Identity In Language Learning Research Articles

Funds of knowledge and identity in language learning and teaching

ABSTRACT Funds of knowledge and identity approaches emerged to combat deficit perspectives and address the achievement gap and exclusion of underrepresented students in border contexts in the late 1980s. The initial aims of such approaches find a renewed sense of purpose in the super-diverse contexts of twenty-first century societies, which compel us to rethink current approaches to language education. This paper provides a brief introduction to funds of knowledge and identity theories and shows how they can be harnessed within language education to promote more culturally responsive and decolonial pedagogies. The paper introduces a collection of innovative approaches to language learning and teaching from different contexts across the globe. In addition to showcasing innovative approaches to language learning and teaching, the experiences reported advance original research methodologies which make valuable contributions to the funds of knowledge and identity literature.

Holistic approaches to the study of emotions and identity in language learning and use: Complex dynamic systems theory, language ecology, and post-structuralism

In the field of English applied linguistics, learners and their learning processes including their psychological and emotional responses to second language acquisition (SLA) were traditionally researched in isolation following the psychometric tradition. By contrast, learners’ idiosyncratic, and often life-changing experiences that shape their identities are usually examined holistically drawing on interviews and case studies. In this paper, I discuss how I brought under the same roof these two seemingly incompatible research traditions to shed light on language learners’ multilingual and multicultural identity construction. The paper draws on the basic tenets that language and culture are inherently intertwined in SLA (Kramsch 1998) and that language learning is embodied (Damasio 1994) generating powerful emotional responses to language learning and use. In the paper, I delineate three holistic approaches to the study of emotions and identity in SLA including complex dynamic systems theory (CDST), language ecology, and post-structuralism. These approaches have three important principles in common. (1) They look at learners holistically in their complexity and entirety. (2) They perceive learner-intrinsic and contextual factors as interconnected, dynamic, and changing over time. (3) They examine learners and their learning processes in response to environmental stimuli in the form of interactions with others, learning materials, the learning environment, languages spoken by the individual, as well as the educational and sociocultural context. Following the introduction of the three theories, I present my latest research results drawing on these theoretical underpinnings. I explain how I conceptualized learners’ identity construction as a complex dynamic system of individual differences and how I detected novel patterns of psychological behavior using CDST in online education. Then, I discuss the impact of language socialization on language learning and use drawing on case studies. Finally, I present examples of powerful emotional and identity responses to language learning and use, the transformative potential of SLA, and the language learner’s imagined L2 habitus (Fekete 2018) pinpointing how learners speak, think, feel, and behave differently when they switch to different languages. / Keywords: emotions, identity, language learning, the psychology of learners, complex dynamic systems theory, language ecology, post-structuralism, holistic approaches, online education, language socialization, the learner’s imagined L2 habitus, online education

Revisiting the Significance of ZDP and Scaffolding in English Language Teaching

This study aims to describe the definition and application of ZPD and scaffolding in English language instruction. This study is a critical review that focuses on how ZPD and scaffolding can be used to construct and structure curriculum materials. Scholars and practitioners in the field of language learning have always sought to develop a theory to facilitate the learning process for students. Some academics have focused on ways to improve students' performance in language learning or how teachers might facilitate the language-learning process. To genuinely know what to help with and how to aid, language teachers must be aware of their students' capacities. The instructor should view students as distinctive individuals with distinct needs, identities, and skills. Teachers should recognize what children can perform alone and what they need assistance with. To empower the teacher, Vygotsky (1978) proposed the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and Scaffolding theories. In this study, we endeavor to examine the theory of ZPD and Scaffolding. Secondly, we apply this idea to the context of language teaching and learning. Lastly, we discuss the significance of these theories for language learner identity.

Influential Factors Shaping the Formation of Second Language Learner Identity in the Context of International Chinese Education

Influential Factors Shaping the Formation of Second Language Learner Identity in the Context of International Chinese Education

Factors Influencing the Construction of Second Language Learner Identity in International Chinese Education

Factors Influencing the Construction of Second Language Learner Identity in International Chinese Education

Investigating a Language Learner Identity in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

This localized, classroom-based, qualitative ethnographic study, conducted during 2019-2021 at a foreign national, English-medium high school in Türkiye investigates the development of a language learner identity in the English courses of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. The target population is mixed-gender high school students enrolled in the Diploma Programme. In the entrance and exit course surveys, students disclosed their views about themselves as language learners, their impressions of language learner assumptions, tacit and explicit teacher expectations, and their reactions to the International Baccalaureate syllabus and their perceived progress. Each of these factors had a significant but not equal impact on their choice to study English A: Literature and Language, either at standard level or higher level or English B: Language Acquisition higher level. The extent of the development of a language learner identity aligned to the language policies of the International Baccalaureate is seen through the student survey responses and the instructors’ anecdotal commentary. A language learner identity can be seen to develop within the context of the program as students experience improvement in their language skills, make shifts in perspectives, and interact in the target language with others in the school environment. The study begins to fill a gap related to language identity development in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme English courses and may be of interest to Diploma Programme teachers, coordinators, and school policymakers

Français interactif by Karen Kelton, Nancy Guilloteau and Carl Blyth

Reviewed by: Français interactif by Karen Kelton, Nancy Guilloteau and Carl Blyth Julian Ledford Kelton, Karen, Nancy Guilloteau, and Carl Blyth. Français interactif. 4th ed. COERLL, 2019. ISBN 978-1-937963-20-0. Pp. 345. As research on language learner identity reveals more about the plural identities of Generation Z students and the connection between learner visibility and engagement, the use of pedagogical materials that allow for sustained and substantial inclusive language instruction is essential. Similarly, pedagogical materials that support the inclusion of diverse cultural contexts are needed to honor the identities of the instructors who make up the language learning commu nity. Far from being a static first-year French textbook, Français interactif presents the open-access curriculum from Tex’s French Grammar <https://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex> and Français interactif <https://laits.utexas.edu/fi> via a highly customizable and robust online platform. While the grammar references, exercises, and verb conjugation tables that both Tex’s French Grammar and Français interactif provide are beneficial for the practice phase of language instruction, the customization that Lingco <https://lingco.io> offers is essential for the overview and communication phases. Additionally, the Lingco platform allows instructors to enhance obsolete templates within those texts and remove cultural references that are no longer relevant or present problematic ontologies. Beyond this, the platform has several additional benefits. First, the Lingco personnel are very responsive and eager to help. They are also eager to learn how they might enhance their product from language instructors and language students alike. Second, the Lingco platform is compatible with other learning management systems such as Brightspace, Canvas, or Moodle. Third, with specific regard to language instruction, the platform allows for multimodal and interactive student engagement. For example, instructors can upload various forms of audiovisual media on which to base units, assignments, and assessments. The feedback that learners receive can also be of various forms. The Lingco platform also offers the ability to create vocabulary sets that are ostensibly more pertinent to learners than those found in traditional textbooks. Seeing that the platform is equipped with voice-to-text capabilities, learners can listen to the vocabulary sets that the instructor creates. Instructors may also include visual cues for each word. Thanks to this customization, traditional topics encountered in the French curriculum can be presented more inclusively. Perhaps most importantly, Lingco provides a platform for exploring language learning pedagogies that affirm disability, gender, sexual, and trans identities. What is more, these inclusive approaches to language learning can also be shared, as instructors have access to the global community of French teachers who have opted to share their materials in the Lingco content library. To be clear, Français interactif works best for instructors who have grown weary of not finding inclusive material among the thick volumes of language-learning textbooks and have resorted to finding various ways of including supplemental pedagogical material. Though the successful [End Page 240] execution of the Lingco program will require the instructor to do more preparation up front, the platform provides the tools that such instructors need to create, store, and promote the language-learning experiences they have always envisioned for their students. Julian Ledford University of the South (TN) Copyright © 2022 American Association of Teachers of French

Multilingual Identity in Schools: A Q Methodological Study with Chinese LOTE-as-L3 Learners in International and Public High School Contexts

ABSTRACT In language learner identity research, there is an underrepresentation of LOTE-as-L3 learners in instructed foreign language learning contexts. This study addresses this gap by exploring the multilingual identity profiles of Chinese high school LOTE-as-L3 learners in two school contexts and seeks to understand how the schools may influence students’ multilingual identity development. Q sorting activities were administered with 35 international school and 22 public school students who were in their first year of Japanese study using newly developed Q instruments. Five archetypical identity positions emerged and one student from each group was interviewed on their Q sort decisions. We argue that the school environment plays an important role in students’ multilingual identity negotiation. The schools’ ethos, curriculum arrangements and pedagogical goals for language learning, along with the schools’ social dynamics emerged as salient factors that concomitantly shape learners’ experience, evaluations and emotions as multilingual learners and users.

Adult Iranian English Language Learners’ Identity Work: An Exploration of Language Practices and Learner Identities

Iranian authorities view English language learning as a disturbing influence on national identity. They are concerned about its impact on learners’ identities. Despite the political concern, there is growing interest in learning English in Iranian private schools for personal and social development. This article reports on a study in which six male and two female adult English language learners in Iran were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews provided insights into learners’ identity formation and social practices. The data showed developments in learners’ perceptions of national identity, cultural, and religious practices. The globalization of English has amplified learners’ level of access to the discourse of others, while the level of investment in learning is indispensable in their identity formation. This research argues that English language learning and its associated everyday practices lead to learners’ identity work. This has significant implications for language education in cultures with adverse views toward learning English.

Exploring Pre-Service English Teachers’ Professional Identity Through Digital Welcome Letter

The purpose of this study was to explore pre-service English teachers’ perceptions of their professional identities through the process of composing digital welcome letter. In particular, the aim of this study was to examine how the participants reflected on their professional identity as they worked on their digital welcome letter and the effects of digitizing contents on their professional identity. A total of 35 undergraduate students participated in this study and their digital welcome letters, reflective response sheet, and interviews were collected as data. The triangulated data were analyzed according the categories suggested by Pennington and Richards (2016). The results showed that digital welcome letter encouraged the pre-service teachers to conduct anticipatory reflection (Conway, 2001) that allowed them to consider what type of identities they associate with the image of a “good” teacher. Furthermore, they became aware of complex configurations of their teacher identities that are intertwined with their foreign language learner identity. Digitizing their introduction allowed the pre-service teachers to reflect on how they can better communicate with their students as well as ways to build a positive and constructive rapport with their students in the future. Implications highlight the importance of teacher educators’ role in helping pre-service teachers navigate their developing professional identities and placing less emphasis on methodology-focused training.

Four spheres of student-teachers’ professional identity formation through learning about curriculum development

ABSTRACT Teachers’ professional identity is multifaceted and fluctuating, and while it is formally developed during initial teacher preparation, it is influenced by experiences before and beyond teaching programmes. The aim of this paper is to investigate the extent to which a module on language curriculum development may influence the professional identity formation of international and UK student-teachers enrolled in a master’s programme in teaching English to speakers of other languages at a UK university. The study was carried out with 30 student-teachers in 2021, and data were collected from an ecological perspective as data sets came from the regular module delivery. Findings show that the student-teachers articulated four spheres of professional identity. Located in the past, the language learner identity helped them reflect on good practices. Their present student-teacher identity was characterised by their acknowledgement of language education as a research-informed area. Drawing on these two spheres, they displayed two future spheres of professional identity: teacher identity and curriculum developer identity. The latter demonstrates that the module not only enabled the participants to imagine a new career path but also helped them reflect on their anticipatory agency and self-efficacy.

Groningen 2021

Last year, on August 18th, the Research Network on Learner Autonomy (ReNLA) symposium entitled “Autonomy in the time of complexity in a changing world” took place as part of the online AILA Congress 2021. The symposium was divided into morning and afternoon sessions (Central European Summer time), and for each session we had featured speakers whose trajectories, expertise, and knowledge in the field set the mood for the rest of the sessions. The morning featured speaker was Phil Benson (Macquarie University, Australia), who discussed space as a factor in the complexity of language learner agency and identity. The afternoon featured speaker was Jo Mynard (Kanda University of International Studies, Japan), who presented results of various research projects into language learners’ perceptions and use of a self-access centre in Japan.

Exploring learner identity in the blended learning context: A case study of collaborative writing

While there has been much research on language learner identity in traditional face-to-face classrooms, less attention has been paid to learner identity construction and its influencing factors in the blended learning environment. To bridge this gap, this study adopted a case-study approach to investigate six Chinese university students' learner identities constructed in the online and offline sessions of a blended English for academic purposes (EAP) course focusing on collaborative writing. Data included class observations and recordings, history logs on the writing platform, and semi-structured interviews. Different types of learner identities were identified from participants' verbal characteristics in offline classroom discussions (i.e., Group Leader, Spokesperson, Summarizer, and Follower) and from their writing revisions on the online writing platform (i.e., Industrious Contributor, Prudent Reader, Procrastinator, and Cooperative Writer). Both individual and contextual factors were found to influence the construction of learner identity in the blended learning environment for collaborative writing. The study also found that some students maintained their learner identities across the two cohesive learning sessions of the blended course whereas others did not. These findings provide implications for course design, pedagogical practice, and materials development.

Language Learning in TESOL: Learner Identity and the Differences

In this paper, there are certain key factors that have a huge impact on learner identity. The difference in identity may either contribute or impede the process of language learning in EFL/EAL settings. Language socialization may be an effective strategy for facilitating the formation of learner identity in language learning.

Japanese Students’ Emotional Lived Experiences in English Language Learning, Learner Identities, and Their Transformation

AbstractThe Vygotskian concept of perezhivanie, or emotional lived experience, was adopted to examine the learner identities of 2 Japanese university students in English language learning. Current studies on language learner identities have given analytic primacy to either psychological processes or social influences. In contrast, perezhivanie offers a holistic unit of analysis for examining simultaneous influences derived from internal and external realms on identity pursuits. Misaki and Hina participated in a 60‐minute interview designed to understand their English learning experiences and how they made sense of them in school and university settings. In addition, a series of class observations—each followed by an informal interview—were conducted to examine their learning experiences in a conversational English course. Their reflective postings on the course online blog were also collected. The analytical process located identifiable instances of perezhivanie (perezhivaniya), based on participants’ memorable events or personally significant moments, and elaborated how these perezhivaniya brought forth different learner identities. Using the concept of perezhivanie, this study draws attention to a dynamic perspective on researching language‐learner identities that foregrounds an identity‐making process whereby students relived, refracted, and transformed through emotional–cognitive events or episodes characterized by complex transactions between the person and context.

Effect of Talk on English as a Foreign Language Writing Development and Language Learner Identity: A Study of Chinese College Students

Writing is regarded as a huge challenge for students who study English as a foreign language (EFL). Confronted with the poor writing performance of Chinese students, researchers have been exploring the effective approaches to teaching EFL writing. "Talk for writing" is a widely studied field in countries such as the UK and New Zealand. However, reliable literature in this domain is scarce in China, and most of of it is short-term or unstructured research. Thus, this article aims to explore how (EFL) writing development and language learner identity are affected by talk, a process derived from social constructivism, entailing expounding, exchange, negotiation, reflection, and development. The 18-week longitudinal study applied a "talk for writing" approach to college English writing classes with 74 English-major students from a higher vocational college. This research, employing both quantitative methods and qualitative methods, yielded rich and dynamic results. (1) The quantitative data indicated that the "talk for writing" approach improved students' academic writing attainment on the whole. Particularly, the cohort of so-called "modest writers" benefited the most from it. Moreover, this approach, to a large extent, exerted a positive impact on the reconstruction of students' language learner identity. (2) The qualitative data identified the types of talk that supported writing and provided evidence for the ways in which talk supported students' ability to generate ideas, to use talk as oral rehearsal in preparation for writing, and to improve their linguistic accuracy. It also gave insights into students' views on this approach. Also, this approach developed students' engagement, motivation and confidence in English writing and delineated the negotiating trajectories of students' language learner identity.

History in Person: A Longitudinal Study of a Language Learner’s Experience at Home and Abroad

Abstract This study explores the longitudinal pathway of social identification traveled by a US learner of Chinese, Tom. Focusing on the historical production of persons, I analyze interactional recordings, instructional artifacts, and participant interviews collected over three years of qualitative inquiry. The analysis articulates how Tom’s narrative of intercultural encounters was reframed, rekeyed, and recycled at home and abroad. Along the way, Tom was identified as (i) an avid learner of Chinese in a language classroom in the USA; (ii) an ignorant foreigner while studying in China; and (iii) a political outcast upon his return to the USA whose intercultural experience abroad, nevertheless, afforded his classmates an opportunity to appreciate a more ethno-relative perspective. The consonance and dissonance of identification are results of interplay between history in person and history in institutionalized struggles. This interplay must be considered to understand the (re)making of language-learning identities across historical time, social space, and communicative modes. The findings illustrate how history, social identification, and engagement in intercultural communication mutually inform each other in and beyond transnational mobility.

International Student's Language Learning Identities in English as a Lingua Franca Context in Indonesia

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Indonesia has stipulated the implementation of the international program as one of its internationalisation's agendas. As a result, private and public universities strive to create international programs that would attract international students. This study focuses on an international program in a private university in Tangerang, which promotes English as a medium of instruction with little interference from native speakers. As many previous research have centred around study abroad in English speaking countries, this study offers a novelty of how identities are constructed in the context of English as a Lingua Franca where both local Indonesian and the international students are non-native speakers of English. Therefore, this research aims to discover how international students construct their language learning identity in English as a Lingua Franca context in Indonesia. There were eight participants from five different countries. They were interviewed using conversational narrative interview, and the data was analysed using narratives analysis. The findings were established in themes, and they indicated the positive identities constructions in many ways. These included reconstructing economic identity to religious identity, establishing Lingua Franca speakers identities, constructing global citizenship identities where all these constructions were supported by the acceptance and the zero pressure from the host. Therefore, it is concluded that zero power inequality promotes favourable language learning and identity construction during study abroad.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Foreign language learning and identity reconstruction: understanding of interaction of the self

This study focuses on the processes &amp; relationships between foreign language learner's identity and interaction foreign language proficiency associated with learning English in private language institutes in Iranian context, especially, participants' beliefs about languages &amp; participants' views about the language question are analyzed. This analysis integrates the speaker's practices and beliefs to issues of identity construction and negotiation that are observable in two contexts. Some English as a foreign language learners from 3 language institute in Tehran were picked to participate in the study, based on stratified sampling. The instrument were a 30-item likert-scale questionnaire on motivation types &amp; social responsibility, individual development, information medium, ... 24 likert-scale questionnaire on self-identity changes, such as, self‌-confidence change, subtractive change, productive change, results reveal that how language practices in human interaction display and construct identity and correlation analysis indicated that motivation types of  self-identity changes and signal participant's negotiations of their own identities of these or others. Instrumental orientations related with learner's self-confidence change.

English language learners’ visualization of identities in transformation in an imagined world

This paper investigates the ‘imagined’ English language learner (ELL) identities of Korean undergraduates in comparison with the construction of their ‘past/current’ identities. In an environment of globalization and accelerated development of technology, South Koreans view English as a crucial medium to obtain success. In this educational and societal context, this study examines how ELLs view their imagined ELL identities and communities through their drawings and written descriptions. Grounded in the notion of imagined communities and identity, the study explores how 159 Korean undergraduate students present their expected or desired transformation of identity and communities taking place through English learning. A multimodal analysis was employed to unravel the multifaceted, composite, and fluid attributes of ELL identity from its visual and narrative elements. The findings yield insights into the purposes, orientations, and dispositions of EFL learners, their beliefs about imagined English-speaker identities, and their awareness of the broader global, intercultural context. Concentrating on the transformation in the relational aspect of ELL identity, the study discusses the weight and affordances of English and its relation to ELLs’ imagined ELL identity and further demonstrates their language and cultural awareness in the globalized setting.