When Signature Pedagogies Clash: Exploring the Intersection of Sociolinguistics and Natural Language Processing in Higher Education

Bio

Xinran Gao is a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick and is working towards AFHEA status. Her research focuses on phonetics and language variation, with a particular interest in paralinguistic features and their role in shaping speaker characteristics and information exchange. She has broad teaching experience as a GTA across Applied Linguistics, the Department of Computer Science, and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies, demonstrating her commitment to innovative teaching practices that bridge disciplinary boundaries.

Case Study Summary

Xinran's case study documents her interdisciplinary teaching practice through a guest seminar, Language Variation in Natural Language Processing, delivered to students in a postgraduate module in Computer Science. The seminar introduced sociolinguistic perspectives to STEM learners, encouraging them to critically reflect on the assumption of language as a uniform input for computational models. This opened a productive dialogue between the signature pedagogy of NLP, which prioritises algorithmic accuracy and abstraction, and that of sociolinguistics, which emphasises context, variation, and interpretive nuance. Xinran described these traditions as 'clashing' because they embody distinct epistemological approaches to understanding language–the conceptual, expectation, and functional clashes.

Through these clashes, students engaged with threshold concepts that challenged disciplinary boundaries and deepened their appreciation of language variation. They began to re-evaluate the meaning and complexities of structured variation across languages and consider how these insights might inform approaches to NLP tasks. The session demonstrated how interdisciplinary teaching can not only bridge disciplinary divides but also expose learners to epistemological questions about what counts as valid knowledge and evidence: where disciplinary assumptions are questioned and new perspectives integrated, there occurs deep and durable learning.

This case study highlights the value of integrating sociolinguistic insights into computational teaching spaces, enabling STEM students to engage with the social dimensions of language and fostering critical awareness and innovation. It also points to the intersection of NLP and sociolinguistics as a fertile ground for ongoing collaboration and knowledge exchange. Looking ahead, this work could develop into a series of interdisciplinary seminars or modules, further expanding opportunities for transformative learning where students are encouraged to rethink disciplinary assumptions and embrace new ways of knowing.