Linguistic Landscape on Campus: Asian College Students' Perceptions of Multilingual Learning Environments.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to investigate Asian international students' perceptions of linguistic landscape on campus, and (2) to enhance the classroom environment by creating a multilingual linguistic landscape for international students at the campus which is the research setting. The researcher designed a hands-on workshop to create a warm and welcoming environment for the students. (The final product of the workshop is displayed in the hallway in one of the campus buildings.) The researcher investigated how students' motivation, attitude and cultural awareness is affected by the linguistic landscape. The research for this study was conducted with Asian international students at a public, comprehensive state university campus in the northeast United States. The data collected through the survey is analyzed quantitatively, while the interview data used vivo and pattern coding (Saldaña, 2016). The main findings from the data indicated the importance of linguistic landscape for international students. It was found that international students are aware of the multilingual linguistic landscape around them, see it as important, and believe it can be used as a tool to increase their language awareness, improve social interaction, and represent their identities.