Learning Identity Research Articles

Dominic’s Story: The “Pedagogy of Discomfort” and Learner Identity in Flux

ABSTRACT The “boy turn” in research on gender and education has sought to understand how social practices and schooling contribute to the process of orientation to particular identities. This paper applies the theories of affect to explore the story of an underprivileged, low-achieving Samoan boy, as he engaged with learning Chinese in an Australian primary school classroom. Through an ethnographic lens, observational, journal entry and interview data reveal that learner identity is not a fixed thing; rather, it is contradictory in nature and constantly impacted by curricular and pedagogic regimes. In this paper, I argue that pedagogic practices, which appear to generate affects and open up spaces for embodying a desire to learn, need to be brought to the fore in classrooms. Research on the affective dimensions of boyhood can add to our understanding of boys’ experiences with learning and learner identity, so as to positively influence educational practice today.

I Participate; Therefore, I Am (And I Learn): Researching Learners’ Multilingual Identity in the Multilingual School Context

Summary This study examines the relationship between the participation of multilingual students in FAL (French as an additional language) classroom and language learners’ identities associated with the related community of practice. Classroom participation, a key concept of the study, is defined as a verbal form of learners’ investment in language learning, which can both enhance language learning and change the identity of language learners. The research was conducted in an international multilingual school in Croatia among eight 5th grade multilingual and multicultural students learning French as an additional language. For data collection purposes, French language lessons and twelve video recordings with a total length of approx. 480 minutes were observed and taped. A qualitative analysis of the participation of each student was conducted with the regard to the power relations among members of the classroom. The analysis revealed that, from the chosen theoretical perspective where an additional language is seen both as a tool of power and a tool for power, the identity of language learners can be described as a dynamic combination of some of the following identity positions: a language learner in a position of power, a language learner in a higher position of power than others, a language learner in a reduced position of power but eager for a position of power, a language learner in a reduced position of power but not eager for a position of power. The results of this study are consistent with the main assumptions about the identity of language learners made by other socially oriented authors in SLA (Norton-Peirce, 1995; Pavlenko & Blackledge, 2004; Darvin & Norton, 2015), according to which language learners’ identity is multiple, dynamic, discursively shaped and context-dependent.

Media Trends and Prospects in Educational Activities and Techniques for Online Learning and Teaching through Television Content: Technological and Digital Socio-Cultural Environment, Generations, and Audiovisual Media Communications in Education

The purpose of this article is to provide information and data that will contribute to the enhancement of teaching methodologies for online learning and teaching at all educational levels and disciplines (including adult education). More specifically, it attempts to shed light on media trends and prospects as educational activities and techniques, as well as on the utmost importance of the use of television content as audiovisual educational content. This venture focuses on the cases of Cyprus and Greece following literature materials and reviews, research results, and findings of previous numerous studies and research papers from and through the Internet that were considered as background. The aforementioned were applied in a pilot case study with adult educators as adult learners (18 years and older), providing literature data and historical elements as a source of further study. The findings from the pilot case study revealed that the television content can also shape (adult) learners’ perceptions on how they understand and learn in an online environment in regard to the generational cohort they belong. Furthermore, the results disclosed that an online educational process utilizing audiovisual media technologies and audiovisual content (audiovisual media communications) may support technology-enhanced learning through non-verbal communication in the new streamlined digital era in which we live. An important conclusion of this article is that the (inter)national genealogical characteristics and habits, the inherent and special characteristics, and the socio-cultural identity of learners, as well as the various (inter)national social-phenomena (e.g., media socio-phenomenon, Internet phenomenon, revival phenomenon, etc.) of the past and present, should always be taken into account by education administrators and educators, in order to maintain a quality and sustainable future education.

Teaching is the opportunity to learn together with my students – Interview with Professor Mhairi C. Beaton

Professor Mhairi C Beaton is a Professor in the Carnegie School of Education. Having worked as a teacher in the Highlands of Scotland and following the completion of her Masters in Education, Mhairi joined the School of Education at University of Aberdeen as a Lecturer. During her time working at University of Aberdeen, Mhairi was Programme Director for the MA in Inclusive Practice and was a tutor on the MA in Autism and Learning. Whilst at University of Aberdeen, Mhairi completed her Ph.D examining the development of pupils’ learner identity in primary schools and led a number of externally funded research projects focusing on teacher development, inclusion and assessment. Since joining the Carnegie School of Education, Mhairi has led a number of externally funded international research projects focusing on inclusion, teacher education and student voice. Mhairi is also the Leeds Beckett University representative on the University of the Arctic Assembly having successfully led the university’s application for membership in 2018. You can read an edited version of the interview with the Professor

A tanítás lehetőség, hogy tanítványaimmal együtt tanuljak - Interjú Mhair C. Beaton professzorral

Professor Mhairi C Beaton is a Professor in the Carnegie School of Education. Having worked as a teacher in the Highlands of Scotland and following the completion of her Masters in Education, Mhairi joined the School of Education at University of Aberdeen as a Lecturer. During her time working at University of Aberdeen, Mhairi was Programme Director for the MA in Inclusive Practice and was a tutor on the MA in Autism and Learning. Whilst at University of Aberdeen, Mhairi completed her Ph.D examining the development of pupils’ learner identity in primary schools and led a number of externally funded research projects focusing on teacher development, inclusion and assessment. Since joining the Carnegie School of Education, Mhairi has led a number of externally funded international research projects focusing on inclusion, teacher education and student voice. Mhairi is also the Leeds Beckett University representative on the University of the Arctic Assembly having successfully led the university’s application for membership in 2018. You can read an edited version of the interview with the Professor

Identity and investment in language learning

Abstract Norton (2000) argues that investment in L2 acquisition is also an investment in learner identity, which changes in the context of time and space – a notion that also has relevance for heritage learners. As such, the purpose of this study is to examine investment in language learning among HL Spanish speakers and the role of identity in their learning experiences. This study comprises of ten participants enrolled in an HL Spanish course who completed a background questionnaire, interviews, and writing prompts. Using narrative analysis, this study examines participants’ reflections on their heritage identity, HL exposure, and their investment, experiences and progress in their HL course. Results show that participants demonstrate varying degrees of investment in the HL, and heritage identity plays a role in this variance.

Inventing Voice of Identity through L2 Poetry Writing: A Construct of Mindfulness-Based Strategy in Remote Learning

Voice of identity can be found in an expressive writing such as poetry writing. In l2 learning context, poetry is a medium to learn a new language in a creative way. Language is developed through mindfulness and creativity. As language develops, l2 learners make use of their sensitivity to language and create or produce the language that represents the voice of identity themselves. This article focuses on how l2 poetry writing can invent voice of identity in the l2 learners by using the construct of mindfulness-based strategy. In the pandemic context where offline education is not possible, mindfulness-based strategy is best implemented in l2 remote learning since it has four main principles in language learning such as finding novelty in learning, being sensitive to context, actively engaged in the present moment, and stimulate opennes and multiperspectives. By online learning, poetry is taught with mindfulness concepts and they are guided mindfully on how they become language learners creatively and effectively by writing their poetry about their life during the pandemic. The data collected are poetry and reflection diary and analyzed through the construct of poetry in mindfulness framework. The results indicated that poetry writing can represent voice of l2 learner’s identity; their new perspectives of the world, reflection and sensitivity to context, choices of life, present moment engagement, opennes and multiperspectives

The promise of online mathematics instruction programmes: producing the mathematics learner and school mathematics

ABSTRACT Mathematics education increasingly happens online and is not bound by the local context. This means mathematics learning and the learner may be defined by international private corporations as well as by national and school curricula. In this paper, I draw on a study of online mathematics instructional programmes used in New Zealand primary schools, specifically: Mathletics, Studyladder, MathsBuddy, and Sumdog. I present an analysis of these popular programmes’ websites in order to interrogate the “promise” of these online platforms, and examine the way in which the mathematics learner identity is produced by the texts and within discourses of neoliberalism and “Ed-tech”. I argue that the websites, pitched at teachers, parents, and learners of mathematics, promote a deficit view of public education (mathematics) and fabricate two types of mathematics learners: the engaged, confident, progressing mathematics citizen, and its fragile other who is lacking.

The English Learner’s Identity in O’ Level EFL Classroom and Its Effect on EFL Learning Investment

The relation between language and identity is not a new thing to discuss, but it has a powerful influence on learner’s self. This issue specifically with English non-native learners is prominent through its greater demand in academic and popular discourse on language usage and its learning throughout the country of Pakistan. The aim of the study is to investigate the construction of identity of L2 learners within English-only ideology in O’ level classroom and its impact on EFL Learning Investment. The findings of the present study indicate that the huge impact of investment on learner’s identity inside and outside the classroom. In this study, data was collected from three learners from Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan whose identities are in a state of adaptation in the process of learning. It is observed that English language has a dominance by its number of learners which are increasing day by day and it has become a medium of communication by many of the cultures adopting it as a ‘must learn language’. Keywords: Identity; investment; English learners’ identity; English language learning. DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/11-18-04 Publication date: September 30 th 2021

Intersections of social class and special educational needs in a DEIS post-primary school: school choice and identity

ABSTRACT This paper explores how special educational needs (SEN) and social class can become intertwined in post-primary school choice in Ireland. The paper draws on data generated during a three-year ethnographic study of a DEIS school. Data are analysed using Holland et al.’s (1998. Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds. Boston, MA: Harvard University Press) positional identities, authored selves and figured worlds in order to examine how learner identities and school choice processes can become informed by emergent school cultures being formed and re-formed by neoliberal marketisation of education and how these actions are taken up in the identity work of young people and their families. Soft barriers and their contribution to aspects of school stratification by social class and SEN in this setting are explored. Finally, the paper calls for recognition of the responsibilities of every school to own diversity in their own settings.

Toward a nuanced understanding of musicians’ professional learning pathways: What does critical reflection contribute?

Making sense of musicians’ professional learning pathways is of crucial importance to understanding their career progressions, their routes into creative employment, and the relevance of various policies to their professional lives. However, this is a far cry from understanding how critical reflection catalyzes diverse learning routes, especially when considering evidence originating from postgraduate musicians’ own accounts of their journeys into job creation. In this study, we invited five postgraduate classical musicians who were invested in professional learning through performance programs in higher education to contribute these types of personal perspectives. The article explores the value of postgraduate musicians’ own accounts of their journeys and illustrates how a more nuanced understanding of them can be arrived at through the use of visual-based tools, for example, Rivers of Musical Experience and Dixit Cards. This constructivist intervention prompted both group and individual critical reflections, as well as sense-making processes that enabled the participants to become more informed about the (typically overlooked or neglected) critical incidents that differently catalyze professional learning pathways. All of the participants articulated sociocultural influences that were situated along historical, present, and future points of departure and arrival, helping them to create meaning and understanding of themselves and their (at times unsettling) professional learning pathways. From the ensuing thematic analyses, we identified a commonality of themes across life phases with three key influential groups of people (parents, peers, and professionals) that strongly affected their professional learning pathways and learner identity-construction. The results indicate that the relationships between these phases and people are complex. The research illuminates the previously unexplored connection between the meaning-making trajectories that are instantiated through critical reflection, and adds to our understanding of the development of musicians’ professional learning pathways and learner identities.

Configuration of Racial Identities of Learners of English

Racial identity, as well as other social identities, is intrinsically related to language learning. Nevertheless, this relationship has been taken for granted. Despite research done in the area, not a lot has centred explicitly on finding the connections between race and language learning. This article addresses that point in an attempt to shed light specifically on English language learning and teaching. We used a qualitative research methodology to analyse oral and written narratives that were produced by participants telling their experience as English language learners. This article underscores the results that relate language learners’ racial experiences as a crucial factor in the configuration of their identity as well as the economic, social, and cultural factors involved.

The role of participatory identity in learners’ hybridization of activity across contexts

ABSTRACT Background: We explore how school-based mathematical experiences shape out-of-school mathematical experiences, developing the idea that learners hybridize norms and practices around authority and evaluation across these two contexts. To situate our study, we build on constructs of participatory identity and framing. Methods: Drawing from a large corpus of video records capturing children’s point-of-view, we present a case study of hybridization with two purposively sampled 12-year-old friends—Aimee and Dia—interacting in an out-of-school mathematics playspace. We use interaction analysis to articulate grounded theories of hybridization. Findings: We present a thick description of how children hybridize their activity in out-of-school spaces and how such hybridization is consequential for engagement. Dia’s case illustrates how traditional norms and practices around authority and evaluation can lead to uncertainty and dissatisfaction, while Aimee’s illustrates how playful norms and practices can lead to exploration and pleasure in making. We argue that their school-based mathematics experiences and identities influenced these differences. Contribution: This report strengthens theoretical and methodological tools for understanding how activity and identity development in one context become relevant and shape activity in another by connecting analytic constructs of identity, framing, and hybridizing.

Language teachers’ identity in teaching intercultural communicative competence

ABSTRACT This paper reports on our inquiry into how language teachers’ identities relate to their efforts to teach intercultural communicative competence. In the study, we collected data through in-depth interviews with and observations of 16 Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong’s international schools. The analysis revealed that the participants simultaneously embraced multiple professional and sociocultural identities related to intercultural communicative competence teaching. Specifically, the professional identities included a Chinese language teacher identity and a school staff member identity, while the sociocultural identity comprised a Chinese culture bearer identity, a multicultural identity, a cultural transmitter identity, a culture learner identity, and a cultural bridge identity. These identities were found to compete with or reinforce each other in mediating the participants’ efforts in relation to teaching intercultural communicative competence; different identities were often associated with different understandings of and approaches to teaching intercultural communicative competence. The findings suggest that language teacher educators need to recognise teacher identities as an important pedagogical resource when preparing language teachers for teaching in cross-cultural contexts.

The Presence of Learner Identity in Online Classes in UTAS-Rustaq

Learner identity has always been a crucial aspect in shaping learners’ learning process. However, the unprecedented and inevitable shift to online learning increases the need to invest in learners’ digital identities. Virtual classes are a new learning context for many Omani students, including the University of Technology and Applied Sciences-Rustaq (UTAS-Rustaq) students, introducing them to new social norms and relatively new assigned roles. Despite students’ current presence in the virtual classes, they are not new to the virtual world; many are already part of social networks. The present study, therefore, aims to investigate learners’ participation in social media and whether such presence would have an impact on their acceptance and involvement in online learning. There is an urge to examine this area which remains unexplored in UTAS-Rustaq due to its past limited practices. A mixed-method approach was implemented to elicit data; the focus group interviews aimed to seek in-depth insights to illuminate the collected data from the survey. The participants were English language learners who have experienced online learning for almost a year. The results indicated a positive presence in the virtual world in contrast to a negative presence in the virtual classroom. Surprisingly, technical difficulties were not the reason for students’ resentment of online learning; on the contrary, students reported that they elevated their technical skills due to the current situation. Rather, negativity arose from a lack of relational connectedness with the new context, which students kept referring to as a temporary situation and lack of teachers’ support.

Cultural and linguistic struggles and solidarities of Emirati learners in online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented shifts in higher education worldwide, with some nations more adversely affected than others. Since the onset of the crisis, almost all education abruptly moved to ‘emergency remote teaching and learning’. While the United Arab Emirates has been praised for its swift and effective responses, unique cultural and linguistic dynamics in this region present additional challenges for teaching and learning. This article presents empirical data from a qualitative phenomenological case study investigating female Emirati university students’ (n = 69) perspectives on the use of video cameras and microphones in online classes. Students’ reflective writing and researcher observations in autumn 2020 revealed discomfort using video cameras and microphones due to a range of cultural and linguistic factors. Such factors include Islamic beliefs relating to modesty, home as a gendered space, noise considerations, concerns about privacy, struggles with language in their English-medium instruction university and fear of judgement from peers. Data are interpreted thematically using intersectionality together with Goffman’s theories of everyday interaction, stigma and relative deprivation, through which complexities of learner identities are explored. Practical suggestions are made on ways to adapt online learning to better suit the cultural and sociolinguistic realities of periphery and Global South contexts. It is argued that greater efforts need to be made toward inclusion of marginalized learners during the COVID-19 period.

Assessment and Recognition of MOOCs: The State of the Art

Verification of learner identity is increasingly important for online education in examination and proctoring, and the Covid-19 pandemic has encouraged many institutions to move to online examinations at scale. This paper reviews state of the art approaches to ID verification, recognition and assessment in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). Desktop research included research publications, grey literature and MOOC platforms to identify current practices. The main focus was on public data from course pages on MOOC platforms, particularly courses that had been grouped to offer a single academic program, Four approaches are identified: basic ID checks, checks made by the university, proctoring and various types of interview. Our review demonstrates the absence of any universal approach. However, the emergent picture shows increasing co-ordination across relevant stakeholders (including higher education institutions, employment services and the private sector). Several more coordinated strategies (such as Europe’s Common Microcredential Framework) are highlighted. There remain significant challenges for online proctoring, including overcoming learner preferences and meeting the increased resourcing needed for human-led processes of identity verification. There remain significant ethical challenges regarding the use of learner data (especially biometrics). MOOC platforms would likely benefit from adopting strategies that are well-established in higher education institutions such as plagiarism checking software and pedagogies like e-portfolios.

QUEER LEARNER IDENTITY AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING IN A THAI CONTEXT

This study examined the identity construction of queer learners in English language learning and its influences on English language learning. The four participants were male, queer and studied in English majors and English language teaching in a Thai university. Two of the participants were known to the researcher. Semi-structured interviews, field notes, and a digital sound recorder were used for data collection and qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that queer characteristics and marginalized and unequal positions based on gender identity and sexual orientation were two main factors constituting queer learner identity in English language learning. The majority of the participants shared that their queer characteristics were conducive to their speaking skills. Additionally, it was shown that the heteronormative Thai context motivated the participants to pursue English language proficiency. The participants reported that English language proficiency was advantageous for their future success and helped them gain parental and societal acceptance. Moreover, the participants stated that learning the English language would allow them to migrate to English-speaking countries that are welcoming to queer people. The results also indicated that some participants who desire a Western partner viewed English as beneficial to finding a Western man, whom they thought would be more open to gender diversity than Thai men. These findings provide a better understanding of the identity construction of queer learners and its influences on English language learning. 
 
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Marketing the Wang-chobo Identity: Problematic Construction of English Learner Identities in the Advertising Discourse of South Korea’s English Learning Platforms

The purpose of this study was to analyze the advertisement discourse of the three most popular online English learning platforms in South Korea and problematize their framing of Koreans as incapable learners of English. The method of critical discourse analysis and multimodal discourse analysis were used to examine how text and visuals in the advertisement discourse portrayed three powerful ideologies of neoliberalism, native- speakerism, and self-deprecation in play. It was found that the idealization of the native speaker standard was interconnected with the self-deprecating tendency of Korean learners of English, who are pressured by the neoliberal logic of self- development to learn English but are not able to attain the unreachable goal of native-like proficiency. Likewise, the study problematized language ideologies in the discourse around English learning in South Korea in order to help Korean learners of English see their English learning experience as valid and valuable, and themselves as capable English speakers.

Discourse and Learner Identity: Representations, Negotiation and Shift in a Saudi EFL Context

Identity research, L2 learner identity included, has of late, witnessed an unprecedented surge. Changes in the concepts of 'language" "community", and the "individual" “competence”, have all influenced researching identities, leading ultimately to them perceived as "complex", "multi-faceted", "dynamic", "varied", "changing", "fluid", "re/constructed" and "negotiated" phenomena. This study attempts to explore identities in the context of a Saudi Arabian college. In particular, the complexities, idiosyncrasies and potentialities of a group of 8 high-achieving EFL learners were thoroughly probed cross a period of four to six years. Instances of manifestations, construction, negotiation, and shift were probed. The mixed data collected and analysed subsumed a variety of observation sheets, semi-structured interviews, and informal talk and some verbal introspections included largely within the body of interviews. Some four nonnative multilingual instructors were likewise interviewed to help enrich the journey into these participants' L2 selves. Findings suggest the existence of subtle ways of construction, manifestation, negotiation and shift among the participants. The discussion reveals interesting instances of L2/self facets, third spaces, idiosyncrasies (self-definition and reflection problems, self-talk, etc.), complex L1-L2 relationship (languaging and reversed transfer supporting Cook's Multicompetence), etc. Empowerment of nonnative multilingual is further suggested in the discussion building on the conversation and interviews with several of them working in the context investigated alongside the data from students.