Languaging across cultures

As a theoretical notion, 'languaging' denotes a fluid system of communication that is constructed and performed by individuals during 'collaborative dialogue'. In language learning, the term 'languaging' has been defined as: “the process of making meaning and shaping knowledge and experience through language” (Swain 2006: 98). Swain continues, likening languaging to reformulating, where the intent is not to change meaning but the form to improve learning (maybe writing down the thoughts, or talking about and explaining what has been writen) so that the meaning is clear or acceptable to another reader or listener. Liddicoat and Scarino (2013: 61), in their discussion of intercultural teaching and learning, talk of languaging in terms of interaction, where personal accounts and experiences of language and culture are mediated.