Abstract
Informed by the poststructuralist theory, this study investigates the case of Ming, a Chinese professor of English, about the impacts of his first language (L1) and second language (L2) learning experience, and the changes of social contexts on his L1 and L2 identities construction. It was found that being a learner of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Ming’s identities development aligned with the poststructuralist theory, in which it is considered dynamic, fluid and conflicting. Ming negotiated and renegotiated his identities in various social contexts in China and the United States and finally gained acceptance into the L2 academic community. This study not only analyzes Ming’s experience with his language learning and identities, but also unravels that conflicts may be part of the process of identities construction, and encourages learners to be persistent and emotionally resilient, while using certain strategies to retain a stable L1 identity so that they can navigate through the negative encounters during the second language acquisition (SLA) process to sustain the development of their identities and L2 abilities.
Highlights
The relationships between social contexts, language and identities, and how they affect the learners’ second language acquisition (SLA) have been well documented in the literature
In order to better understand L1 and L2 identities construction along this line of research, the current study examines the case of Ming, a Chinese professor of English, about his L1 and L2 learning experience, L1 and L2 identities construction, and how language related experience and social contexts positively or negatively impact both identities
It seemed that at that time, his L2 identity was much weaker as compared to his L1 identity, since it was only “a foreign language” to him
Summary
The relationships between social contexts, language and identities, and how they affect the learners’ second language acquisition (SLA) have been well documented in the literature. Schumann (1986) proposed the acculturation model, which asserts that various social and psychological factors in SLA lead to acculturation to the second language (L2) community. It anticipates that “the learner will acquire the second language only to the degree that he acculturates” Such a theory essentially suggests that learners must decide whether they choose to retain their own heritage and culture, or to discard it to adopt the new culture Choosing the former means that the learners will create social and psychological distance with his/her L2 community and will fail to acquire the L2. Development of L1/L2 Identities the acculturation model argues that for one to successfully acquire the second language, he/she must give up his/her first language (L1) culture to achieve social and psychological proximity with his/her L2 community
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