Multimodal Interaction in professional contexts

Content: The aim of the course is to develop interaction skills with a special focus on linguistic accessibility. The aim is to give an introduction on how to facilitate communication and promote linguistic accessibility when working with people whose access to interaction is challenged due to, for example, problems in hearing or whose linguistic resources are marginalised in the society (e.g. sign language users). The course is directed towards people whose profession entails encountering people from varied backgrounds, and who, therefore, need wide-ranging interaction skills. During the course, the student becomes acquainted with a multimodal view of interaction and examines the utilization of the concept in different working environments. Multimodal interaction competence is based on an understanding of the multichannel and multimodal nature of interaction: meanings are conveyed by both verbal and non-verbal means (e.g. gestures, eye contact and images). The student practices observing interaction situations and harness a range of interaction methods people use in order to understand and be understood.