I'm an ethnographer researching schools, homes and communities. My work is situated at the intersection of language use, language ideologies and social affiliation in cross-cultural urban contexts. I have conducted fieldwork in the UK, Greece and Switzerland.
I have researched and published on: multilingualism and language ideologies, classroom discourse and teacher/pupil identities, language and faith; language and the economy; language and youth; language and ethnicity; and team ethnography.
In this article, I present and discuss a commemorative book project to mark the fortieth annivers... more In this article, I present and discuss a commemorative book project to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Greek School of Lausanne. I examine the continuities and discontinuities of the notions of language, identity and community as these were represented through the voices of former Greek state officials, teachers and pupils. I take a long view, combining archival material with interviews and written accounts spanning the first twenty years of the establishment and development of the school. Finally, I tentatively reflect on how the book project might have impacted on the Greek community of Lausanne and its school in a period of transition.
This paper contributes to our understanding of how siblings in diasporic settings teach and learn... more This paper contributes to our understanding of how siblings in diasporic settings teach and learn from each other. It draws upon data from a longitudinal ethnographic study (2009-2013) exploring how children become literate through faith activities across four communities in London. The study examines children’s emerging faith literacies, focusing on ways in which they are socialised into their faith at the site of worship, the religious education class and in their homes. This paper focuses on one of the four participant families who are part of the Tamil Hindu community in London and traces how siblings begin to internalise learning through play linked to their faith at home. Using the example of two children constructing their Temple from plastic building blocks to act out appropriate religious rituals, we show how the children acquire cultural knwledge important both for faith membership and their everyday lives.
In this article, I present and discuss a commemorative book project to mark the fortieth annivers... more In this article, I present and discuss a commemorative book project to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Greek School of Lausanne. I examine the continuities and discontinuities of the notions of language, identity and community as these were represented through the voices of former Greek state officials, teachers and pupils. I take a long view, combining archival material with interviews and written accounts spanning the first twenty years of the establishment and development of the school. Finally, I tentatively reflect on how the book project might have impacted on the Greek community of Lausanne and its school in a period of transition.
This paper contributes to our understanding of how siblings in diasporic settings teach and learn... more This paper contributes to our understanding of how siblings in diasporic settings teach and learn from each other. It draws upon data from a longitudinal ethnographic study (2009-2013) exploring how children become literate through faith activities across four communities in London. The study examines children’s emerging faith literacies, focusing on ways in which they are socialised into their faith at the site of worship, the religious education class and in their homes. This paper focuses on one of the four participant families who are part of the Tamil Hindu community in London and traces how siblings begin to internalise learning through play linked to their faith at home. Using the example of two children constructing their Temple from plastic building blocks to act out appropriate religious rituals, we show how the children acquire cultural knwledge important both for faith membership and their everyday lives.
Uploads
Papers by Vally Lytra
Publications by Vally Lytra