Helen Marriott, Associate Professor
Biography
Qualifications
Contact Details
Units/subjects Taught
Supervision
Research Interests
Research
Groups
Publications
Biography
I originally commenced studying Japanese when in my third year at Monash University, just to do something interesting to finish off my degree. This selection was partly triggered by a trip to Japan during the previous summer holidays and subsequently led me to becoming captivated by an entirely new language and culture.
After graduating with Honours and Diploma of Education, I taught Japanese at Swinburne Institute of Technology (now University) while continuing postgraduate studies at Monash. I completed a Masters in Education as well an MA in which I focussed on the communicative competence of Japanese women living in Melbourne. I then extended this interest in sociolinguistics and language acquisition and use in my PhD where I investigated Australian-Japanese business interaction.
Since joining the staff of Monash University in 1988, I have taught various subjects at the undergraduate and graduate level, mostly relating to sociolinguistics, intercultural communication and language contact, and I also extended my PhD research on Japanese-English communication and interaction in the business domain to examine aspects of interaction between Australians and Japanese in the tourism sector. Some years ago I developed a research interest in in-country study and study abroad, mainly encompassing Australian secondary students in Japan and, more recently, Japanese tertiary students in Australia. I remain especially interested in the acquisition of academic literacy by L2 students and recently have adopted a language planning perspective, as a complement to the language management approach, in my research.
Leisure time seems to be quite scarce, but I enjoy gardening (especially growing clivias) .
Qualifications
- PhD (Monash University)
- "Etiquette in Australian-Japanese business interaction"
- MA (Monash University)
- "The acquisition of English communicative competence by Japanese women"
- M Education (Monash University)
- "Some aspects of foreign language reading comprehension"
Contact details
| Room: | 417 Menzies Building (Building 11), Clayton Campus |
| Phone: | (03) 9905 2272 (international: 61 3 9905 2272) |
| Email: | helen.marriott@arts.monash.edu.au |
| Fax: | (03) 9905 5437 (international: 61 3 9905 5437) |
| Mailing Address: | Assoc. Prof.
H. Marriott School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics PO Box 11A Monash University Australia 3800 |
Units/subjects taught
At the undergraduate level sometimes I teach jointly with Robyn Spence-Brown a second/third year subject called Japanese Language Acquisition and Use. In my segment I introduce topics like the origins and development of Japanese, Japanese contact with Asian and European languages, code-switching, varieties of Japanese and intercultural communication. The second part of the unit introduces the concept of communicative competence. This is an introductory subject and can be followed by Introduction to Japanese Linguistics or Introduction to Sociolinguistics which are offered from time to time. An Introduction to Japanese Linguistics covers topics on the Japanese written script, sound system, word formation and word meaning, and grammar and particle usage. An Introduction to Japanese Sociolinguistics consists of such topics as cross-cultural speech acts and intercultural communication, computer-mediated communication, honorifics and politeness, gender, communication networks, and Japanese language contact in Australia and Japan.
A number of my former students who have undertaken an Honours program in Japan have written excellent dissertations on various Japanese speech acts and other topics.
At the graduate/postgraduate level I teach Research Methodology for Applied Linguistics) which provides an introduction to qualitative and quantitative approaches to research. Included are topics like the nature of research, research traditions, writing literature reviews, ethnography, case studies and introspection, elicitation procedures, ethical issues, classroom research, experimental research, pilot studies, descriptive and inferential statistics, and presentation of research reports.
Japanese Sociolinguistics will be available in Semester 2, 2007, and in this subject I introduce theories and empirical research on intercultural communication, comparative speech act research and research methodology, comparative English and Japanese discourse structure, and an introduction to Japanese language contact in Japan and overseas.
Another graduate/postgraduate subject, Asian Languages in Contact (formerly called Japanese Language and Society), deals with languages in contact. In the past a number of students have chosen topics from this subject to develop in their subsequent MA research papers or theses. Asian Languages in Contact is an advanced sociolinguistic subject which examines various topics relating to languages in contact in Australia as a basis for studying Japanese language contact overseas. Specific topics include community languages in Australia, language maintenance and shift, transference, attitudes to language contact phenomena, bilingualism, code-switching, language behaviour in mixed marriages, and children's education overseas. The subject also covers Japanese language in Australia, Hawaii and Brazil, as well as topics relating to language contact in Japan.
Sometimes I also teach Japanese Linguistics, covering such topics as genetic affiliation of Japanese, orthography, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
Supervision
I regularly supervise students at honours, Masters and PhD levels. A selection of some of the topics I am currently supervising, or have supervised in the past, is listed below:
Current:
- Japanese-English interpreters’ behaviour
- Analysis of Japanese graduation thesis writing (PhD)
- Acquisition of Japanese accent (PhD)
- Japanese language learners' networks and language learning (PhD)
- Argumentation in L1 and L2 (PhD)
- Japanese-English computer-mediated communication (PhD)
- Academic literacy and the integration of sources into text (PhD)
Recent:
- Japanese exchange students and their language management (PhD)
- Conversational negotiation in Chinese-Japanese interaction: An analysis of workplace communication (PhD)
- ESL academic writing and revising (MA thesis)
- Oral discussion in medical PBL tutorials (MA research paper )
- Interaction in language exchange partnerships (MA research paper)
- Team teaching in secondary school Japanese programs (MA research paper)
- Japanese primary school immersion (MA thesis)
- Japanese LOTE and immersion programs in primary schools (research paper)
- Argumentation in L2 writing (Honours)
- Communication networks of Japanese language learners (MA thesis)
- Japanese primary immersion program (MA thesis)
- Expressions of appreciation in Japanese (Honours)
- Language maintenance and shift in Brazilian Japanese (MA research paper)
- Japanese exchange students' study programs and adjustment strategies (MA dissertation)
- Asian-background students' essay writing (MA dissertation)
- Teachers' code-switching behaviour in Japanese tertiary classrooms in Australia (MA thesis)
- Negotiation of meaning: The influence of in-country experience on communication strategies (MA thesis)
- Transference and awareness in student sojourner's Japanese (MA thesis)
- Code-switching behaviour of the second generation Japanese in Melbourne (MA thesis)
- Variations in politeness in Japanese in conversations between native speakers of Japanese (MA thesis)
- Speech acts in Japanese business negotiation (MA thesis)
- Deviations in sociolinguistic variables of politeness by Japanese language learners (MA thesis)
- Japanese language acquisition through in-country experience (MA thesis)
- Native speaker reactions to non-native speaker's deviations from politeness norms in Japanese tour guiding situations (MA thesis)
- The development of writing skills through in-country experience (MA research paper)
- Management of speech acts of refusals by Australian learners of Japanese (MA research paper)
- Young children's oral production in Japanese in a Japanese primary school immersion program (MA research paper)
- Expressions of gratitude in Japanese (Honours)
- The Japanese speech act of refusal (Honours)
- Study genres in a Japanese university (Honours)
- The speech act of apology (Honours)
One of the most satisfying parts of my work at Monash is to be able to work with graduate students by acting as their supervisor. I feel privileged to have been the supervisor of so many students who have made important contributions to a variety of research topics and areas. Seeing them, in turn, publish their work is further testiment to the high levels reached by so many of them. Quite a number are now teaching in universities around the world or are working in other challenging positions. Some of their reports about their experiences at Monash can be found here.
The Japanese program at Monash Universityis known internationally for its important contribution to Japanese language teaching and learning, thanks largely to the work of the inaugural professor, Professor J.V. Neustupny. Together with Dr Robyn Spence-Brown and other staff, I warmly welcome future graduate research students to work with us on such topics as politeness, group work interaction in Japanese language classes, computer-mediated communication, out-of-class language learning, L2 literacy and academic socialization and other topics. Further research on communicative and interactive aspects of the Japanese community in Australia is also necessary, and so I hope that more graduate students will work in this area in the coming years.
Research interests
In recent years my research interest has focused upon aspects relating to the acquisition of academic literacy, especially by L2 speakers. In some ways, this is a continuation of my earlier research on intercultural communication, but adds a new dimension to it. I have undertaken some introductory research on comparative study genres at Australian and Japanese universities, and I have also looked in general at the problems facing Japanese students in their transition to the new academic culture that they confront when they come to Australia to study and the kinds of adjustment strategies that they pursue. Within this area of study, I am also particularly interested in the topic of peer editing. I have also become interested in how participants in academic interaction, for example, students and teachers, talk about their interactive experiences. Although the area of academic literacy is a fairly wide one, there is still need for much more empirical research. I have found Neustupny's language management model to be a useful one, in particular the stages or components of noting and evaluation which have not received very much empirical attention to date.
There are now several other staff members and a number of graduate research students all undertaking, or who have recently undertaken, topics within the area of academic literacy acquisition, for example, argumentation in L1 and L2 writing, language management by exchange students, integration of sources into text, thesis writing in Japan. A number of our papers were published in a special issue of the Journal of Asian Pacific Communication (volume 14), 2004. In 2005/6 I extended this research to incorporate a language planning perspective and investigated situations in several non-Arts faculties. Drawing upon a presentation I gave at the International Japanese Language Education conference held in New York in August 2006, I will write a joint paper with a graduate student examining individual language policies drawing upon the research which both of us have conducted independently. During 2007 I also intend to re-examine the applicability of the communities of practice notion and networks in relation to L2 literacy socialization.
I recently submitted a paper to the International Journal of the Sociology of Language on "Japanese language contact in Australia ", to be a part of a special issue on Japanese diaspora. This paper contains a summary of major research studies in Australia to date as well as introduces a study of my own on the code-switching/transference behaviour of Japanese adults resident in Australia. A further paper drawing upon the same ARC-funded study applies a language management framework to transference behaviour and also examines the phenomenon of talk about language management behaviour. The latter paper, along with papers by Dr Kuniko Yoshimitsu and two graduate students, are due to appear in a publication on Intercultural Communication and Language Management, edited by Nekvapil and Sherman in the near future. In June of this year I have been invited by these two editors to Charles University, Prague, with regard to this collaboration on language management research. At the same time, I will also present a sociolinguistics seminar on my earlier research on intercultural business communication.
Research Groups
In 2005 the school supported a cluster group which I led on "Contact competence: reconceptualizing theories for second language learning and discourse acquisition” . Members of this group were interested in the discursive processes and outcomes of academic contact situations, resulting from the significant movement of students and educators across academic cultures. Other members were particularly interested in situations of contact found in second/foreign language classrooms and learning contexts. The 2005 program included special lectures delivered by Professor Bonny Norton (University of British Columbia), Professor Merril Swain (University of Toronto,) and Professor Kellen Toohey (in early 2006). A highlight of the group’s activity was a conference held in December, 2005 the keynote speakers being Professor Patsy Duff (University of British Columbia, Canada), Professor Tim McNamara (University of Melbourne) and Professor Michael Clyne (University of Melbourne/Monash University). Many Monash staff and graduate students from the Japanese program presented papers at the conference and also took part in the extensive discussion sessions which followed the panels. Professor Duff also gave several other stimulating presentations during her two-month stay as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Faculty of Arts, including a public lecture on “Heteroglossia in foreign language classrooms: research, debates, and issues”. Her lecture handout and recording can be found on the School's Research Seminars page.
A further important outcome of the research cluster will be the publication of a collection of papers to be entitled ‘Discourses of Learing and Learning Discourses (ed. Marriott, Spence-Brown and Moore) and published by e-Press in both electronic and hard-copy form (due second half of 2007). In 2006 I was assigned as leader to an RQF (Research Quality Frameworks) research group with the School labelled as “Applied Linguistics and Education” and which consists of 11 staff members. This is a new research group formed to meet the university’s participation in the RQF process.
Publications(Some Selections from the Past 14 Years)
Forthcoming
Marriott, H.,T. Moore & R. Spence-Brown (eds) (in press) Discourses of Learning and Learning Discourses. Australia: e-Press (due 2007)
Marriott, H.E. (in press) “Micro language planning for the support of international students in health science faculties at an Australian university”. In Discourses of Learning and Learning Discourses, eds. H. Marriott, T. Moore & R. Spence-Brown, Australia, e-Press. (due 2007)
Marriott, H.E. (submitted) Japanese speakers’ management of transference behaviour in an Australian context. In Intercultural Communication and Language Management, eds. J. Nekvapil & T. Sherman.
Marriott, H.E. (submitted) “Japanese language contact in Australia: transfer phenomena in spoken discourse”. International Journal of the Sociology of Language.
2006
Marriott, H.E. (2006) Micro Language Planning for Student Support in a Pharmacy Faculty. Current Issues in Language Planning 7, 2&3, 328-340.
2005
Marriott, H.E. (2005) “Nihonjinryuugakusei no akademikku eigo nooryoku no hattatsu” (The development of Japanese overseas students’ English academic competence) Nihongogaku (Japanese language studies) 24, 3, 86-97.
2004
Special issue editor, Journal of Asian Pacific Communication , Vol. 1 4 , No.1.
"A programmatic exploration of issues in the academic interaction of Japanese students overseas", Journal of Asian Pacific Communication , 1 4 , 1 , 33-54 .
2003
Satoshi Miyazaki and Helen Marriott, Sesshoku bamen to Nihongo kyooiku. (Studies in Contact Situations and Japanese Language Education). Tokyo : Meiji Shoin.
"Peer editing in academic contact situations". In Sesshoku bamen toNihongo kyooiku, eds. S. Miyazaki and H. Marriott, Tokyo , Meiji Shoin , 113-141 .
2001
Helen Marriott and Helen Tse Hoi Ling, "Asian students' writing and their modification of text quality", ASAA E-Journal of Asian Linguistics and Language Teaching 1, 1-13.
"Graduate learning and use in graduate education in Japan". Asia-Pacific Applied Linguistics: the next 25 years. Proceedings and refereed paper of the National Congress of the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia, July 2001, University of Canberra, 1-15.
2000
Japanese students' management processes and their acquisition of English academic competence during study abroad. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 10, 2, 270-296.
Marriott, H. E. and S. Miyazaki, "Japanese students and their cultures of learning". In Language and Learning, eds. G. Crosling, T. Moore, and S. Vance, Melbourne, Monash University, 87-96.
1999
Ryuugakusei no makuro gakushuu sutorateji (Macro-study strategies of university students overseas). In Nihongo kyooiku to nihongo gakushuu(Japanese language education and learning Japanese), eds. S. Miyazaki and J.V. Neustupny, Kurosio Press, 197-208.
Nihonjinryuugakusei no gakushuu pataan (The study patterns of Japanese students overseas). In Atarashii Nihongaku no koozoo (Symposium: Constructing Japanese Studies in Global Perspectives), Y. Hirano (ed.), Ochanomizu University, Tokyo, 195-201.
1997
"Australian-Japanese business interaction: some features of language and cultural contact". In The Languages of Business: An International Perspective, eds. F. Bargiela-Chiappini and S. Harris, Edinburgh University Press, 49-71.
"Nihongo kyooiku - 21 seiki e no tenboo, oosutoraria" (Japanese language teaching in Australia - towards the twenty-first century . Nihongogaku , 16, 193-202.
"The language learning experiences of exchange students in Japan",Dainigengo toshite no nihongo no shuutoku (Acquisition of Japanese as a second language), 1, 29-56.
1996
"Acquisition planning for in-country study". Japanese Studies 16, 1, 3-14.
"Intercultural communication of foreign youth in Japan". In International Research Center for Japanese Studies Kyoto Conference on Japanese Studies 1994, 2, 217-230.
"Code-switching in classroom interaction: a study of English transfers in Japanese classrooms". In H. Marriott and M. Low (eds.) Language and Culture Contact with Japan. Australia: Monash Asia Institute.
Marriott, H.E., and M. Low (eds.) Language and Cultural Contact with Japan. Monash Asia Institute, i-x, 1-203.
M. Low and H.E. Marriott (eds.) Japanese Science, Technology and Economic Growth Downunder. Australia: Monash Asia Institute, i-xiv, 1-210.
"Kookan ryuugakusei no nihongo noryoku no hattatsu hyooka" (Assessing the Japanese competence of exchange students) in Nihongo Kyooiku Gakkai proceedings, 87-92. With S. Miyazaki and S. Enomoto.
1995
"`Deviations' in an intercultural business negotiation". In A. Firth (ed.)The Discourse of Negotiation: Studies of Language in the Workplace, ed. A. Firth. U.K., Pergamon Press, 247-268.
"The acquisition of politeness patterns by exchange students in Japan". InB. Freed (ed.) Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context, Amsterdam, John Benjamins, 1995, 197-224.
"The management of discourse in international seller-buyer negotiations". In K.Ehlich and J. Wagner (eds.) The Discourse of Business Negotiation, Berlin, Mouton de Gruyter, 103-126.
Marriott H.E. & S. Enomoto "Secondary exchanges with Japan: exploring students' experiences and gains. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics Series S, 12, 1995, 64-82.
Marriott, H.E. and R. Spence-Brown "Developments in Japanese language education in Australia".
Sekai no Nihongo Kyooiku (Current Report on Japanese-Language Education around the Globe), 2, 151-164.
1994
"An overview of Japanese language education in Australia". ASAA Review, 18, 1, 89-98.
Australian Secondary Exchange Programs with Japan. Report submitted to Department of Employment, Education and Training. 394pp.
"Changing trends in Australia-Japan and Japan-Australia student exchanges and study abroad programs". Japanese Studies 14, 2, 50-74.
"Keeping the rust at bay: how to maintain and develop your language skills.Babel , 29, 2, 20-25.
Marriott, H.E., J.V. Neustupny and R. Spence-Brown, Unlocking Australia's Potential: Profiles of 9 Key Languages in Australia. Volume 7 - Japanese. National Languages and Literacy Institute of Australia. 203pp.
Enomoto, S. and H.E. Marriott, "Investigating evaluative behaviour in Japanese tour guiding interaction". Multilingua 13, 1/2, 131-161.
Itani Y. and H.E. Marriott, "Disutansu edukeeshon ni yoru intaakushon no tame no nihongo puroguramu" (A Japanese interaction course for distance education). Sekai no Nihongo Kyooiku (Current Report on Japanese-Language Education around the Globe), Vol.1. Tokyo: Japan Foundation, 203-216.
1993
"Acquiring sociolinguistic competence: Australian secondary students in Japan". Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 4,4, 167-192.
"Spatial arrangements in Australian-Japanese business communication".Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 4, 3, 107-126.
"Politeness phenomena in Japanese intercultural business communication".Intercultural Communication Studies (USA) 3, 1, 15-37.
"Interlanguage/interculture in Australian-Japanese business communication"Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese (US), 27, 2, 161-175.
1992
"Common perceptions of the economic function of language teaching and learning". In J.V.Neustupny (ed.), The Relevance of Japanese Language Teaching. Melbourne: Japanese Studies Centre, 14-34.
"Increasing national provisions in Japanese language teaching". Japanese Studies 12, 3, 32-53.
"The teaching of Japanese in Australia". Vox 6, 21-32.
1991
"A selective survey of research on Japanese tourism". Japanese Studies Association of Australia Newsletter, 11, 1, 70-83.
"Asian studies and Australian business: seeking new approaches". Asian Studies Review, 14, 3, 15-26.
"Etiquette in intercultural situations: a Japanese business luncheon".Intercultural Communication Studies, 1, 1, 69-94.
"Expanding Japanese language provisions through distance education: The National Asian Languages Project". Japanese Studies Association of Australia Newsletter, 11, 3, 33-47.
"Formulating policy for summer schools". Babel 26, 2, 18-25.
"Language planning and language management for tourism shopping situations".Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, Series S, 8, 191-222.
"Native speaker behaviour in Australia-Japanese business communication".International Journal of the Sociology of Language 92, 87-117.
Marriott, H.E. and Yamada, N., "Japanese discourse in tourism shopping situations". Japan and the World, 3. Canberra: Australia-Japan Research Centre. 155-168.
1990
"Intercultural business negotiations: The problem of norm discrepancy".Australian Review of Applied Linguistics Series S, 7, 33-65.