York's Hidden Stories Interviews in Applied Linguistics

This book explores the mechanics of storytelling within a study aimed at focusing on a ‘hidden’ population of migrants in the city of York, UK. Taking applied linguistics to mean the consideration of real-world ‘problems’ as identified by a ‘client’, in which the use of (and beliefs about) language is a significant component, the authors describe the benefits and challenges of working in a partnership with a community organisation. With project participants from Africa, Europe, Asia and South and Central America who had lived in York between two and fifty years, the study considers the co-construction of meaning in interviews from a range of practical and theoretical perspectives. The book will be of interest to students, academic researchers and community project leaders who are interested in migration stories and interviews as a method of data collection.

Chapter 1: Interviews: Perspectives from Applied Linguistics.

Rachel Wicaksono is Associate Professor and Head of the School of Education, Language and Psychology at York St John University, UK.

Dasha Zhurauskaya was awarded a Master’s by Research from the University of Leeds after completing a BA (Hons) in English Language and Linguistics at York St John University, UK.