Joaquinismo

The second type of entries were written as original entries for the AusDICT, as per the selection of entries discussed above. These entries filled in the gaps left in previously published papers, or directly addressed concerns raised by teachers. A full list of the titles of each of the 118 compositions newly written is in Appendix X. Each of these entries was researched using a combination of methods. For the entries referring to expectations, values, and attitudes, I used materials from the focus groups (see §8.4) and added research data from existing publications on the topics. For example, as discussed in §10.2, the module on Education is primarily original material for the AusDICT. To collect data on Australian English, I used databases of spoken Australian English and written sources relevant to Australian English such as Hansard and full texts of published Australian literature (AustLit, 2019; GCSAusE, n.d.; Hansard, n.d.). In addition, I created a custom Google Search engine, which searched the websites of 30 popular Australian news sources. These combined resources of Australian English were more relevant for the definitions of words and phrases, but in some cases were able to be used to illustrate how particular values play out in interactions. These examples were used as evidence for the usage and meanings of the terms which I was writing

compositions for. In addition to linguistic evidence, I used previously published

analyses and discussions where they were available. Sources where these analyses came from included: academic, peer-reviewed work (such as Chisari, 2015; Haugh & Chang, 2015; Haugh & Bousfield, 2012; Peters, 2007; Schneider, 2012; Sinkeviciute, 2014); professionally published resources aimed at migrants (such as the SBS cultural atlas (Evason, 2016), the Culture Shock series (Sharp, 2012)); resources published by the government for migrants and the AMEP program (e.g. Australian Government, 2018; Department of Education and Training, 2011); and personal accounts (such as travel blogs, published books, and interviews). These three categories provided a three-tiered approach to analysing these concepts from both an outsider and an insider perspective.

While the methods described here are not as ideal as a full ethnographic study, they provide the advantage that they collect lots of data on a single topic, rather than a single word, meaning that cultural scripts can be written in sets of interconnected ideas rather than isolated values. Often, the ideas expressed in other publications (such as the SBS cultural atlas) use culture-specific concepts, which, by their nature, comprises several interconnected concepts and attitudes. By separating these concepts from one another, it becomes clear how the ideas are related and therefore how they can be better presented to learners.

Although there is not enough space in this exegesis to discuss the full process of writing explications and cultural scripts, I will make an attempt here to discuss the methods and strategies used to develop the entries written from scratch for this project (as opposed to those adapted from previous publications, which are discussed in §10.3 above). While all NSM researchers conduct research in a similar way, this is the first time that the process has been systematised in such a way for producing and standardising a large number of compositions. The first step in the process is described above—collecting data on a single concept or norm to inform the contents of the explication or cultural script. The next step is to group similar concepts in the data so that they can be

deconstructed. This process of deconstructing concepts involves describing the concept in question in ever-simpler terms, with the goal of using nothing but NSM primes to explain the same concept. Often this requires breaking seemingly individual concepts into separate parts (such as the Australian “equality” into “someone like me” and “someone not above me”). NSM researchers often use empirically designed templates for words from similar domains, as these are useful frameworks to assist in approaching a set of cultural scripts or explications from a consistent perspective (e.g. Goddard, 2008). These templates also help to ensure that the explications and scripts capture comparable information. Finding and applying a template comprise the next step of writing an explication. The final steps are an iterative process of working and reworking the explication or cultural script - as an individual researcher, with native speakers, and with other researchers. This ensures that the result conforms to the three principles of NSM explications: that they are coherent, substitutable, and well-formed. For this project, this was done through workshopping the results with native speakers and with ESL teachers to verify their usefulness and comprehensibility.

After writing each original entry in STE, as a quality assurance procedure, I trialled it with a variety of native speakers of Australian English, before they were compiled into the beta version of the AusDICT and shown to teachers. All entries were tested with at least one native speaker, but most were tested with three, some up to four. For lexical items, I presented the entry without context and requested that the native speaker consultant provide the word which was being described. If they were unable to provide the correct word, I asked a series of questions which elicited their reasoning for thinking it was something else and amended the composition as necessary. In other cases, I presented the composition and asked the native speaker if the concepts resonated with them and asked them to describe how it did or did not resonate. This information was then used to refine the entry, and also to determine the headword for the more complex cultural values and attitudes. This methodology ensured that the compositions were capturing the most salient issues and concepts to native speakers, even if they were unable to capture every instance of nuance. Each entry was then standardised and made consistent through the use of the style guide discussed in Chapter 9.

For a project of this size, it was essential to prioritise the key information necessary for teachers in each entry, rather than providing a full ethnographic study of each cultural value and attitude. The result of this decision is that there is undoubtedly some loss of nuance in the entries, but that the entries are more contained and concise, and therefore more accessible to the users.

10.5

Summary

This chapter has described in succinct terms the processes used for selecting and writing the 333 entries in the AusDICT. The 333 entries in the final AusDICT have been

carefully selected for relevance to invisible culture in Australian English, and the language teaching and learning needs of the intended users.

Overall, 35% of the entries were written as new contributions to NSM research, and although these entries were strategically written for the teaching contexts for which the AusDICT is intended, they nevertheless contribute to descriptions of invisible culture in Australian English. The current project is the first time that a procedure for writing and testing such a large number of compositions has been undertaken. This procedure was supplemented by the style guide for STE and the AusDICT.

From this point, the compositions were then built up into entries for the AusDICT, and the AusDICT constructed around them. The following chapter describes the

organisation of the AusDICT, in terms of its digital structure, macrostructure, and entry- level structure.