My supervisors and I have broached the idea that my research question might require amendments following my conversation with a multilingual student who is interested in participating but has a permanent humanitarian visa and is in the process of becoming an Australian citizen. I had predicted that a situation such as this might arise because I was not initially satisfied with limiting my criteria to only international students (on paper and according to the university standards). This means that my research question, which specifically refers to international students, may require changes to focus specifically on language, culture and learning regardless of whether they are international or domestic students.
I realise that my participants are not necessarily equipped or attune to speak about language and culture specifically in their experiences and reflections. When asked questions about language and culture, they are often unable to make connections to their lived experiences of their own learning. If I rephrase the questions to ask them specifically about their classes, assignments or university life and activity they unknowingly share the presence of their languages and cultures in the ways that they make sense of their learning. Adapting my interview questions away from directly asking about language and culture has allowed me to dive deeper into their learning experiences because students find it easier to discuss such matters without having to make difficult connections between my questions and their learning.
The self-recording exercise, which was part of my second interview, offered insight into the ways students perceive their day to day learning without any direct prompts from me. Students were able to direct the interview and I could see their line of thinking. They were possibly more likely to share their own thoughts openly without the presence of the researcher. My questions were primarily an elaboration on what they had mentioned, and we were able to discuss learning experiences in greater detail with reference to the particular assignments, classes and interactions they had reflected upon in their recordings.
All my participants were smooth to communicate with apart from one in particular who struggled to process the questions and make connections to his own experiences. He had explained that reflection is not a large part of his natural thinking. It has been difficult for me to question him in various ways that allow him to think differently. I have found myself asking the same questions in multiple ways with reference to different experiences he has had to broaden his thinking. This allowed me to address my interests but in a way that was accessible for him.
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