Doing Research in Sociolinguistics
21 Dec 2020 – Data for sociolinguistic studies are everywhere as language variation is not random! Language variation could happen within individuals, speech communities and regions. Professor Dr. Ain Nadzimah Abdullah’s 1-hour webinar session made sociolinguistic studies exciting by providing insightful examples of language variations such as ‘burger boy talk’, as well as of studies that are ongoing and that had been done.
The webinar entitled “Doing Research in Sociolinguistics” began at 10:00 a.m. and was organised by MScTILS programme under the CML Guest Speaker Series. MScTILs which refers to Master of Science in Technology Integrated Language Studies is a taught Master's programme that caters to fresh graduates and professionals, especially TESL/Linguistics/Language Studies degree holders. The programme will equip learners with advanced knowledge and skills in the field of language studies enabling them to have a competitive edge in pursuing their occupational endeavours.
Every semester, every course offered under MScTILS programme would invite experts in the field to give a talk. For Sem 1 2020/2021, this is the third webinar that has been organised by MScTILS, this time, offered through MLT 6263 Language Planning and Policy course. The first webinar was organised by MLT 6533 Language Learning Processes given by Assoc Prof. Dr Rebecca Adams from the University of Memphis on Input, Interaction and Output and more recently, Testing and Evaluation and English for Specific Purposes expert, Associate Professor Dr Abdul Halim bin Abdul Raof shared his expertise on Assessment in ESP through MLT 6513 Language for Specific Purposes.
In this third webinar, Professor Dr Ain Nadzimah is no newcomer to the field of Sociolinguistics. At present, she is a Senior Research Fellow at Taylor's University since October this year after retiring from UPM in April 2019. Actually, she is still serving UPM on a voluntary based contract called Amal Putra.
As she shared her own research experience collecting data for her Master’s degree and PhD, it can be concluded that much can be learned through observation, especially when the context is new and unfamiliar such as the ways of behaving in a courtroom. It is also essential to establish trust and build rapport with one's respondents as the key to collecting meaningful data is trust. While this may take some time, sometimes weeks and even months, the new friendships formed are priceless.
By Wan Jumani Fauzi
