through which we understand and mediate the world and individuals exposed to a second language may develop an expanded vision of the world, facilitating participation with other cultural groups, “expanding qualitatively our social possibilities” (Ibid, pp.2-3). This mediation also has cognitive, social, and pragmatic benefits for first language (L1) speakers of English in engaging in this collaboration in the LD classroom. Learners as social agents focus on meaning making and communicating beyond linguistic and cultural barriers; all mediation relies on collaborative processes (CE, 2022). 

Reflection, Action and Evaluation 

Through peer discussion I have gained more confidence with the validity of the idea, for example PG Cert Fellow Jeff highlighted how the experience of “non-native” (L2) speakers of English at UAL resonates with Bourdieu’s (1991) concept of linguistic capital, privileging English – and English speakers – within academic and societal “markets,” marginalizing those who are not. My tutor Kwame also gave me inspiration with how to frame this intervention through examples to my students – in the Ghanaian language of his parents there are no differentiations between pronouns, as opposed to English (where recently this has become a highly politicized issue); drawing on another peer example, the diverse language of colours also provides a way into understanding the relationship between how language(s) can inform our world view.  

Fig 2. Language Development LCF Speaking and Listening Class: Student writing Chinese translations of key words from discussion (May 2025) 

Fig. 3. Language Development_BSc Fashion Management Class: Student writing Chinese translation of keyword for analysis (May 2025)    

I have afforded opportunities for students (only Chinese thus far) to write translations for key words and terms in the whiteboard/ flip chart (a tactile typography outside the digital space). This not only brings the visualization of culture through the visual representation of language into the foreground, but also provides the opportunity to explain the complexity of meanings, and how this might affect our world view (see Figure 2. and 3). Thus far this has been an illuminating process in which students’ culture and language is not hidden but forms a meaningful part of the learning process. This metalinguistic level of discussion also has potential for first language speakers in understanding how language informs their world view, although they will also need to be supported in the metalinguistics required for this discourse.   

My idea is based on two activities/ procedures – firstly, using the above to allow students to provide a translation then present their evaluation of the different ways that languages interpret this word, ad hoc during lessons. Secondly, drawing on Intercultural Communication Zine workshops – (see figure 4 and 5) – also see Ramejkis (n.d.) and Holmes (2025b), a process of collaborative interaction and production of Zines or posters, where real collaboration and cultural sharing can occur. This is also intended to be a means of exploring dialectical variation both lexico-grammatically and phonemically, applicable to the range of contexts within the English-speaking body of students.  

Fig 4. Welcome Week Zine Workshop Chelsea College of Arts (Autumn 2024) 

Fig 5. Example of student Zine created at CCW Welcome Week Zine workshops (Autumn 2024)    

This intervention will be evaluated cross sectionally using an ethnographic approach of student interactions and qualitative surveys (Saunders, Thornhill and Lewis, 2023) which could yield insights into student’s perceptions about both the value of the activities and their attitudes towards speakers of other languages – and through the analysis of the collaborative products themselves.  

The procedure aims to practice mediation, paraphrasing, translanguaging and expansion of world view, in the production of a cross-cultural artefact – exploring both denotation and connotation in the representation and cognitive significance of language. In 2025/26 I aim to foster a community of discourse where a plurality of cultures and languages can be seen as a gift rather than a burden to the learning experiences of all students. 

Word count 1650 (not including title, figure captions and reference list) 

List of Figures 

1. Percentage Continuation by Ethnicity (5 way). (UAL, 2025) 

2. Language Development LCF Speaking and Listening Class: Student writing Chinese translations of key words from discussion (May 2025)   

3. Language Development_BSc Fashion Management Class: Student writing Chinese translation of keyword for analysis (May 2025)   

4. Welcome Week Zine Workshop Chelsea College of Arts (Autumn 2024) 

5. Examples of student Zines created at CCW Welcome Week Zine workshops (Autumn 2024)   

References 

AdvanceHE (2021) ‘Understanding Structural Racism in UK Higher Education: an introduction’ Available at:  https://warwick.ac.uk/services/sg/si/diversity/advance_he_-_understanding_racism_report.pdf (Accessed on 12 June 2025)   

Banaji, M. R., Fiske. ,S. T., and Massey, D. S. (2021) ‘Systemic racism: individuals and interactions, institutions and society’ Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 82. 

Bhavnani, R, Mirza, H S, and Meetoo, V. (2005). Tackling the roots of racism: Lessons for success. Bristol: Policy Press   

Bourdieu, P. (1991) Language and Symbolic Power. Edited by J.B. Thompson. Translated by G. Raymond and M. Adamson. Cambridge: Polity Press 

C4 – Channel 4. (2020) The School That Tried to End Racism. [Online}. Youtube. 30 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg (Accessed on 5th June 2025) 

CE- Council of Europe (2025) ‘Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): Mediation. ‘Available at https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/mediation (Accessed on 25/05/25)    

Coates, R. D., and Morrison, J. (2011) ‘Covert Racism Theories, Institutions, and Experiences Series:  Studies’ in Critical Social Sciences, Volume: 32. 

Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color.’ Stanford Law Review 43 (6), pp.1241-1299    

Ebel, C.P., (2024) ‘How can UK universities improve their strategies for tackling integration challenges among Chinese students?’ Higher Education Policy Institute –HEPI Report 183 

Fantini, A.E. (1989) ‘Language and Worldview’ Journal of Bahá’í Studies Vol. 2-2: this paper was presented in Ottawa, October 7–10, 1988, at the Association’s Thirteenth Annual Conference, “Towards a Global Civilization.”   

Friere, P. (2005) Pedagogy of the Opressed: 30th Anniversary Edition, (Originally published 1970): Noew York: Continuem 

García, O. (2009) ‘Education, multilingualism and translanguaging in the 21st century.’ In: Ajit Mohanty, Minati Panda, Robert  Phillipson and Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (eds). Multilingual Education for Social Justice: Globalising the local. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, pp. 128-145   

Gillborn, D., Demack, S., Rollock, N., and Warmington, P. (2017) ‘Moving the goalposts: Education policy and 25 years of the Black/White achievement gap’ British Educational Research Journal Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 848–874 DOI: 10.1002/berj.3297   

Golash-Boza, T. (2016) ‘A critical and comprehensive theory of race and racism’, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 2(2): 129– 41.   

Gov.UK (2013) The Equality Act 2010. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance (Accessed on 14th July 2025) 

Holmes, I. D. (2025a) Inclusive Practice_ Blog Post 3_ Race. Available at: https://pgcertianholmes2025.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2025/06/12/inclusive-practice_blog-post-3_race/ (Accessed 14th July 2025) 

Holmes, I. D. (2025b) Reflective Post 4: Reflections on ‘zines,’ ‘roots’ and ‘routes’ in the multicultural university learning space. Available at: https://pgcertianholmes2025.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2025/03/18/blog-4-reflections-on-a-zine-fair-roots-and-routes-in-the-multicultural-university-learning-space/ (Accessed on 25th May 2025) 

Kendi, I. X., (2019) How to be an antiracist. New York: One World

Macpherson, W. (1999) ‘The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry,’ London, UK Home Office, Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c2af540f0b645ba3c7202/4262.pdf (Accessed 12th June 2025)  

Ponorac, J. (2022) ‘Culture and Language,’ Available at: https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/blog/culture-and-language#:~:text=The%20relationship%20between%20language%20and,of%20identifying%20language%20and%20culture (Accessed on 25/05/25) 

Ramejkis, A. (n.d.) ‘#amazines workshops 23/24 some feedback and reflections. Available at: https://artslondon-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/i_holmes_arts_ac_uk/EamkKnaSxQBFgL-Q3qqhFwoBJ-fb4adjjaDdGfLH8QV1OQ?e=ouaEsI (Accessed 25/05/25) 

Saunders, M.N.K., Thornhill, P., and Lewis, A. (2023) Research Methods for Business Students: Ninth Edition. Harlow: Pearson 

Saad, L.F., (2020) Me and white supremacy, London: Quercus 

UAL (2025) UG retention and continuation. Available at: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=348a5321-e946-47c1-b9b8-aeb5a841d16c&dashcontextid=638684775887265547 (Accessed on 12th June 2025) 

Yu, J., Rai, R., Lim, M.A., and Li, H.  (2023) ‘The post‑racial myth: rethinking Chinese university students’ experiences and perceptions of racialised microaggressions in the UK.’ Higher Education (2024): 88:1695–1710 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01126-5  

Categories
Inclusive Practice Blogs

Inclusive Practice_Blog Post 3_Race

I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.  

                                                  (McIntosh, 1989) 

I remember vividly the aftermath of the murder of Steven Lawrence in Eltham SE London 1993, my heart sank seeing the smiling faces of his killers, secure in the knowledge that the system would prevent them being brought to justice. Steven would have been a little bit older than me, and for me the injustice (just as with any murder) was the life that he would have lived denied by his killers.  

The murder of George Floyd in 2020 by police in the US provoked worldwide ‘Black Lives Matter’ (BLM) protests which served as a catalyst for Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives. However, despite the billions invested (8 billion in US for example) in EDI its effectiveness in driving change is questionable (Sadiq, 2023). The racist murder of Steven Lawrence eventually resulted in the Macpherson Report (1999), hailed as ‘a pivotal moment in the advance of race equality in Britain’ (Gillmore et al., 2017, pp. 848-849). However, the actual progress made since is perhaps equally disheartening.  

Racism refers to both ideological belief of a hierarchy of races and those practices which subordinate certain racial groups (Golash- Borza, 2016). The combination of prejudice and power structures sustain the dominance of white privilege and negatively impact the subordinate groups, ‘white supremacy’ being a system which grants white people unearned privileges, protections and power (Saad, 2020). Bhavnani, Mizra and Meeto (2005) argue that racism is less about the measure of social characteristics and is more about the relationship between the dominant and the subordinate. It can also be covert (Coates and Morrison, 2011) and becomes institutionalized when organizations fail to provide ‘an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin’ (Machpherson, 1999, para 6.34).  

Systemic inequalities may emerge unintentionally and unconsciously (Banaji, Fiske & Massey, 2021) and, in the HE context, examples of systemic and structural racial inequality include gaps in award, retention and progression, under representation of staff, experiences and representation relating to learning, curriculum and research; and differing experiences of ‘othering’, belonging and safety (Advance HE, 2021). 

Using the analytic framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT), Gillmore et al. (2017) explore the impacts on education of the murder of Steven Lawrence and argue that policy interventions have actually widened the gap maintaining Black disadvantage; white students being at least 150% more likely to reach the benchmark, concluding that the negative impacts of policies are much more defined than any reduction in inequality. Likewise, Garrett (2024, p.2) drawing on Advanced HE (2022) data and using a CRT lens finds that whilst the number of white students progressing to professor level increased year on year, the BAME students and academics saw a corresponding decrease. Applying an intersectional lens, the disparity between white and black females is even greater, there being only 61 out of almost 23,000 professors (Ibid, p.1).  

In the education context, ‘policy is always political’ producing the discourse of success and failure, which ultimately provides advantage for some students over others (Bradbury, 2019, p. 256), and whilst the ‘leaky academic pipeline’ is examined at the PhD level by Garett (2024), the start point of this pipeline is primary school entry. A ‘datafied system’ perpetuates social inequalities and white dominance through systematic underestimation of English as an Additional Language (EAL) children, many from minoritized communities (Bradbury, 2019, p. 255). There is a tacit intentionality of policy makers in the design of baseline assessments which disadvantages EAL (often racialized) students from the beginning (Ibid). This will perhaps become more obvious policy in future, a new Reform- led council ‘DOGE’ team in Kent aims to get rid of all English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) teaching provision and have immigrant children use Duolingo (Holl-Allen, 2025).  

Whilst the UAL data shows, for example, comparative data between continuation by ethnicity (see Fig 1) it does not take account of first language, which may offer a more intersectional lens to the ‘leaky pipeline.’ 

Fig 1. Percentage Continuation by Ethnicity (5 way). (UAL, 2025) 

It could also be argued that academia stubbornly refuses to acknowledge its complicity in the reproduction of racial injustice and the recreation of inequality (Warmington, 2018). For example, white Professor James Orr (2022) of Cambridge university, takes aim at Advance HE initiatives such as the Athena Swan and Race Equality Charter, which oblige Universities to “make big structural top-down changes” to teaching, research, appointments, and admissions (significantly the two academics interviewed for this film for the Telegraph are not white).  

Professor Arad Ahmed suggests that the de facto impacts have created an oppressive environment for academics and “have not been helpful for free speech” maintaining that there is plenty of evidence that implicit bias training “forced on staff,” has no impact, and that anti racism training is worse “as it pushes a particular ideology” (Ibid). Dr Vincent Harriman challenges the claim of the Co-chair of Racial Governance Committe that there is substantial evidence of systemic racism which all universities, institutionally, perpetuate, citing five reports of racism in five years, and based on this framing a charity turning universities “woke,” Orr suggests that any future award from advanced HE should be thrown straight in the Cam (Ibid).   

It is worth considering that “white privilege” is often confused with wealth and power, however, in reality, it is the “absence of having to live with the consequences of racism” and whilst overt acts of racist violence and murder can provoke catalysts for change, actual systemic change is resisted by white hegemony whilst simultaneously denying that racism even exists, or that attempts to confront racism are in fact racist themselves – just take a look at the comments to the Channel 4 (2020) video cited above. 

References 

AdvanceHE (2021) ‘Understanding Structural Racism in UK Higher Education: an introduction’ Available at:  https://warwick.ac.uk/services/sg/si/diversity/advance_he_-_understanding_racism_report.pdf (Accessed on 12 June 2025) 

AdvanceHE. (2022) ‘Equality in Higher Education: Statistical Reports 2022’ Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/equality-higher-education-statistical-reports-2022 (Accessed on 12th June 2025) 

Banaji, M. R., Fiske. ,S. T., and Massey, D. S. (2021) ‘Systemic racism: individuals and interactions, institutions and society’ Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 82.    

Bhavnani, R, Mirza, H S, and Meetoo, V. (2005). Tackling the roots of racism: Lessons for success. Policy Press 

Bradbury, A., (2020) ‘A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: The case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England.’ Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(2), pp.241-260 

Channel 4. (2020) The School That Tried to End Racism. [Online}. Youtube. 30 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg  (Accessed on 5th June) 

Coates, R. D., and Morrison, J. (2011) ‘Covert Racism Theories, Institutions, and Experiences Series:  Studies’ in Critical Social Sciences, Volume: 32.    

Garrett, R. (2024) ‘Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education.’ Globalisation, Societies and Education, pp.1–15.   

Gillborn, D., Demack, S., Rollock, N., and Warmington, P. (2017) ‘Moving the goalposts: Education policy and 25 years of the Black/White achievement gap’ British Educational Research Journal Vol. 43, No. 5, pp. 848–874 DOI: 10.1002/berj.3297 

Golash-Boza, T. (2016). ‘A critical and comprehensive theory of race and racism’, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 2(2): 129– 41. 

Holl-Allen, G. (2025) English classes for migrants face the axe under Reform-led council Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/06/05/english-classes-for-migrants-face-the-axe-reform-council/ (Accessed on 12th June 2025)  

Macpherson, W. (1999) ‘The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry,’ London, UK Home Office, Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c2af540f0b645ba3c7202/4262.pdf (Accessed 12th June 2025) 

McIntosh, P. (1989) ‘White privilege: unpacking the invisible knapsack.’ Peace and Freedom. Available at: https://med.umn.edu/sites/med.umn.edu/files/2022-12/White-Privilege_McIntosh-1989.pdf (Accessed on 5 June 2025) 

Orr, J. (2022) Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke. The Telegraph [Online]. Youtube. 5 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRM6vOPTjuU 

Sadiq, A. (2023) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right. TEDx [Online}. Youtube. 2 March. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw   

UAL (2025) UG retention and continuation. Available at: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=348a5321-e946-47c1-b9b8-aeb5a841d16c&dashcontextid=638684775887265547 (Accessed on 12th June 2025) 

Warmington, P., foreword to Arday, J., and Mirza, H., (Eds). (2018) Dismantling Race in Higher Education – Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy. Palgrave Macmillan.  

Categories
IP_Intervention

Inclusive Practice: Intervention (Formative) – Making the plurality of language visible- intercultural mediation and exploration of ‘world view.’

This intervention aims to deal with two issues which have become manifest in my experience as a Language Development Tutor at LCF (and through my previous work with LD at other colleges) – 1: The use of machine translation in mediating academic communication and 2: the need for greater inclusivity among peers in the “international” university space. 

The need for greater cultural inclusivity in the university 

Fantini (2022) suggests that language is not merely about teaching “new ways to say old things (i.e., new symbols for old thoughts) rather it aims to aid the discovery, via new language systems, of new ways of “perceiving, of classifying and categorizing, of interacting, and to new ways of thinking about the world.” However, as I will argue, this process is not restricted to the acquisition of the hegemonic (colonial) language: English. “Translanguaging” is the act of accessing different linguistic features or various modes” of what are described as “autonomous languages,” to optimize the potential for communication (Garcia, 2009, p.140). However, as Friere (2005, p.90) notes dialogue cannot exist when one or both parties lack humility. 

What happens in the multicultural, multilingual space of the classroom at LCF is that Chinese students (the predominant international student group) will usually all sit together, this is understandable from the perspective of a shared language – and a shared identity. It is not surprising, with over 150,000 Chinese nationally, 90,000 of whom are postgraduates, that many should end up spending a lot of time with other Chinese students (Ebel, 2024, p.7). These students disclose that they ‘want to integrate better’ and diversify friendship groups but feel unable to do this; and they often cite that the feel like they are being treated as sources of revenue (a “cash cow”) ‘rather than as valued members of the community (Ibid).  

One example of exclusion, I observed a few weeks ago, was when delivering part one of a presentation workshop for BA Fashion Marketing. There were 8 students – 7 home (mainly white – but one black British) and one Chinese. The Chinese student sat alone at the front, there was a space among the other students on the back table, so I asked the student to sit with the others so that she could participate in the peer-based activities. However, when these activities began the home students worked together in pairs and small groups whilst the Chinese student was excluded. Whilst I tried to involve the student, the refusal of the home students to include the Chinese student – which may have required some adaptation, and indeed empathy – struck me as being something endemic within the university, and I imagine that this student will be very reluctant to repeat the experience of the workshop in part two– affecting attendance and learning. Students in HE do not acknowledge these microaggressions as being racism, although a deeper exploration reveals that this denial is tooted in the lack of discourse around “‘anti-Asian racism,” and may be obscured and complicated by intersections “with other power axes such as gender” (Yu et al. 2023, p.1700) 

Had there been other Chinese students, then most likely these students would have worked together. My reason for moving the student was purely to facilitate communicative activities, however the opportunity for mediated cross-cultural communication exists, and would, in my view, benefit all students. What I observed in the above was, in my evaluation, an “othering” of the Chinese student, and the exclusion was based on this “othered” characteristic. Of course, central to this cultural identity is the language barrier, although it is the plurality of languages that may hold the key to building an intercultural space and the mediation of worldviews.  

Paraphrasing and mediating as a cognitive process.  

Paraphrasing is an essential skill in academic discourse, both in the production of writing and speaking, for several reasons. However, in the era of AI, this is a productive task which can be completed automatically by machine. This enables product, i.e. achieving what appears on the surface to be an academic text to the genre, but lacks the essential process: the cognitive linguistic synthesis of academic voices, i.e. that of the secondary source author and that of the primary researcher writer. In the context of HE it is this process which enables the student to understand, and demonstrate understanding of ideas and discourse, and crucially, through this synthetic process, enable autonomous learning.  

However, there are significant barriers regarding the ability to do this for students who are using English as a second or other language. The process of paraphrasing, and indeed writing per se is often mediated through translation tools, this also risks subverting the cognitive processing on the part of the student; in as much as the text is translated into the first language, synthesized into the first language writing produced by the student, and then translated back into English by machine. However, this does offer some opportunity to investigate how a linguistic difference between one language and another reveal a plurality of cultural perspectives and paradigmatic world view, interpretations of ideas, and on the discourse around them. The relationship between culture and language is deeply rooted in how language reflects cultural perspective, where a plurality of ideas result from plurality of languages in use (Ponorac, 2022). 

Fantini (1989, p.2) asserts that a “worldview lack of awareness of our own language and language use arises from the fact that as we master our native tongue, it in turn masters us.” This “Linguistic determinism” can be defined as the system through which we understand and mediate the world and individuals exposed to a second language may develop an expanded vision of the world, facilitating participation with other cultural groups, “expanding qualitatively our social possibilities” (Ibid, pp.2-3). The mediation of languages also has cognitive, social, and pragmatic benefits. 

Mediation is one of the four modes in which the CEFR model organizes communication. Learners seen as social agents engage in receptive, productive, interactive or mediation activities or, more frequently, in a combination of two or more of them. While interaction stresses the social use of language, mediation encompasses and goes beyond that by focusing on making meaning and/or enabling communication beyond linguistic or cultural barriers. Both types of mediation rely on collaborative processes. (CE, 2022) 

Proposed Intervention

I have begun talking to Chinese students about their experiences and behaviours (and I am also interested in learning the perceptions and behaviours of the home and other students). I have also afforded opportunities (in Chinese only classes thus far) to get students to write translations for key words and terms in the whiteboard/ flip chart (a more tactile form of typography and opportunity to step outside the digital space). This not only brings the visualization of culture through the visual representation of the language into the foreground, but then provides the opportunity to explain the complexity of meanings, and how this might affect our world view (see Fig 1. and 2). Thus far this has been an illuminating process in which students’ culture and language is not hidden but forms a meaningful part of the learning process. This metalinguistic level of discussion also has potential for first language speakers in understanding how language informs their world view, although they will also need to be supported in the metalinguistics required for this discourse (this is where the expertise of Language Development can support all learners at UAL).  

Fig 1. Language Development LCF Speaking and Listening Class: Student writing Chinese translations of key words from discussion (May 2025) 

Fig. 2 Language Development_BSc Fashion Management Class: Student writing Chinese translation of keyword for analysis – (May 2025) 

My formative idea for this is based on two activities/ procedures – firstly, using the above to allow students to provide a translation then present their evaluation of the different ways that languages interpret this word, ad hoc during lessons. Secondly, drawing on an idea which I came across working with Adam Ramejkis on the Intercultural Communication programme on Zine workshops (see fig 2 and 3. also see Ramejkis (n.d.) and Holmes (2025) blog for more details about Zines) in order to offer an opportunity for cross cultural collaboration, mediation and exploration of identity and perception. This process utilizes interaction and production outside of the digital space, where real collaboration and cultural sharing can occur. It is also intended to be a means of exploring dialectical variation both lexico-grammatically and phonemically, through utilizing synthetic and IPA (EnglishClub, 2025) phonological tools) which is applicable to the range of contexts within the English speaking body of students.  

Fig 3. Welcome Week Zine Workshop Chelsea College of Arts Autumn 2024.   

In sum, the procedure aims to practice mediation, paraphrasing, translanguaging and expansion of world view perception, in the production of a cross-cultural artefact – which focuses on exploring both denotation and connotation in the representation and cognitive significance of language. Through doing this I want to foster a community of discourse where a plurality of cultures and languages can be seen as a gift rather than a burden to the learning experiences of all students.  

References 

CE- Council of Europe (2025) ‘Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): Mediation. ‘Available at https://www.coe.int/en/web/common-european-framework-reference-languages/mediation (Accessed on 25/05/25)  

Fantini, A.E. (1989) ‘Language and Worldview’ Journal of Bahá’í Studies Vol. 2-2: this paper was presented in Ottawa, October 7–10, 1988, at the Association’s Thirteenth Annual Conference, “Towards a Global Civilization.”   

Friere, P. (2005) Pedagogy of the Opressed: 30th Anniversary Edition, (Originally published 1970): Noew York: Continuem  

García, Ofelia (2009). ‘Education, multilingualism and translanguaging in the 21st century.’ In: Ajit Mohanty, Minati  Panda, Robert  Phillipson and Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (eds). Multilingual Education for Social Justice: Globalising the local. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, pp. 128-145 

Holmes, I. (2025) ‘Reflective Post 4: Reflections on ‘zines,’ ‘roots’ and ‘routes’ in the multicultural university learning space.’ Available at: https://pgcertianholmes2025.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2025/03/18/blog-4-reflections-on-a-zine-fair-roots-and-routes-in-the-multicultural-university-learning-space/ (Accessed on 25/05/25) 

EnglishClub (2025) ‘Interactive Phonemic Chart.’ Available at:  https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/phonemic-chart-ia.php (Accessed on 25/05/25) 

NALDIC (2016) ‘What is translanguaging?.’ Available at  https://ealjournal.org/2016/07/26/what-is-translanguaging/ (Accessed on 25/05/25) 

Ponorac, J. (2022) ‘Culture and Language,’ Available at: https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/blog/culture-and-language#:~:text=The%20relationship%20between%20language%20and,of%20identifying%20language%20and%20culture (Accessed on 25/05/25) 

Ramejkis, A. (n.d.) ‘#amazines workshops 23/24 some feedback and reflections’ Available at: https://artslondon-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/i_holmes_arts_ac_uk/EamkKnaSxQBFgL-Q3qqhFwoBJ-fb4adjjaDdGfLH8QV1OQ?e=ouaEsI (Accessed 25/05/25) 

Yu, J., Rai, R., Lim, M.A., and Li, H.  (2023) ‘The post‑racial myth: rethinking Chinese university students’ experiences and perceptions of racialised microaggressions in the UK.’ Higher Education (2024): 88:1695–1710 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01126-5 

Categories
Inclusive Practice Blogs

Inclusive Practice_Blog Post Two_Religion

Using Crenshaw’s (1991) lens, this blog focuses on how Muslim women (MW) navigate social and academic spaces, both from a worldview perspective and that of social identity. The hypervisibility of MW via the hijab and niqab materialize assumptions about disempowerment within the faith and culture of Islam and therefore promote the idea of MW’s lack of agency. Despite the Advance HE (2018) recommendations, which includes the promotion of ‘inclusive environments’ and ‘greater awareness of attainment gaps between different groups,’ UAL (2025) attainment data do not consider the intersection of religion as a characteristic.  

Religion is marginalized by secularism (Rekis, 2023, p.782), and the 19th Century division of religious and scientific epistemologies in the West– created a positionality through which religion is classified, however, in much of the world, this separation has not occurred (Appiah, 2014). The conceptualization of a list of paradigm religions and their sub parts, as Appiah (2014) suggests, was the construction of Europeans, who, upon discovering people who were not Christians – to describe what ‘they have instead of Christianity?’ The Equality Act 2010 includes. within its definition, the paradigm religions, but also smaller faiths, providing they have ‘clear structure and belief system’ (McKeown and Dunn, 2021, p.121). 

Rekis (2023, p.784) maintains injustice occurs both when social identity is at stake, and, when ‘a person’s worldview is at stake.’  The conflation of two or more social identities can wrongly create assumptions about how they intersect. However, underestimating the connections potentially denies individuals the credibility to speak on those ‘specific theologies,’ placing individuals at a conceptual disadvantage i.e. MW in the contemporary West (Ibid, p.789). 

The hijab and niqab are problematized through the frame of a highly gendered- Islamophobia emphasizing ‘incompatibility of aspects of Muslim identity with western values’ (Ramadan, 2022, p.34). This discourse designates MW’s ‘radical otherness’ associating it with religio-cultural oppression and backwardness. Participants, in Ramadan’s (2022, p.108) study, disclose the strategies that they employ to mitigate and recalibrate colleagues’ perceptions, wanting to show them that they are ‘like any other person,’ by chatting and joking with them ‘along the corridors to show them that I am not what you see in the media. We are normal people …’ This is an instinct echoed by Simran Jeet Singh: 

When I walk onto an airplane and people are looking at me with fear and funny looks – I strike up conversations – and smile and laugh and eventually pull out pictures of my daughters – so that they can see that I’m just a normal person.  

(Trinity University, 2021) 

In the video, we can see that he is wearing Sikh head covering, part of difference which, along with his beard and brown skin, signify the ‘radical otherness’ which he senses he must diffuse in the context of the post 9.11 world, where these racial and religious signifiers are enough to stimulate the described reaction. Significantly, he is not a Muslim, although the signifiers of his faith, just like the hijab for MW, are effective in focusing the attention and prejudice of the hegemonic white gaze. Also significant, he is a man, so his agency, in respect of choice of the signifiers of his faith, are assumed.  

Jawad (2022) explores the intersection of gender and faith in the context of sport. The notion of women being excluded from participation in Islam is challenged, through the hermeneutical interpretation of the Hadith text as evidence of ‘equality and support for women attaining and maintaining physical capability,’ substantiating the ‘Accept and Respect’ declaration which claims Islam is a religion of enablement and not of prohibition towards women in sport; the onus being on sports educators, administrators, and organizers to ‘incorporate greater awareness of faith-based principles’ and create more inclusive spaces for female Muslims in sport (Ibid). This suggests that adjustment can be made in the hegemonic world to accommodate faith-based differences and (perhaps) highlights the tensions that exist within the perceived need for MW to prove that they are ‘just like’ their colleagues in the dominant culture where their social identity is at stake (as in Ramadan’s 2022 study), and the need to validate a worldview as compatible with the secular world’s claim on gender equality.  

Although not having the same lived experience, my approach (and philosophy) regarding discourse around faith and culture, aligns with that of Simran Jeet Singh: ‘no community is a monolith’ – and I try to foster an environment where the differences within each community can be demonstrated, through developing an understanding of ‘where people are coming from – with empathy’ (Trinity University, 2021). 

Applying intersectionality to awarding gaps helps to understand how identity and social location influence outcomes (Banerjee, 2024, p.35). The current UAL (2025) data for the student population shows that nearly 60% of the cohort would identify as secular (i.e. no religion) and of those declaring religious membership – Christian (12%) followed by Muslim (4.2%) are the largest groups (see fig 1). However, whilst data is presented regarding attainment and gender (see fig 2), and ethnicity (see fig 3), there is no data on religion, or for that matter, data that helps illustrate the relationship between intersecting identities (e.g. religion, race and gender) and attainment, ultimately a (quantitative) KPI of EDI.  

Figure 1: Student Profiles – Characteristics: Religion (UAL, 2025)  

 Figure 2: Attainment Rates by Profile: Gender. (UAL, 2025)  

Figure 3: Attainment Rates by Profile: Ethnicity 5 ways. (UAL 2025)  

References: 

Advance HE (2018) ‘Religion and belief: supporting inclusion of staff and students in higher education and colleges Section 3: Student inclusion: access, experience and learning’ Advance HE 

Appiah, K.A. (2014) Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question) Available at: https://youtu.be/X2et2KO8gcY (Accessed on 15.05.25)  

Banarjee, P. (2024) ‘Connecting the dots: a systematic review of explanatory factors linking contextual indicators, institutional culture and degree awarding gaps,’ Higher Education Evaluation and Development Vol. 18 No. 1, 2024 pp. 31-52 DOI 10.1108/HEED-07-2023-0020 

Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color.’ Stanford Law Review 43 (6), pp.1241-1299   

Jawad, H. (2022) Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2022/09/islam-women-and-sport-the-case-of-visible-muslim-women/ (Accessed on 15.05.25) 

McKeown, P., and Dunn, R.A. (2021) A ‘Life‑Style Choice’ or a Philosophical Belief?: The Argument for Veganism and Vegetarianism to be a Protected Philosophical Belief and the Position in England and Wales,’ Liverpool Law Review 42:207–241 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10991-020-09273-w 

Ramadan, (2022) ‘When faith intersects with gender: the challenges and successes in the experiences of Muslim women academics,’ Gender and Education, 34:1, 33-48, DOI: 10.1080/09540253.2021.1893664 

Rekis, J. (2023) ‘Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Account.’ Hypatia 38, pp779–800. doi:10.1017/hyp.2023.86 

Trinity University (2016) Challenging Race, Religion, and Stereotypes in Classroom Available at: https://youtu.be/0CAOKTo_DOk (Accessed on 15.05.25)  

UAL (2025) Active Dashboards. Available at: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=99b2fe03-d417-45d3-bea9-1a65ebc250ea&dashcontextid=638773918741985949 (Accessed on 15.05.25)  

Categories
Inclusive Practice Blogs

Inclusive Practice_ Blog Post One_ Disability

Crenshaw (1991, p.1245) highlights the ‘need to account for multiple grounds for identity’ in understanding the construction of the social world and asserts that individuals with ‘multiple targeted identities’ are disempowered through hegemony and systemic inequality. These identities are tied to social group membership (Lukkien, Chauhan and Otaye-Ebede, 2024. p.3), one such group identity being disability. The Social Model of Disability suggests that disability is constructed by barriers in the hegemonic social world and that this world can be (re)designed to include the needs and differences of all individuals (UAL, no date).  

What ‘makes people disabled is not their disability,’ rather it is barriers constructed in society; the Paralympics being evidence of an opportunity for ‘people to shine’ when these barriers are removed (Adeptian and Webborn, 2020). Whilst street level discrimination against both race and disability has reduced, the more difficult progress remains in tackling dominant social systems, and although Ade acknowledges his own empowered position as a sports and media personality, he represents both black and disabled identities and articulates the parallel struggle against systemic inequality (Ibid). He draws a comparison between the Paralympics and the Black Lives Matter movement as critical moments which made these struggles visible in the hegemonic social world. Whilst the narrative of his own lived experience alludes to the compounded disenfranchisement of intersectional identities, it was Stoke Mandeville hospital and the disability community where he found his ‘tribe’ (Ibid), this ultimately mitigating the disempowerment of being a Nigerian immigrant with polio growing up in East London.

Chay Brown (2023) explores complex intersectional identities as a trans, gay man, not neuro typical, and having experienced mental health difficulties, whilst acknowledging potential privilege within the trans community, as a white man. He identifies that for trans people, struggling with social situations and anxiety can present significant challenges specific to navigating the codes that exist within the LGBTQ+ community (Ibid). This highlights the complexity of intersecting identities within the membership of a wider disenfranchised group. Brown (2023) asserts that ‘If we’re not working for disabled trans people we’re not working for the trans community because we’re missing people out.’

Christine Sun Kim (2024), in her context as Asian American deaf artist, is driven to force the voice of the deaf community into the everyday lives of the hearing world. This is realized through her insistence on communicating through sign language, signs, symbols, infographics and scaled up captioning of the city – the sky; through creating a greater visibility of useful communications for deaf people she seeks to put deaf lives into the minds of the hearing, and challenge social norms (Ibid).

The common theme of these narratives is that the hegemonic (ableist) world, where the intersection of disability is made invisible, can be reconstructed at both the micro and macro level and provide access through making disabled people visible and included. If the world can be designed to accommodate differences, then it will work in optimizing opportunities for everyone.  

In the context of UAL, data suggests that there are improving opportunities for attainment: students with declared disabilities (see fig.1), achieving an overall 3pp higher than those without (Campos-Barbi, 2025a, p14), although completion rates for disabled students are significantly lower (Campos-Barbi, 2025b, p.12), and crucially this data does not take into account the intersection of other multiple identities of disempowerment (Crenshaw, 1991). This lack of an intersectional lens points to positionality (Bayeck, 2022) in the data design, interpretation, and potential impact.

Figure 1. Attainment Rates by Disability (6 way) 1st– 2:1 (Campos-Barbi, 2025a, p.15) 

Bayeck (2022, p.7) suggests it is the ‘complex interplay of identity, space and context’ that informs positionality. I consider the accessibility to learning spaces as afforded by the design of the university, and the design of my lessons in meeting the needs of complex student identities. However, I also consider this from the perspective of my own context as Language Development tutor. Crenshaw (1991, p.1249) identifies language barriers as a source of intersectional subordination which limit opportunity; language remains invisible in the UAL data. For example, a student asked me whether we could hold a tutorial online, they had disclosed to me that they had some mental health issues which prevented them from being able to attend in person; it was a small adjustment that I was happy to make. However, on reflection, did other aspects of privilege provide the agency for this solicitation? This student was female, white, British and speaks English as a first language. Would a more disenfranchising intersectionality have prevented this request from being made, resulting in a lack of participation? Would this have led to sub optimal attainment? 

References 

Adepitan, A. and Webborn, N. (2020). Nick Webborn interviews Ade Adepitan. ParalympicsGB Legends [Online]. Youtube. 27 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnRjdol_j0c  (Accessed on 23.04.25) 

Bayeck, R.Y. (2022) Positionality: ‘The Interplay of Space, Context and Identity,’ International Journal of Qualitative Methods Volume 21: 1–9: DOI: 10.1177/16094069221114745

Brown, C. (2023) Interview with ParaPride. Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month [Online]. Youtube. 13 December. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc (Accessed on 15.04.25) 

Campos- Barbi, T. (2025a) UAL Undergraduate Attainment Report 2023-24 Available at: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/documents/sppreview/1cdc0ff4-8830-4787-b187-f7db576ab259 (Accessed on 23.04.25) 

Campos-Barbi, T. (2025b) UAL Undergraduate Completion Report 2023-24. Available at: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/documents/sppreview/99c0212e-0eb0-47c0-97e9-2038d9d407cf (Accessed on 23.04.25) 

Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color.’ Stanford Law Review 43 (6), pp.1241-1299   

Lukkien, T., Chauhan, T. and Otaye‐Ebede, L. (2024) ‘Addressing the diversity principle–practice gap in Western higher education institutions: A systematic review on intersectionality.’ British Educational Research Journal. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4096., pp2-7 and pp17-20   

Sun, C. (2024). Christine Sun Kim in ‘Friends & Strangers’ – Season 11 | Art21. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/2NpRaEDlLsI  (Accessed on 23.04.25)  

UAL (no date) ‘The Social Model of Disability at UAL.’ Available at: https://youtu.be/mNdnjmcrzgw (Accessed on 19.04.25).  

Categories
Reflective Posts

Reflective Post 4: Reflections on ‘zines,’ ‘roots’ and ‘routes’ in the multicultural university learning space.  

Here are some reflections on my experience with the Intercultural Communication programme, which offers workshops and resources for developing communication skills and intercultural awareness (UAL, 2025), as well as my interest in the works of Stuart Hall, and how this has informed my thinking about pedagogical approaches with my students at LCF.  

‘The intellectual routes’ taken by Stuart Hall and Paul Gilroy played a major role in transforming our understandings of ‘race, youth, schooling and identity’ (Warmington, 2014, p.91), and the development of cultural studies. I first came across Hall et al. (2013 [1978]) during my own studies in the field of public policy, and I was drawn to the chapter by Warmington (2014) because I wanted to learn more about how Hall and others have influenced the way in which we think, teach and learn about culture and identity.  

If you think of culture always as a return to roots — R-O-O-T-S — you’re missing the point. I think of culture as routes — R-O-U-T-E-S — the various routes by which people travel, culture travels, culture moves, culture develops, culture changes, cultures migrate, etc. 

(Stuart Hall in Paul, 2005) 

This play on the homophone (also see microteach post) resonates with me. The first time I came across this quote was in a Language Development sharing session given by Adam Ramejkis, about a program ‘R-O-O-T-S and R-O-U-T-E-S,’ which explores critical dialogues for more equitable and sustainable practice in art and design education (UAL, 2023).  

It was with Adam that I worked on (a separate programme) ‘Zine’ workshops during the UAL welcome week. The basic remit for these workshops was that students arrive, are briefed with how to make a ‘zine’ – using the materials (pens, paper, cut up magazines), and then are free to create (see figures 1 and 2 below).  

Figure 1. Welcome Week Zine workshops at Camberwell College of Arts Autumn 2024 

Fig 2. Welcome Week Zine Workshop Chelsea College of Arts Autumn 2024 

What I noticed happened in this multicultural space was that people felt relaxed and willing to communicate with each other, but were not under pressure to do so – i.e. they could choose when to communicate and when to focus on the work. The creative work itself expressing thoughts, feelings – and what we can discover in the moment; cultural identities being not only rooted in the histories, language, and culture of ‘who we are’ and ‘where we come from’, but also, and perhaps more importantly being ‘part of a process of becoming’ (Van Stipriaan, 2013, pp.206-207); see examples below (fig 4).  

Figure 3. Examples of student Zines created at CCW Welcome Week Zine workshops  

In the international classroom, I feel that it is my mission to facilitate a greater integration between cultural groups, but I want to explore a methodology where I can create opportunities for learners to find this without pressuring them to integrate. Culture is the process of ‘constructing a relationship between oneself and the world’ (Hsu, 2017) and, as Hall notes, people need to ‘have a language to speak about where they are and what other possible futures are available to them’ (Ibid). This is a language I want to explore in the intercultural fashion business classroom. See extensive feedback and evaluation of Zine workshops in Appendix, and for many more examples of student and staff produced Zines, see link to ual.amaZINES (2025) in references below.   

Appendix: 

AdamRamejkis_amazinesfeedback2324.pdf 

References: 

Hall, S., Critcher, C., Jefferson, T., Clarke, J., and Roberts, B. (2013) Policing the crisis, mugging, the state and law and order. London: Springer Nature [originally published by Red Globe Press 1978] 

Hsu, H. (2018) Stuart Hall and the Rise of Cultural Studies. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/stuart-hall-and-the-rise-of-cultural-studies (Accessed on 07.03.25) 

Paul, A. (2005) Stuart Hall: “Culture is always a translation.” Available at: https://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-71/culture-always-translation (Accessed on 17.03.2025) 

UAL (2023) Roots and Routes. Available at: https://millbankexhibition.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2023/07/19/roots-and-routes/ (Accessed on 17.03.25) 

UAL (2025) Intercultural Communication. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/language-centre/intercultural-communication-training (Accessed on 17.03.25 

ual.amaZINES (2025) ‘zines from students and staff’ [Instagram] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/ual.amazines/?igsh=MWk5NHhidDBwd2t3dQ%3D%3D# (Accessed on 17.03.25) 

Van Stipriaan, A. (2013) ‘Roots and the Production of Heritage’ in Contemporary Culture Book Subtitle: New Directions in Art and Humanities. eds: Thissen, J., Zwijnenberg, R., and Zijlmans, K. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press  

Warmington, P. (2014) Black British Intellectuals and Education: Multiculturalism’s Hidden History, London: Taylor & Francis Group

Categories
Reflective Posts

Reflective Post 3: Research Philosophy: The language I’m learning and the language I’m teaching. 

I often tell students that learning vocabulary (lexis) is a little bit like walking towards the horizon, it doesn’t matter how far you go with it, you will never reach completion: it is impossible to learn all the words and phrases in English (or any language). In blog post 2, I reflected on the language that I have learned and how it informs the language I now teach, however, to illustrate the above point re: the horizon – I can now reflect on the language I am learning and the language I am teaching (simultaneously).  

Below are some vocabulary items which you may recognize (see figure 1) from the discourse of our PG Cert course, which I have also been teaching on the Advanced Research Methods for Postgraduate Marketing courses at the Fashion Business School at LCF.    

Fig 1. Revision of vocabulary and new vocabulary. Language Development – Advanced Research Methods – Fashion Business School 20th Feb 2025 

This vocabulary I have drawn from a key chapter of Saunders, Thornhill and Lewis (2023) – which deal with research philosophy and research design – it is this chapter which presents the infamous (in business post grad studies) heuristic the ‘Research Onion’ (see figure 2). As you can see (fig 1) I have also included the word heuristic, which was a lexical item I learned during my own postgraduate studies – and one which I now feel has application for the said ‘Onion’ and other such ideal type models and visualizations. Ontology was also a word I had learned in my own studies, epistemology I acquired through a session given at LCF: Where do you know from, which I went to specifically to learn this word, however, axiology and reflexology and others are new to me.  

Figure 2. The Research Onion. (Saunders, Thornhill and Lewis, 2023, p. 13) 

The development of research design requires reflexivity in transcending bias and contextualizing positionality (Archer, 2007; Yip, 2024; Creswell, 2013). Both teachers and learners need to explore a level of thinking which allows them to reflect both in (ontologically) and on (reflexively and epistemologically) their practice (Schon, 1983). This is a vocabulary which I am learning myself -and through sharing this with my learners, I can offer insights into my own learning process, whilst participating in theirs. Moreover, it reaffirms my belief that language can be acquired through use, and this is the true value of paraphrasing in academic writing – it helps us synthesize new knowledge until it comfortably becomes a part of our discourse (see fig 3). 

Figure 3. Paraphrasing and summarizing academic texts. Language Development – Advanced Research Methods – Fashion Business School 20th Feb 2025 

References 

Archer, M. S. (2007). Making our way through the world: Human reflexivity and social mobility. Cambridge: Cambridge university Press.  

Creswell, J. W. (2013) Qualitative inquiry and research design: choosing among five approaches. 3rd ed. London: Sage Publications Ltd. 

Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A. (2023) Research Methods for Business Students. 9th edition. Harlow: Pearson Education 

Schön, D. A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. New York: Basic Books.   

Yip, S.Y. (2024) ‘Positionality and reflexivity: negotiating insider-outsider positions within and across cultures’ International Journal of Research & Method in Education Vol 47-Issue 3-pp.222-232    

Categories
Case Studies

Case study 3: Assessing Learning and exchanging feedback/feedforward  

Background 

As PSE and ISPT examiner, I assess both the spoken and written output of ESOL (see appendix 1 for acronyms) students using a framework which has been adapted from IELTS (see appendix 2). As a Language Development tutor, I operate as a mediator of assessment and feedback, i.e. helping students to understand and process both formative and summative feedback received from others. 

Evaluation 

Written feedback has limited value if learners cannot see the connection between the feedback received (Brooks, 2008), what they have produced and what they need to do next. It is an expectation from course leaders that I can help solve the time pressure problem on the writers of feedback on the main course, I can give them advice about how they can practically make improvements on the next assignment and, in some cases, justify the mark to them (Ibid, p.5). However, what I feel will be the most effective for learners (Watkins, 2002), is developing the meta cognitive skills to process this for themselves.   

Going Forward 

As Language Development tutor at UAL I have had the opportunity to work with a range of other practitioners and courses and, through these experiences, I have collected procedures for reflection, which, with the aim of fulfilling principles of good feedback (Nicol and MacFarlane-Dick 2006), I have begun using with the aim of helping learners to process their feedback. This I frame as feedback feedforward, an idea inspired by Paul Jackson, course leader of MA Graphic Branding and Identity at LCC, along with the accompanying Back to the Future (n.d.) branding (see figure 1).   

Fig. 1. First slide of Processing Feedback/forward session for Bsc_Msc Fashion Management Year 1 (February 2025) 

Gibbs (1988) Reflective Cycle (see figure 1) is a useful tool for reflective thinking, which I have learned about through teaching reflective writing for ‘collaborative units’ on a range of courses. It first focuses on how we feel – which is worth reflecting on before moving forward to the evaluative, analytical and action stages. The description stage represents the feedback given.  

Fig 2. Gibbs reflective cycle (Gibbs, 1988) 

The Hampel Method (ICCA, 2014) (see figure 2) is a system originally devised for legal professionals, which I learned from MA GBI course leader Paul Jackson, and places more emphasis on the action – feedforward.  

Figure 3. The Hampel Method – (Adapted by Jackson, 2024) 

We can synthesize the two processes – to address: what was the feedback? (description) why did you receive it? (analysis), what can you learn from this (evaluation)– and then, crucially, what will you do about it? (action).  

To make it concrete, I introduce learners to the SMART GOALS frame, with which they can articulate their plan of action (see figure 4); the use of this structured approach can be useful for students with ADHD to set and manage goals (Next Steps 4 ADHD, 2024).   

Figure 4. SMART GOALS (Next Step 4 ADHD, 2024) 

Whilst currently students see me as the only mediator, it is my hope that, through using these models, students can work together socially (Vygotsky, 1987), and communicatively (Nunan, 1991), to help scaffold each other’s understanding of feedback and development. 

Action Points:

What: Implement Feedback Feedforward lessons to process Block One – When: February/ March 2025 – Develop and reiterate February/ March 2026

What: Gather feedback on this approach from students and peers – When: March/ April 2025

Appendix 1: Acronyms 

ESOL–  English for Speakers of Other Languages 

IELTS–  International English Language Testing System  

PSE–  Pre-Sessional English  

ISPT–  In-sessional Progress Test  

Appendix 2: Assessment Descriptors

Writing Band Descriptors.docx

Speaking Descriptors.docx

References:

Back to the Future (n.d.) Available at: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQiAUI52_-niASQabl_PqdkJQ-moVziM6ahfiYkZW9NSnhcciNw (Accessed on 02.02.2025) 

Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods, Oxford: Further Education Unit, Oxford Polytechnic. 

ICCA Inns of College of Advocacy (2014) The Hampel Method. Available at: https://www.icca.ac.uk/post-qualification-training/cpd/advocacy-training/the-hampel-method/ (Accessed on 28.02.25) 

Jackson, P. (2024) Feedback Feedforward. Unit 3 Major Project Proposal MA GBI UAL_2024 

Nicol, D.J., and Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006) ‘Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice’, Studies in Higher Education, 31: 2, 199 — 218  

Next Steps 4 ADHD (2024) How to create smart goals, Available at: https://nextstep4adhd.com/how-to-create-smart-goals/ (Accessed on 13.03.2025) 

Nunan, D. (1991) ‘Communicative Tasks and the Language Curriculum.’ TESOL Quarterly. 25 (2): 279–295.  Available at: doi:10.2307/3587464. JSTOR 3587464. (Accessed on 20.02.25) 

Vygotsky, L. S. (1987) ‘Thinking and speech’. In R.W. Rieber & A.S. Carton (Eds.), The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky, Volume 1: Problems of general psychology (pp. 39–285). New York: Plenum Press. (Original work published 1934.) 

Watkins, C. (2002) ‘Effective Learning,’ NSIN Research Matters Institute of Education. Issue 7 London: University of London   

Categories
Reflective Posts

Reflections on Microteach: Object Based Learning- ‘rolls’ and ‘roles.’

Objects have the capacity ‘to facilitate deep learning;’ they can be surprising, intriguing and absorbing, and through stimulating learners’ sense of wonder they can provoke a ‘rich, important and fun’ educational experience (Hardie, 2015. p.4). My experience of the Object Based Learning (OBL) microteach on the PG Cert in February 2025 at LCC, both as teacher and as learner, was a joyful one.

For my own microteach I decided to draw on my experience of learning through practice at drama school in the late 1990s. In the theatre of Shakespeare, in its original productions, printing multiple versions of play texts for actors was not an option, plus the limited time for rehearsal necessitated that actors would be presented with only their lines and their cues, sometimes meeting their fellow actors on stage for the first time in performance (Tucker, 2001).

Therefore, a key objective was for participants to learn something of the history of the Elizabethan theatre, or at least a theory of it, through practice. I had chosen a short part of Macbeth which provides opportunity to demonstrate some of the features of this style of theatre work through the replica artefact. Shakespeare’s plays can be seen in the replica theatre of Shakespeare’s Globe (see fig. 1 below).  

Fig.1. Aerial view of Shakespeare’s Globe performing arts venue on the bank of the River Thames, London, England (Britannica, 2025) 

It was the linguistic angle that first drew my attention to the idea of using these objects – with the mind to have learners discover the etymology of the homophone ‘roll’ and ‘role’ through speculating the identity and function of the object.  

I decided to tie them up with a ribbon, however, the effect was that the objects appeared to be the scrolls you might receive at graduation – or as one participant commented a ‘Christmas present for a dog,’ as you can/might see from the image (see fig.2 below), 

Fig 2. Cue scripts/The roles tied with red ribbon.  

This provided a useful reflection for me about my lessons in general: what effects do the design choices have on the perceptions of the learners? Despite this, once the function of the object was revealed through opening the ribbon the roles (see example fig 1, and others in appendix 1) were allocated as the rolls were unrolled; I was able to elicit from the group this homophonic etymology, which was a key learning aim of the lesson.  

 

Fig. 3 – Banquo cue script.  

The plan worked effectively, if not quite to timing, and we managed to achieve the physicalizing of play: the performance of the scene. I wanted to allow participants the time they needed to speculate what the object could be at the beginning without (too much) interference from me as teacher/ facilitator. I also wanted them to have the curiosity to open the object and discover its function (see lesson plan in Appendix 2).  

I feel that participants were able to find some joy in this opportunity to perform and play (albeit a small part of) Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  

Appendix One – Cue scripts:

Banquo.docx

Macbeth.docx

First Witch.docx

Second Witch.docx

Third Witch.docx

Appendix 2 – Lesson Plan

Microteach Lesson Plan.docx

Appendix 3 – Long form version of this blog post:

Reflections on Microteach- OBL – ‘roles’ and ‘roles’.pdf

References 

Brittanica (2025) Globe Theatre, Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Globe-Theatre (Accessed on 14.03.25) 

Hardie, K., (2015) ‘Innovative pedagogies series: Wow: The power of objects in object-based learning and teaching,’ Higher Education Academy. York: HEA 

Tucker, P. (2001) Secrets of Acting Shakespeare: The Original Approach. London: Routledge 

Categories
Reflective Posts

Reflective Post 2: Reflections on the language I have learned and the language I teach.

The Language Development (LD) programme at UAL is focused on helping students who speak English as an additional language (EAL) to develop the language skills required to be successful on their courses (UAL, 2025). However, LD is available to everyone, and I draw on the often quoted – (and sometimes misquoted as Ding, (2019) notes) assertion that academic language is ‘no one’s mother tongue’ and is remote from the language which is actually spoken by the vast majority of the population in day to day life (Bourdieu and Passerson, 1995, p.8). This is especially true with language required at postgraduate level. From reading around this topic, I am reflecting on the language that I use to communicate threshold concepts, the multiple meanings this language holds and my own socialization into the language of academic discourse as learner (Bond, 2016). 

One term that I frequently use with learners is ‘looking for tensions in the literature,’ this I owe to my tutor Paul whose teaching on the MSc International Public Policy at Queen Mary University of London embedded this notion in my understanding of a key purpose of literature review. I include this image (see fig 1) which for me illustrates what to articulate between the schools of thought in a given field of study; a tug of war is meant to represent the friendly nature of this critical discourse – it is a game that we as academics need to play  – the argument is academic not ad hominem. I also reflect that other lexis I frequently use when referring to framing the literature is illustrating the drama and making a compelling narrative; this lexicon owes more to my background as an actor and writer.  

Fig.1 “I will not play tug o’ war; I’d rather play hug o’ war” – Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends. (Crockett, 2017). #1 

Some key lexis that I explore with learners is frame and framing, these are concepts that I learned about myself at postgraduate level study in the field of public policy and International Relations, where a frame can be understood as the definition of a policy’s image (Cairney, 2011) and framing a process of messaging where both producers and receivers ‘transform information into a meaningful whole.’ (Van Gorp, 2002; Fischer, 2003, p.144). However, perhaps the most memorable learning experience for me was an online lecture podcast by Paul Cairney (2015) which explores the different ways that we can understand this meaning through visual representation (see figure 1 and 2 below).  

Fig.2 Framing as deciding which part of the world on which to focus. (Cairney, 2015) 

Fig 2. A timber frame, to highlight the structure of a discussion which is crucial but often unseen and taken for granted. (Cairney, 2015).  

It is from the latter that I draw inspiration in trying to help my postgraduate fashion business learners visualize theoretical frameworks with this image (see fig 4).  

Fig 4. Framework of Flatiron Building, Circa 1901. (Designing Buildings, 2020) 

To further emphasize this idea, and to help students access the threshold concept of foundations underpinning assumptions I use the illustration of our building at LCF and the steel formwork which underpins it (see slides in Appendix). Reflecting again on this choice of image – perhaps I owe this to my dad – an engineer who worked on designing the steel frame formwork for this kind of construction. 

Thinking reflexively: the way I see the things – ontologically #2 – and how this is manifest in language – comes via multiple roots and routes, to draw on Stuart Hall, (Hall, Segal and Osbourne, 1997) #3, and this cultural positionality informs my pedagogy. This is a theme that I would like to explore further with fellow practitioners, as well as my own learners, to understand the relationship between the language we learn and the language we teach.  

Appendix: 

Foundations underpinning a construction.pptx

End notes:

#1. There are many Google images available, but I have chosen one that uses real people, and these people are mainly not white Caucasian, because I believe that the images that I present to my learners should be more representative of the learners themselves.

#2. This language will be explored further in reflective blog 3.

#3. The work Stuart Hall will be explored further in reflective blog 4.

Reference List:

Bond, B, (2016) The importance of language for learning. Available at: https://teachingexcellence.leeds.ac.uk/opinion-the-importance-of-language-for-learning/ (Accessed on 13.03.25) 

Cairney, P., (2015) Policy Concepts in 1000 Words: Framing. Available at: https://paulcairney.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/policy-concepts-in-1000-words-framing/ (Accessed on 13.03.25)  

Cairney, P., (2011), Understanding Public Policy: Theories and Issues, Basingstoke Hamps: Palgrave Macmillan    

Crocket, Z. (2017) A History of Tug-of-War Fatalities. Available at: https://priceonomics.com/a-history-of-tug-of-war-fatalities/ 

Designing Buildings (2020) Skeleton frame Available at: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Skeleton_frame (Accessed on 13.03.24)  

Hall, S., Segal, L., and Osbourne, P. (1997) ‘Stuart Hall Culture and Powe,’ Radical Philosophy, 086, Nov/Dec 1997, pp. 24–41. (pdf) Available at https://www.radicalphilosophy.com/interview/stuart-hall-culture-and-power (Accessed on 13.03.25) 

UAL (2025) English Language Development for students. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/language-centre/english-language-development-for-ual-students (Accessed on 13.03.25) 

Van Gorp, B., (2002), ‘The Implementation of Asylum Policy: Which Frame Dominates the Debate,’ European Consortium for Policy Research, Joint Sessions, Grenoble France (6th -11th April 2002)