All You Need to Know About Coaching – Theory, Research and Practice

Eva-Maria Graf from the English Department will be hosting an event dedicated entirely to coaching and (linguistic) coaching research at the University of Klagenfurt on June 24, 2019

 Coaching Programm

Eva-Maria Graf is a coach, trainer and a professor of applied linguistics. Her research has contributed substantially to establishing German-speaking (linguistic) coaching research (see also: https://www.aau.at/blog/coaching-bedeutet-ein-gespraech-zu-fuehren/). At the event, she will be presenting her recently published book The Pragmatics of Executive Coaching (2019, John Benjamins). It is the first linguistic monograph dedicated to (executive) coaching. Also, she will be giving a first-hand insight into the origins and the developments within the (German-speaking) coaching research field focussing especially on (qualitative) process research.

 

Coaching is a helping professional format which has been gaining influence as an instrument of personal and organisational development not only in business contexts, but also in academic contexts at universities. The research-based and practice-oriented event aims to familiarise researchers, scholars, university employees and students with coaching as a helping format; as a tool that they may themselves utilise for professional or personal development as well as for career, leadership or life choices.

 

Coaching as an object of research is a new, developing (interdisciplinary) field. Researchers from disciplines such as linguistics, psychology, pedagogy, but also economic sciences contribute to it in terms of outcome and process research. Coaching research unites quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches and is characterised by its close ties to practice and practitioners. This is the reason why most of the scholars presenting at the event are also active as coaches and trainers.

 

The goal of “All You Need to Know about Coaching – Theory, Research and Practice” is making participants acquainted with coaching as a booming helping professional format from a variety of academic viewpoints. While presenting its current state of the art, it also aims to build a bridge between research and practice, encouraging an exchange between the two. The day-long event includes talks by national and international experts on a variety of topics and a workshop (see programme). Registrations at coaching [at] aau [dot] at are necessary to take part in the workshop (though it is almost fully booked by now). The event is free of charge and talks may be attended individually and without registration.

 

When: June 24, from 9am to 5pm
Where: Stiftungssaal O.0.01

More information: see programme or: https://www.facebook.com/events/413293986091901/ 

 

 

Literary Translation in Ljubljana

The class of Topics in Literary Translation spent two days in Ljubljana on May 24 and 25, translating Slovenian poetry from English into German. Students from the English Department of our partner university (Univerza v Ljubljani) had translated contemporary Slovenian literature into English under the tutelage of Monika Kavalir, PhD. Upon arrival, we were welcomed by our peers and introduced to the poems, their background, and to sites in the city that carried significance for the works: statues of the authors, former places of work or of residence, toponyms, or simply locations referred to in the texts.

After a busy afternoon and evening devoted to questions of metaphors, meter and rhyme, to carefully weighed decisions on transparency and fidelity … and finally to orthography and punctuation, the trip concluded with a literary tour on the morning of the 25th that saw the original poems and the translations performed publically in the charming centre of Ljubljana.

Eventually, the English and German versions are to find their way into a brochure the Tourism Board of the City of Ljubljana is planning to publish in September 2019.

For more pictures from the excursion see: http://www.ff.uni-lj.si/100letFF/zapisi/literarne-poti-ljubljane-v-angle%C5%A1%C4%8Dini-nem%C5%A1%C4%8Dini

Text and photo by Gregor Chudoba (gregor [dot] chudoba [at] aau [dot] at)

Guest lecture by Helen Spencer “Researching (im)politeness in intercultural interaction”

A very large body of work in (im)politeness research has focused on examining the use of politeness strategies in two or more languages/cultural groups, comparing their preferred choices for conveying certain meanings/functions, such as apologies or compliments. There are literally thousands of published studies, including dozens of monographs and edited volumes, that explore politeness from this cross-cultural perspective. Yet this approach can only partially inform us about politeness in intercultural interaction; in other words, in interactions where the participants have different (socio)cultural/linguistic backgrounds. There has been much less research of this type.

A weakness of both research angles is that there has been little or no theorising regarding the concept of culture nor the role it may play in (im)politeness judgements and evaluations. For example, Bond, Žegarac and Spencer-Oatey (2000) comment that ‘culture’ is all too often identified as the source of any differences observed, but that it is empty as an explanatory tool because it is not unpacked in any way.

In this talk, I address these issues from a research methodology perspective. I consider the types of data that need to be collected for intercultural interaction research into (im)politeness, focusing particularly on an (im)politeness evaluation perspective. I explain the concepts that are needed from an analytical point of view and demonstrate the value of drawing on work in neighbouring disciplines such as psychology. Throughout my talk I illustrate my arguments by drawing on authentic intercultural research data.

 

About the presenter: Helen Spencer-Oatey 

Helen Spencer-Oatey is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick, UK. Her primary research interests are in politeness theory, intercultural interaction/relations, intercultural adaptation, and cross-cultural psychology. She has an educational background in both linguistics and psychology and often works at the interface of these two fields. She has published extensively in the intercultural area, including a number of popular books (e.g. Culturally Speaking, Continuum, 2000/2008; Intercultural Interaction, with Peter Franklin, Palgrave, 2009) and is currently working on a book on Intercultural Politeness (CUP, with Kádár).  Helen is particularly committed to the applied relevance of her research, and has developed extensive resources for practitioners, many of which are freely available via the University of Warwick’s GlobalPeople website, which has tens of thousands of downloads per month.

 

Date and place:

May 8, 2019

16:00 Uhr

N.0.43

Students participate in debate workshop with British Ambassador

On Friday 22nd February, three students from the Alpen-Adria University (AAU), Magdalena Mitterberger (BA Applied Economics), Linda Valentin-Mullen (BA English and American Studies) and Neira Delalic (MA English and American Studies) participated in an English-language debate workshop hosted at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Vienna.

The workshop was organised by the British Embassy to give students studying in Austria an opportunity to broaden their understanding of debating and practise their public speaking skills in a friendly and professional environment. The workshop was convened by an experienced debater from the Oxford Union, who was previously a semi-finalist in the World University Debating Championships. Throughout the session, students learnt the foundations of debating excellence, including debate structure, how to deliver a convincing and confident speech and the importance of being a good listener.

During the afternoon, students worked in small groups and critically discussed a variety of contemporary topics such as zoos, academic streaming and the environment. For the final round of debates, students were divided into proposition and opposition groups and were given the motion “this house believes that individuals who are serious about fighting climate change should give up eating meat.” Students debated in front of a panel of judges, including The British Ambassador, Leigh Turner, EU Lobbyist and Head of the Austrian London School of Economics Alumni Society, Richard Lax, and Senior Lecturer at the AAU, Natilly Macartney. Students received constructive feedback from the panel and were each awarded a certificate of participation. Later in the evening, the workshop attendees had the opportunity to talk personally with the Ambassador and other members of staff working for the Embassy and enjoyed a range of drinks and sandwiches.

Engaging students in debates is important, because it gives students the opportunity to develop a range of valuable skills that they will need throughout their studies and in their future careers. Most notably, debating requires students to analyse and consider issues from multiple perspectives, this skill is becoming increasingly more important in a world where opinions can be shared instantly on social media and fake news spreads quickly. All the students who participated in the workshop said that their confidence increased throughout the day, and they now feel more positive about speaking in front of an audience.

Thank you to the British Embassy for organising this exciting event and for offering students in Austria an opportunity to better understand and engage in debating. 

Text and photo by Natilly Macartney