Integrated geospatial methods for multilingual cities: Combining GPS, electronically activated recorder, and map-based ethnographic interviews

Abstract

Multilingual speakers’ linguistic practices are typically investigated via self-report measures, often relying on subjective memory recall. This article examines the potential of an interdisciplinary methodology which would allow us to examine the experiences of multilingual speakers as they are played out in real time and space through a combination of GPS monitoring, the use of the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR), and map-based ethnographic interviews. GPS and EAR offer promising opportunities to investigate the spatial dynamics of multilingual practices as well as the acquisition of a new language and its subsequent use. Despite frequent applications in adjacent fields such as Human Geography, Urban Analytics, Sociology and Psychology, the use of these methods in Applied Linguistics is still relatively scarce. In this article, we examine the potential benefits and limitations of using automated processes for observing human language behaviour, such as those provided by GPS and EAR technologies. We address timely ethical questions around tracked and recorded data collection processes and present solutions used to devise privacy-preserving tools when using GPS and EAR technologies in a pilot study of Gaelic multilingual speakers in the city of Glasgow. By optimising the potential of these technologies when combined with qualitative and ethnographic approaches, our article proposes a multidisciplinary methodological approach that can provide a more nuanced understanding of the spatial dynamics of multilingual speakers in cities.