Developing a conceptual framework for exploring cultural representations in Vietnamese children’s picturebooks

Perspectives from Vietnamese painters and illustrators

Authors

  • Ngoc Tai Huynh Tra Vinh University
  • Vinh Thi To University of Tasmania
  • Victoria Carrington University of Tasmania
  • Angela Thomas University of Tasmania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.23227

Keywords:

conceptual framework, intercultural understanding, childrens' picturebooks, Vietnamese culture, multimodal texts, Asian cultures

Abstract

In a time of globalisation, the teaching of intercultural understanding has become one of the essential components of teaching curriculum in classrooms around the world. Among various materials for teaching intercultural understanding, multicultural children’s picturebooks have been applied widely in classrooms to raise students’ awareness of cultural representations of diverse countries, especially the teaching of Asian cultures in the context of Western classrooms. However, studies in teaching intercultural understanding have also reported teachers’ difficulties in interpreting and analysing cultural elements in multicultural materials including Asian children’s picturebooks. Therefore, this paper firstly explores painters’ and illustrators’ methods in depicting cultural aspects in Vietnam. Then, the paper proposes a conceptual framework for interpreting cultural meanings children’s picturebooks about Vietnam. To do so, we conducted in-depth interviews with Vietnamese painters and illustrators who are experienced in illustrating Vietnamese culture in artworks including picturebooks. Based on interview findings with Vietnamese painters and illustrators, we propose a conceptual framework for exploring cultural aspects in Vietnamese children’s picturebooks. Grounded Theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) and qualitative research design (Burgess & Bryman, 1999; Mayring, 2014) along with influential theoretical frameworks in the field of cultural studies and children’s literature (Hall, 1976; Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006; Painter et al., 2013; Weaver, 1993) are applied in the present paper. Findings in this paper are significant to researchers and teachers who are interested in working with multicultural picturebooks as well as multimodal texts to explore Asian cultures.

Author Biographies

  • Ngoc Tai Huynh, Tra Vinh University

    Dr. Ngoc Tai Huynh is a lecturer in English studies at School of Foreign Languages, Tra Vinh University, Vietnam. His research and teaching focus on multimodal semiotics, applied and educational linguistics, English, bilingual and cultural education, and teacher education. Dr. Tai has presented at various international conferences and has several books and book chapters published by IGI Global, Multilingual Matters, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, and Springer. He has also published numerous articles in top quartile journals such as Social SemioticsAustralian Journal of Teacher Education, and Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education.

  • Vinh Thi To, University of Tasmania

    Dr. Vinh To is a Senior Lecturer in English Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Her research interest includes educational linguistics, English, literacy and languages education, online education and Asian literature. Her publications appear in top quartile journals such as the Australian Journal of Linguistics, the International Journal of Early Years Education, the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, and Linguistics and the Human Sciences. She has been invited to deliver international keynotes in Vietnam and Lithuania and her research activities appear in media news across the Australian and ASEAN regions. Dr. To is Founder of the Systemic Functional Linguistics Interest Group (SFLIG) and Convenor of SFLIG Conferences.

  • Victoria Carrington , University of Tasmania

    Professor Victoria Carrington’s most recent appointment was at the University of East Anglia. Victoria comes to the University of Tasmania with a strong background in Education and management, she has also held various roles at the University of South Australia and the University of Plymouth. Professor Carrington’s research interests, in the field of digital technologies and digital cultures, have informed much of her work around early adolescents and youth. Her work has drawn attention to issues of text production, identity and literacy practices within the affordances of digital technologies and new media.

  • Angela Thomas , University of Tasmania

    Dr. Angela Thomas is a senior lecturer of English in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania. Her research and teaching focus on multimodal semiotics, digital literacies, critical literacies, and children’s literature. She has published three books and a number of book chapters and journal articles, and has been a Chief Investigator on an ARC grant with linkage partner The Australian Children’s Television Foundation. Angela has won teaching and research awards and has been an invited keynote speaker in the UK, US, Singapore, and Australia. She is currently a co-recipient of a grant entitled ‘Literacy, Language, Teaching and Learning with Augmented Reality’.

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Published

2024-08-08

How to Cite

Huynh, N. T., To, V. T., Carrington , V. ., & Thomas , A. . (2024). Developing a conceptual framework for exploring cultural representations in Vietnamese children’s picturebooks: Perspectives from Vietnamese painters and illustrators. Linguistics and the Human Sciences, 16(1), 4-31. https://doi.org/10.1558/lhs.23227