Transcript Sample heading text - Language on the Move

Social inclusion and the
‘reduced personality’:
Migration, identity and
language learning
Lynda Yates
Macquarie University
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Research Questions
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How are these migrants positioned and how
do they position themselves in their new
communities?
How do they experience the renegotiation of
their identities in English?
What is the role of the AMEP in this
renegotiation process and how can it best
facilitate these transitions?
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Overview
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•
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Motivation for paper
Theoretical frameworks
Study
Insights from case study of 8 women in first
three years in Australia
• Reflections on:
– Development of their English-speaking identities
– Understandings of learning and language use
– Role of language classes
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Motivation for paper
Lucia Q1
my boyfriend or and here his family. Everybody’s wah wah
wah What talking laughing and I’m just sorry shy and he
sayThe shy Columbian yes.
And I’m not like that!
Kaye Q1
Kaye: …and people thinks I’m really quiet.
Do they?
Kaye: But in Japanese, no, I’m really talkative,
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Theory: Focus on the individual
• Personal costs of developing transnationalism
– Rebuilding social, cultural and economic capital
• Language anxiety (Oxford, 1999)
– Self-esteem (Horowitz et al 1986)
• ‘Reduced personality’ (Harder, 1980)
– Late-acquired language
– Frustrations re self-expression (Winch, 2005)
• Motivation
– L2 motivational self (Dornyei & Ushioda 2009)
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Theory: Identity in context
• Power differentials and structures of participation
– Positioning
– Peripheral participation/ communities of practice
– Affordances & investment (Norton-Pierce, 1995)
• Motivation - interaction intentionality & social
context (Ushioda 2009)
– People-in-context view of motivation
– Engagement of ‘possible selves’
• English speaking identity
– Migrant identities (Miller 2000)
– Transportable identities’ (Zimmerman 1998; Richards 2006)
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Language use and English speaking identity
Positioning
(affordances)
ELL motivation
(Ideal L2 self)
Past self-esteem
(cultural capital)
Use of English
- ve
Engagement of
possible selves:
Transnational
English-speaking
Identity
+ ve
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Language use and
development
of L2
identity
Successful
self expression
Engagement of
possible selves
Use of English
- ve
Transnational
English-speaking
Identity
Language
anxiety
+ve or –ve
experiences
investment and
confidence
in language
learning
+ ve
Reduced
personality
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Language training and settlement success
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DIAC funded project
152 migrants (134) studying in AMEP
11 centres around Australia
Different levels/ backgrounds/ ages/
A range of data:
– Interviews
– Fieldnotes, observations, materials, assessments
– Digital recordings of goal-oriented and social
interactions inside and outside the classroom and
the centre
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Language training
• AMEP - national program
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all eligible new arrivals who lack functional English
free
three different certificate levels to those
Certificate III
preparation for further study or improvement in employment
prospects.
• Beyond most urgent need for basic English
• Language-related settlement issues
• Negotiate social and professional identities through
English
• C1 linguistic expertise / economic capacity
• Australia: Struggle to draw on this capital
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Participants
Name C1
Yr
Status
Ed
Lucia Col
1:1
17
Telemarket Trammie
/sales
Lila Col
1:4
De facto–
AngloAus
M /Col.Aus
16
Student/
Microbiol
Pharmac.
factory
De facto
– AngloAus
M/ AngloAus
11
Office
admin.
16
Language
teacher
Jap.
travel
agency
Jap. lang.
teacher
Tobi Jap 1:5
Kaye Jap 2:3
Occup
C1
Occup
Aus
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Participants
Name C1
Res
Sally PRC 2:5
Jean PRC 2:9
Anna PRC
2
Karen PRC 1:2
Status
Ed
Occ. C1
Occ. Aus
M/
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Chinese
Self-empl
Homemaker
Primary
teacher
Family
store
M/
16
Chinese
Landscape
designer
Chin. paper
/landscaper
M/
17
Chinese
Ophthalm
ologist
Glasses
factory QA
M/ FrAus
15
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Social inclusion and settlement success:
Some commonalities
• Social isolation and loneliness
• Frustration at ‘reduced personality’
• Insufficiency of workplace or partners for
English development
• Goal of more challenging work
• Underestimation of language learning
• Tendency to self-blame
• Desire to improve English
• Desire for speaking and feedback
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Social isolation and loneliness
Frustration at:
• Lack of friends
– Sally and son (playgroup), Anna (curfew), Tobi
• Inability to relate/ express E.g.
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–
–
–
–
Formal phone conversations (Sally)
Parents (Kaye)
Partners’ friends (Lila)
Every day conversation at work (Karen)
Anybody (Anna)
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Insufficiency of routine work interactions
• Robot - Lucia Q1
Lucia: I’m just- ah feeling totally like stuck. Like- like when I
know- you know it’s like I’m feeling like I’m expressing
myself always in the same way or always- [….] Using the
same words and using the sameYes, so it’s a restricted range of things-that you can say and
do and you want to expand that, yeah.
Lucia: Exactly because I feel like robot, you know?
• Sally (take-away)/ Lucia (café)/ Karen (office)/ Anna (factory)
• But increases confidence? (Sally/ Karen cf Tobi) (also Miller
2000)
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Karen Q2:
Yeah (laughter) because I think if I work for an
Aussie company at least I have a good- good
situation and every time I listening, every time
I- I read I- I writing something, always
learning English, so is good.
……………………….
I think I- I can- … I so before- before this job I
don’t dare to talk with some you know
Western people. But now I can, I can do this.
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Goal - more challenging work
Desire to build on cultural capital:
– portray fuller range of skills - professional identity
– Participate more centrally
Lila Q1: So I was and I was and at uni they know me
because I was good at uni.
[….]
Lila: Yeah so that why here that’s why now oh I don’t
have and I would say to my sister I just came here
and I’m no-one, nobody.
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Under-estimation of challenge of language
learning
Anna Q2: before I came here I- I never I never
think English is so hard because hhmmm, we
in China we just do reading, especially in our
field I found that this is- is not difficult. So
before I came here I think oh, English is- is
easy to me I can- (laughter) I can I can learn
English quickly and fast but after I came here
I found not
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Positive about AMEP class
Lucia Q1: … they’re [English classes] great it’s just, you
know, it’s, yeah, some of my first English classes here in
this, yeah
Karen Q2: I think … ahh, we can, we can learn some
some- some words and I think we can- we can spend
long time in Engla- English situation.
Anna Q1: I enjoy the class-, the class because I can- I can
meet and know differ different classmates from different
country the(NB Sally/ Anna - stretching)
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Some commonalities
Tendency to blame self (Lila, Anna, Tobi)
Okay. And you said last time to Jackie that you were
feeling a little bit alone.
Lila Q2: Yeah.
How do you feel now?
Lila Q2: Ahm … I try don’t think about it (laughter) yeah.
Still a little bit lonely then?
Lila Q2: Yeah, I think maybe my personality, I don’t
know.
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Language use and
English speaking
identity
investment and
confidence
in language
learning
Successful
self expression
L2 identity and
- ve
Use of English
+ ve
Language
anxiety
Reduced
personality
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Lucia
Q1
• 50% English
• Repetitive café to
• Cute Spanish-speaker
• Frustrated with ‘reduced
personality’
• Class useful for:
– structure and practice (pron
and writing)
– Space to speak
– Make friends
– Organise her English
Q3
• 80% English
• Sociable trammie
• Independent lover
• Settled
• Job as transition
• Developing new strategies to
communicate
• Still frustrated at ‘inability’ to
join in and limited identity in
English, but….
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Lucia Q3:
Lucia: I, you know, but it's just … I think the English is- is, I, I
remember I felt really isolate, my firstYeah.
Lucia: -months here. I didn’t have friends, I didn’t, I was only
with <partner’s> family and with, I can start to talk with
anyone and that’s normal. You know I'm doing that with
contactsYeah, yeah.
Lucia: -I'm making friends-on the tram, making friends. I'm
just-Yeah.
Lucia: -I'm talking with people.
Yeah, yeah.
Lucia: And this is good.
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Tobi
Q1
• 20% English
• Japanese travel agency
• Planning children
• Frustrated but some
support
• Class useful for:
– Place to speak English
– Place for feedback
Q3
• 15% English
• Soon unemployed
• Relationship breakdown
• Feels old (30), worries about
health
• Lost interest in studying
English: ‘I don’t like study
English.’
• No support, maybe returning
home
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Anna
Q1(2)
• 40% English
• Silenced / factory QA
• Diligent but unrealistic
• Came for opportunity
• (misses professional talk)
• Class:
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Useful for ‘answers’
To meet people/ engage
Feedback/ correction
(wants to make NS contact)
Q3(4)
• 60% English
• Quit job for more speaking
• Diligent -frustrated with
progress
• More understanding and
confidence
• Wants more Anglo talk
• Refocusing goals - optician
• Considering returning
• (confident assertive cf
mistakes /stupid in English)
• (lonely / husband)
• (toughened / more
determined)
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Jeannie
Q1
• 95% English
• Family store
• Believes in speaking out
• Proud of her English
• Came for
opportunity/husband
Q3
• 98% English
• Wants to study
• Disappointed can’t be a
teacher
• Husband wants her to work
• Stays for son not husband
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Karen
Q1
• 15% (50%) English
• Chinese to English
• Wants to improve
speaking
• Came for husband/
opportunity
• Class:
– Safe place to speak
– Not laughed at
Q4
• Return from work away
• More confident about
English, but still afraid of
mistakes
• Different ‘place’ from last yr:
– Content, happy, lucky
– Plans to settle
– More confident with clients
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Role of language training
• Source of:
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–
–
–
–
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Structured language information
Feedback (handling of misconceptions)
Non-language information
Practice
Referral (plausible action plans) (Dornyei 2009)
Peer group / network
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AMEP class - safe place to:
• Use English without being considered ‘stupid’
• Develop of English speaking identity which
reflects their ‘transportable identities’
‘engage directly with their possible selves as
users of the L2, but within the current scope
and security of their current communicative
abilities, interests and social contexts’
(Ushioda: 2009: 225)
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References
Dornyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (Eds.). (2009). Motivation: Language identity and the
L2 self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Harder, P. (1980). Discourse as self-expression – on the reduced personality of
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Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom
Anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132.
Miller, J. M. (2000). Language Use, Identity, and Social Interaction: Migrant
Students in Australia. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 33(1),
69-100.
Oxford, R. L. (1999) Anxiety and the language learner: New insights. In J. Arnold
(Ed.) Affect in Language Learning (pp 58-67). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Norton-Pierce, B. (1995). Social identity, investment and language learning.
TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 9-31.
Richards, K. (2006). 'Being the teacher': Identity and classroom conversation.
Applied Linguistics, 27(1), 51-77.
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self and identity. In Z. Dornyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, Language
identity and the L2 self (pp. 215-228). Bristol: Mulitlingual Matters.
Winch, S. (2005). From Frustration to Satisfaction: Using NLP to Improve SelfExpression. Paper presented at the 18th Annual EA Education Conference
Zimmerman, D. H. (1998). Discoursal identities ad social identities. In C. Antaki &
S. Widdicombe (Eds.), Identities in talk (pp. 87-106). London: Sage.
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