Institutions and their student populations have become more diverse with the internationalisation of higher education. Doctoral candidates represent a significant part of this multicultural and mobile population as they continue to cross borders in increasing numbers. While all doctoral researchers need to develop the academic literacy skills required to read and engage with complex texts and participate in academic conversations, achieving this in another language is challenging. Interest in the experiences of doctoral candidates with English as an additional language (EAL) has therefore grown. However, with a few exceptions, the literature has so far paid little attention to EAL doctoral researchers from non-Asian countries. One recent study examining the experiences of African doctoral candidates in New Zealand (Doyle, Manathunga, Prinsen, Tallon & Cornforth, 2017) is an example of insights into an under-researched group.
This paper expands the conversation on EAL doctoral education by exploring the experiences of two Latin-American doctoral researchers, Diego and Morena, working across borders. Diego is from Colombia and lives in Trinidad and Tobago; Morena grew up in Brazil and lives in New Zealand. They are working collaboratively on a narrative inquiry project investigating their own lived experiences as EAL novice scholars who have crossed geographical and academic borders. The two are engaged in an online conversation which began in November 2016 and has since been recorded using Google Drive, Email and WhatsApp. Their ongoing discussions seek to shed light on their experiences during their doctorates, paying particular attention to the development of their scholarly identities.
This presentation describes Diego’s and Morena’s research contexts and their reflections on their identities and on their emerging voices as novice scholars. The discussion reveals the researchers’ stances on different dimensions of their lived experiences as EAL doctoral candidates. The presentation intends to offer insights into a more nuanced debate on EAL doctoral education and sociocultural practices, and on a pedagogy that is more context-bound and culturally situated.
Doyle, S., Manathunga, C., Prinsen, G., Tallon, R., & Cornforth, S. (2017). African international doctoral students in New Zealand: Englishes, doctoral writing and intercultural supervision, Higher Education Research & Development, DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2017.1339182
