Unpacking translanguaging practices in intercultural healthcare communication:
Experiences of international medical students in a Chinese hospital
解码跨文化医疗交际中的超语实践：中国医院医学留学生的体验研究
Professor Yawen Han & Dr. Dan Li
韩亚文教授
李丹博士
School of Foreign Languages, Southeast University, China
东南大学外国语学院
About the lecture / 讲座概览
Professor Yawen Han / 韩亚文教授
School of Foreign Languages, Southeast University / 东南大学外国语学院
Executive Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Asia-Pacific Language Policy Research Center/ 江苏省国际问题研究中心-亚太语言政策研究中心常务副主任
Vice President of the International Association of Urban Language Studies / 国际城市语言学会副理事长
Memberof the Editor Board of Current Issues in Language Planning / 国际语言政策期刊CurrentIssues in Language Planning (SSCI/ A&HCI)编委
Research interests: language policy, international communication, and second language
acquisition / 研究兴趣：语言政策、国际传播、第二语言习得等
Hehas published extensively in leading international journals, including AppliedLinguistics, System, Language Policy, Current Issues in Language Planning,and Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. / 在Applied Linguistics、System、LanguagePolicy、CurrentIssues in Language Planning、Journalof Multilingual and Multicultural Development等国际顶尖期刊发表多篇论文
Dr. Dan Li / 李丹博士
School of Foreign Language, Southeast University / 东南大学外国语学院
Research interests: language policy and planning, andintercultural communication / 研究兴趣：语言政策与规划、跨文化交际等
She has published several papers in SSCI-indexed journals, such as Applied Linguistics, Language and Intercultural Communication, and Current Issues in Language Planning. / 在Applied Linguistics, Language and Intercultural Communication, and Current Issues in
Language Planning 等SSCI期刊发表多篇论文
Overview / 讲座预告
While translanguaging has been extensively studied in educational contexts, its exploration within clinical settings remains limited, particularly with regard to international medical students undergoing internship training. In this study, we investigated multilingual interactions among international medical students, local doctors, and patients in a Chinese hospital, examining how and to what extent translanguaging mediates knowledge asymmetry and epistemic authority in intercultural healthcare communication. Data were collected through a linguistic ethnography conducted in a Chinese teaching hospital and analyzed using conversation analysis, triangulated with interview data, focusing on history-taking and clinical instruction scenarios. Findings reveal that integrating linguistic repertoires, diverse semiotic systems, and spatial resources facilitates the co-construction of medical knowledge. At the same time, while translanguaging can enable temporary negotiations of epistemic authority, its transformative potential remains limited by institutional hierarchies and the highly contextualized nature of medical language. These findings enrich translanguaging theory by emphasizing both its affordances and limitations in diverse professional settings and offer implications forinternational medical education policy.
尽管超语实践在教育领域已有大量研究，但在临床场景中的探讨仍相对有限，尤其在参与实习培训的国际医学生这一群体中。研究以中国一家医院为田野点，考察国际医学生、中国医生、患者之间的多语言互动，探讨超语实践在跨文化医疗交际中，以何种方式、在多大程度上调节知识不对称性与认知权威。研究数据重点聚焦病史采集与临床带教场景，通过对中国一所教学医院开展语言民族志调查收集。数据分析采用会话分析方法，并结合访谈资料进行三角验证。研究发现，整合语言库、多元符号系统与空间资源有助于医疗知识的共建。同时，尽管超语实践可以暂时促进认知权威协商，但受限于制度层级差异与医学语言高度情境化特征，它所能带来的深层变革作用依然有限。研究结果既强调超语实践在多元专业场景中的作用，也揭示其局限，从而丰富了超语实践理论，并为国际医学教育政策提供启示。
Organizer / 主办
Muhammad Afzaal
Institute of Language Sciences, ShanghaiInternational Studies University
上海外国语大学 语言科学研究院
Attendance / 参会方式
Time / 时间： 2:00 p.m.(Shanghai Time), 5th March, 2026
Zoom Meeting / 线上会议
Meeting ID /会议号: 879 5395 4248
Passcode / 密码: 767467
