Text, talk, and body in shift handover interaction: Language and multimodal repertoires for geriatric care work

Abstract

Japan's rapidly aging population and chronic labor shortages have led the country to consider increased reliance on foreign workers. The government promotes the cultivation of nihongo jinzai ‘Japanese language human resources’ (MOFA, 2013), that is, highly skilled foreign workers proficient in the de facto national language, but in reality, such ideal individuals are scarce. Workplaces thus must explore ways to accommodate workers with limited Japanese competence. By introducing a sequential and multimodal analysis of shift handover interaction between Japanese and foreign care workers at a geriatric facility, the current article critically evaluates the monolingual, logocentric ideology reflected in the ongoing national debate as well as in the institutional convention of information sharing. The examination of the ways in which these workers deploy multimodal semiotic resources for the fulfillment of their duty points to the need for reevaluation of conventional practices in favor of increased affordance of spatial repertoire.

Negotiating professional authority and power in tourist–guide communication in guided village tour

“…As a result, as Gonçalves and Schluter (2017: 245) warn us, agency is not equated with individuals’ unrestrained actions of will or resistance but is best regarded as ‘a balancing act in terms of individuals’ ability to act within the confines of existing larger macro social structures.’ The study has shown that the worker's use of diverse semiotic repertoires challenges the dominant ideologies of a competent speaker—an important point highlighted in several studies on repertoires (e.g. Kimura & Canagarajah, 2020; Mori & Shiba, 2020). The guide's agency within the given workplace context simultaneously reflects his professional authority to act according to the limitations set by larger socio‐economic forces and perceived tourist–guide relationships within such constraints.…”

“…Their English skills helped them create spaces where their identities were not dominated by servitude (Lorente, 2017). (See also Kimura & Canagarajah, 2020; Mori & Shiba, 2020, for how professionals adopt non‐normative repertoires to accomplish their work. )…”