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Identity and Language Learning: A 2019 Retrospective Account

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Abstract

L’année 2019 est une année phare pour The Canadian Modern Language Review / La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes ( CMLR/RCLV), qui fête 75 ans d’existence et célèbre l’importance de l’influence qu’elle a exercée sur la linguistique appliquée au Canada et au-delà depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. L’année 2019 a également pour l’auteure une signification toute particulière, puisqu’elle marque le 30 e anniversaire de la publication de son premier article de portée internationale dans TESOL Quarterly. L’invitation que lui adresse CMLR/RCLV à collaborer au numéro soulignant le 75 e anniversaire de la revue est donc l’occasion toute désignée de réfléchir à certaines des principales idées et observations issues des recherches sur l’identité et l’apprentissage des langues qu’elle a menées au fil des trois dernières décennies.

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... Norton's (1997;2000;2001;Peirce, 1995) research on identity in L2 learning led to the creation of some new concepts including language learner's imagined communities (ICs) and a learner's investment in language learning. The three closely interrelated ideas of identity, investment, and ICs can be helpful in addressing numerous questions to extend our understandings of language learners' experiences (Norton, 2019). ...
... Various studies (e.g., Dawson 2017;Norton, 2019Norton, , 2020Przymus 2016;Sung, 2019) have demonstrated that it is necessary for teachers and teacher trainers to be cognizant of the learners' access to ICs; otherwise, learners' non-participation in language classrooms might increase. Although Norton (2001) states that teachers may worsen the learners' non-participation if they do not acknowledge the language learners' ICs in the language classrooms, she also notes that it may be very challenging for the teacher to acknowledge this community unconditionally. ...
... In contrast to communities of practice, previous research on ICs of practice is limited yet illuminating (Tajeddin et al., 2021). Taken together, these studies indicate that ICs play a key role in the language learners' engagement in learning (Norton, 2019;Przymus, 2016;Tajeddin et al., 2021).The study of language learners' ICs is a growing field. Although the literature is rich in the effect of ICs in English as a second language (ESL) and EFL contexts, to date, there are insufficient published accounts on this construct in the Iranian EFL context. ...
Article
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Unlike communities of practice, previous studies on imagined communities of practice are scarce, yet enlightening. The present research was conducted in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context in order to provide more insight into how language learners perceive their imagined communities (ICs). It was based on Norton’s (2000; 2001) conceptualization of ICs which connected the notions of imagination and imagined community to second language (L2) learning and classroom practice. To this end, 945 male and female EFL learners from different cities in Iran belonging to different age groups and language proficiency levels were recruited for this study. The instrument for data collection was a validated 57-item questionnaire. The findings of the study showed that the participants possessed a moderate level of investment in their ICs. Moreover, t-test results indicated that there was a significant difference between male and female learners in the extent of investment in their ICs. Furthermore, the significant differences in the extent of investment in ICs were shown between teenagers and adults and between learners in low proficiency (LP) and high proficiency (HP) groups. These findings contribute to more in-depth understanding of language learners' ICs in an EFL context. Pedagogical implications of the study are discussed and some suggestions are made for future research.
... The concept of identity is realized as a multidimensional dynamic construct in post-structuralism which is continually redefined and reconstructed in various interactions across time and space (Omoniyi & White, 2008;Zacharias, 2010;Norton, 2013Norton, , 2019. From this point of view, identity is the reflection of the ways people perceive themselves in relation to the others (Ige, 2010;Norton 2013Norton -2019 along with the ways they perceive of the others while interacting with them (Wu, 2011;Norton & Morgan, 2013;Norton, 2018, Darvin & Norton,2021. ...
... The concept of identity is realized as a multidimensional dynamic construct in post-structuralism which is continually redefined and reconstructed in various interactions across time and space (Omoniyi & White, 2008;Zacharias, 2010;Norton, 2013Norton, , 2019. From this point of view, identity is the reflection of the ways people perceive themselves in relation to the others (Ige, 2010;Norton 2013Norton -2019 along with the ways they perceive of the others while interacting with them (Wu, 2011;Norton & Morgan, 2013;Norton, 2018, Darvin & Norton,2021. ...
... The concept of identity is realized as a multidimensional dynamic construct in post-structuralism which is continually redefined and reconstructed in various interactions across time and space (Omoniyi & White, 2008;Zacharias, 2010;Norton, 2013Norton, , 2019. From this point of view, identity is the reflection of the ways people perceive themselves in relation to the others (Ige, 2010;Norton 2013Norton -2019 along with the ways they perceive of the others while interacting with them (Wu, 2011;Norton & Morgan, 2013;Norton, 2018, Darvin & Norton,2021. ...
Book
"Unlock the power of identity in the captivating journey of language learning with this book. In this thought-provoking exploration, Dr. Maria Shobeiry, PhD in TESOL, delves into the profound connection between the identity of Iranian learners of English in New Zealand and their investment in mastering the target language. As the author skillfully weaves together concepts that resonate with the very essence of identity, readers are invited to reflect on the complex issues impacting the process of language learning. Whether you're a language enthusiast, educator, or curious explorer, the current book offers a unique lens into the intricate dance of identity within the context of language acquisition. Join us on a compelling voyage where identity and language converge, revealing the keys to unlocking a richer, more profound language-learning experience."
... Since attitudes can be considered as part of motivation [26], studies on language learning investment often use the terms interchangeably [31] or explore attitudes and motivation together [32]. The learners' motivation may yield results that generate satisfaction and detect benefits in the learning process [33,34]. When learners are motivated to learn, investment in language learning produces good outcomes that act as positive feedback. ...
... The results show that, during compulsory EFL learning, our participants realize the importance of EFL learning as they complete their university studies. Moreover, they showed motivation and considered EFL learning to be worth the effort, as Artamonova and Norton have also documented [31,33,34]. Regarding the dimension of necessities, this group of learners acknowledge that knowing the language can nurture their professional development and future working life. ...
... Moreover, researchers have often collected data from people immersed in the target language context [20][21][22]33] or preservice and in-service language teachers [38,39]. Previous qualitative studies have provided some insights into different dimensions that contribute to the construct, such as engagement [14,16], motivation or attitudes [22,31], necessities [21,34] and agency [29]. Nevertheless, there are students in the foreign language context who do not meet these learning conditions, as they are obligated to comply with compulsory EFL education regardless of their future profession. ...
Article
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Second language learning investment relates to the willingness and effort of learners to develop language competencies which will give them a good return in terms of personal or professional benefits. Research has often explored learning investment through learners in the target language context or language teachers. This study, however, explores learning investment with undergraduate learners who are obligated to learn English as a foreign language, regardless of their future profession. To this end, a Likert-scale questionnaire was first designed to examine four investment dimensions which have been identified in previous qualitative research: motivation, necessity, engagement and agency. For validity and reliability purposes, the questionnaire was administered to six second language research professors and 41 students who completed three compulsory English courses in a BA in Inclusive Education. Content, construct and convergent validity procedures were implemented to test the investment dimensions. Regarding reliability, equivalent forms were used to check the stability of answers and to avoid primacy and fatigue effects. In addition, internal consistency and inter-item correlations were checked through Cronbach Alpha coefficients. After the validity and reliability procedures, the four dimensions of learning investment were explored among the language learners. The statistical analyses revealed favorable motivation and engagement results. Nonetheless, they raised some concerns regarding necessity and agency.
... Norton (1995), for the first time, propounded the concept of investment as the language learners' commitment to their language learning in a certain context. She also published precious papers on language learners' identity and investment in various contexts (Norton, 1995;Norton, 2000Norton, , 2013Norton, , 2017Norton, , 2018Norton, , 2019Norton, , 2020 in which she put great emphasis on the relationship between the language learners' identity features and their level of investment. In these publications, she defined identity as "how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how this relationship is structured across time and space, and how individuals understand possibilities for the future changes" in a new context (Norton, 2013, p. 45). ...
... Moreover, Norton (2013Norton ( , 2017Norton ( , 2018Norton ( , 2019 argued that if language learners have faith in acquiring social power and personal profits by learning a certain language, they will generously invest in learning it. In this sense, the construct of investment should be differentiated from the concept of motivation in that for the concept of motivation, individuals' identities are viewed as unique, stable, inflexible, and coherent across time and space (Dornyei & Ushioda, 2009); while, the notion of investment regards language learners as social beings with complex, fluid, and flexible identities which could easily change in different contexts (Norton, 2018). ...
... The lack of such knowledge resulted in our inability to identify the controllable reasons of this issue in order to minimize its negative consequences and maximize the language learners' achievements. It also should be declared that, due to the determining effect of cultural issues and social capital on language learners' investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015;Haghighi & Norton, 2017;Norton, 2019), as native speakers of Persian who are completely familiar with the Persian culture, the authors of this paper only focused on the qualitative data elicited from the Iranian immigrants in New Zealand. Therefore this research attempts to answer to the following research questions. ...
Conference Paper
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Investment is defined as language learners' commitment to their language learning practice (Norton, 1995) which is the result of an interplay among social capital, dominant ideologies, and learners' identity (Darvin &Norton, 2015). Unexplainable investment fluctuations of ESL learners was the main complaint of 24 ESL teachers (15 female, 9 male) in three focus group interview sessions in Auckland-New Zealand . To explore whether this fluctuation is statistically significant enough to consider it a real problem, the transcriptions of these three focus-group sessions, observation of the language learners' classrooms during ten month, and a semi-structured interview with the language learners were used as the data. A coding scheme was developed for the signs of commitment to language learning. Clarke and Braun's (2013) thematic analysis revealed that 1) participating in classroom activities, 2) being focused in the classroom,3)note-taking and summarizing, and 4)proactively interacting with peers were considered by the ESL teachers as the visible signs of investment. A Likert scale and a scoring system were developed for observation of the video recordings of 193 Iranian ESL learners in New Zealand. Two independent observers completed the Likert scales and coded the data to increase the validity and reliability of the results. A Chi-square analysis and the qualitative results displayed a U-shaped pattern of investment in the ESL leaners. A proposed methodological framework for discovering the reasons of investment fluctuation includes: 1) observing the visible signs of investment, 2) collecting short-story narratives of ESL learners (Barkhuizen, 2016), and 3) thematic analysis (Clarke &Braun, 2013).
... This can be one significant reason why these students were less invested in the language practices of their classrooms since the degree to which teachers recognize learners' resources as symbolic capital has a significant role on the learners' investment (Darvin 2019). At the same time, the data analysis showed that more ethnocentric participants tended to regard their professors and classmates from other ethnic backgrounds as less legitimate and worthy to communicate with, which could greatly lower investment in learning (Darvin & Norton, 2015Norton, 1995Norton, , 2000Norton, , 2013bNorton, , 2019. Not only the degree of being considered as legitimate by the teachers has a great impact on investment, the extent to which learners themselves regard their teachers as legitimate, credible, and worthy influences their investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015Norton, 2000Norton, , 2013bNorton, , 2019. ...
... At the same time, the data analysis showed that more ethnocentric participants tended to regard their professors and classmates from other ethnic backgrounds as less legitimate and worthy to communicate with, which could greatly lower investment in learning (Darvin & Norton, 2015Norton, 1995Norton, , 2000Norton, , 2013bNorton, , 2019. Not only the degree of being considered as legitimate by the teachers has a great impact on investment, the extent to which learners themselves regard their teachers as legitimate, credible, and worthy influences their investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015Norton, 2000Norton, , 2013bNorton, , 2019. Ethnocentric people keep a social and communicative distance from outgroup members (Lukens, 1978;Peng, 1974). ...
... Doctors' high levels of ethnocentrism and insufficient language skills could cause miscommunication, hinder IC, and harm patients (Arasaratnam & Banerjee, 2007;de Moissac & Bowen, 2019). While investment is a very complicated construct and could be influenced by different factors (Darvin & Norton, 2015Norton, 2019), this study shows that medical students' ethnocentrism could strongly contribute to their investment. In other words, in addition to hindering effective IC (Neuliep, 2015), high ethnocentrism can lower students' investment in learning English, which is the predominant language in medicine and is considered an LF in today's globalized world. ...
Article
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Medical practitioners’ ethnocentric orientations and English language skills contribute to the success or failure of intercultural communication in the context of health care. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between ethnocentrism and investment in learning English in the multicultural setting of English classrooms at an Iranian medical university. To this end, 200 Iranian medical students’ levels of ethnocentrism and investment in learning English were measured. The findings of this study revealed that the participants had relatively moderate levels of ethnocentrism and investment, and there was a strong negative relationship between the two constructs. Female medical students were found to be significantly less ethnocentric than male students, but were not significantly different from them in terms of investment. These findings were explained considering several contextual factors such as the participants’ linguistic loyalty, intercultural contact, and social comfort in English classrooms. Practical implications, direction, and limitations are discussed.
... As noted by Norton (2019), it is important to examine the way in which language learners reframe their relationships with target language speakers to gain access to social networks and claim powerful identities. The application of concepts of social identity, investment, and imagined communities to language learning has improved our understanding of the complex relationship between language learning and broader social world. ...
... With the help of her daughter, Ms. Lau was able to learn Cantonese in real-world contexts and familiarized herself with the social functions of the target language. As a mother, Ms. Lau assumed an authoritative role and exercised social power (Norton, 2019;Norton & Toohey, 2011) to involve her daughter in her acquisition of Cantonese and adaptation to the target language community. ...
... Due to the global hegemony of English, English also enjoys the status of a more preferred linguistic currency compared to other languages in many contexts that involve foreigners in Hong Kong. Naturally, in Ms. Chung's case, knowing English made her communication with the locals much easier and smoother, which increased her control over the interactions and helped reduce the power differentials that often exist between language learners and target language speakers (Norton, 2019). ...
Article
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A growing body of research on identity and language learning has investigated how immigrant learners construct their identities in the process of acquiring a second language (L2). Much of the research, however, is situated in Western contexts. This study looks at how three Thai immigrants acquired an L2, Cantonese, and constructed their identities in their host society—Hong Kong. Drawing on the data collected from semi-structured interviews, onsite observation, and informal conversations, this study shows that the three Thai immigrants built multiple identities that allowed them to have access to the target language learning resources and practices. They embraced selective acculturation by maintaining their Thai identity and preserving their cultural heritage, which had a positive influence on their acquisition of the target language. The study suggests that language learners need to claim powerful identities and exercise human agency in their interaction with target language speakers to facilitate language learning.
... In her work on identity in language teaching and learning over the past 30 years, Bonny Norton has highlighted the important role that language has played in the negotiation and development of LTI across contexts (Norton, 2013(Norton, , 2019Norton & Early, 2011). Norton defined identity as "the way a person understands [their] relationship to the world, how that relationship is structured across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future" (Norton, 2013, p. 4). ...
... They could learn nothing in my class about writing, but if they change their attitudes toward who they are, that is an enormous accomplishment. (Interview, 2-16-2018) Changing his students' perceptions of themselves as English users was one of the fundamental goals of his teaching and part of his professional identity, giving him a sense of accomplishment and influencing how he channeled his efforts and energies (Norton, 2019). ...
Article
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This article reports on an ethnographic case study of the professional identity development of Mark—an English language teacher who identified as cisgender, gay, Catholic, white, and not wealthy. Using the lenses of intersectionality (e.g., Crenshaw, 1989, 1991) and perezhivanie (Vygotsky, 1999)—“the emotional and visceral impact of lived experiences” (van de Veer & Valsiner, 1994, p. 339)—we examined the multiplicity of identities (e.g., Norton, 2017) in Mark's experiences across contexts in China and the USA. Ethnographic data included interviews, fieldnotes, classroom audio-recordings, and other supportive data. The findings demonstrate the central mediating role of perezhivanie in allowing him to safely re-envision identities in a given context based on prior experiences and knowledge. Mark's dynamic movement of in and out of his multiplicity of identities across contexts produced distinct perezhivanie experiences that informed the development of his identities and pedagogies within and beyond those contexts. Methodologically, our approach was enhanced by the use of photo-elicited interviewing. This methodology allowed Mark to tap into his multiple identities, including those that were assigned to him by the local context or by a broader policy context and those that he felt comfortable to take up. We conclude with implications for research and practice that examines language teacher identities and intersectionality through perezhivanie experiences in the past and explores the relationship among them and places them in conversation with present identities and experiences.
... The social meaning of this comment may be understood with reference to his investment in his identity as a Pakistani male and his particular form of shunning discriminatory comments towards him. Norton (2019) reasoned that "a student may be highly motivated, but if the classroom practices are racist, sexist, or homophobic, for example, the learner may have little investment in the language practices of the classroom and demonstrate little progress in language learning" (p. 303). ...
Article
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Due to growing interest in less common languages, Portuguese as an additional language has seen a rise in popularity, particularly in academic settings. Despite this, research on foreign graduate students learning Portuguese in Brazil remains scarce. This study investigates the cultural and identity (re)construction of one such student. Grounded in Vygotsky’s (1978) theory and informed by the Sociocultural Theory of Second Language Development (Lantolf, 2013) and investment theory developed by Bonny Norton (1995), which emphasize identity and motivation, we explore the experiences of a foreign graduate student at a southern Brazilian public university. Our analysis reveals a complex interplay between language development and cultural integration, ultimately suggesting the participant achieved his academic and professional goals - including successful completion of Portuguese courses - through language proficiency. By recollecting Abdul’s Muslim identity, it becomes clearer how social identities are constructed and reconstructed in and from social interactions. This highlights the limitations of simplistic views about learning - they are far more intricate than we often realize. The interplay between social interactions, power dynamics, and language development becomes clear: these elements are fundamentally linked. Keywords: Portuguese as an additional language; identity theory; sociocultural theory; exchange graduate students
... While some scholarship investigates issues related to ESL learners (Dagenais, 2020;Higgins, 2015;Norton, 2019), current research lacks a focus on immigrant women language teachers-the largest group of language teachers in Canada (Walsh et al., 2011). Furthermore, the pay gap between men and women-"the feminization of poverty" (Haraway, 1991, p. 167)calls for a focus on women, whose experiences need to be understood as different from those of male immigrants (Ng & Shan, 2010;Norton, 2013;Sadeghi, 2008). ...
Article
This article explores skilled immigrant women language teachers’ lived experience of identity through an intersectional feminist lens. It examines how women teachers speak about themselves and their lives as immigrants and aims to understand the complex implications of identity and power relations by focusing on intersectional understanding of inequities. Data was generated through in-person and virtual individual interviews with six participants living and working across Canada. The findings revealed the following main challenges and ongoing barriers: discrimination, overqualification, financial limitations, a lengthy process of re-credentialing and professional reintegration, and insufficient government support. Furthermore, this study sheds light on how heteronormative frameworks pervade immigrant women’s personal and professional lives, intersecting with their identities vis-à-vis gender, race, ethnicity, country of origin, immigration status, and English as a second language. These categories collectively and individually present systemic barriers and sites of oppression that negatively impact an already marginalized minority group— internationally highly qualified immigrant women language teachers.
... This also leads to differential treatment and unequal language learning opportunities. Likewise, they fiercely impact students and teachers by posing a significant threat to their life trajectories and vital decisions inside and outside school settings (Norton, 2019). ...
Article
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This paper presents a review of scholarly work on social class identities (SCI) in second and foreign language (S/FL) educational contexts. Of the 94 studies identified, 31 were annotated. Thematic analysis was employed to identify trends elucidating where, what, and how SCI has been conceptualized, theorized, and methodologically designed. Inclusion criteria focused on SCI research in S/FL contexts, while studies examining SCI outside educational settings were excluded. Results indicate a slow-growing interest in SCI and critical theory, with a Europe-Western dominance. SCI has been approached as: a fixed category based on socioeconomic status determining educational and L2 learning factors; a performed sociocultural phenomenon grounded in individuals lived experiences; a process experienced by study-abroad and migrant individuals; and as an element of colonial difference. Research gaps include SCI examination in EFL contexts and from decolonial perspectives, highlighting the need for political action to subvert social inequalities and address colonial wounds related to socioeconomic issues.
... Identity reconstruction, in general, refers to the dynamic process through which individuals develop and negotiate their sense of self within specific sociocultural contexts (Norton, 2019). In the context of language teaching, identity reconstruction encompasses the ways in which teachers perceive themselves as language professionals, negotiate their roles, and interact with students, colleagues, and educational institutions (Johnson, 2020;Shobeiry, 2022;Shobeiry et al., 2023;Zhang & Hwang, 2023). ...
Article
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This research addressed the critical gap in understanding the procedure of professional identity reconstruction among university lecturers in Iran during the pandemic. Over the course of two academic semesters, this study utilized a dynamic theoretical framework to investigate the intricacies of how 41 Iranian university English teachers reconstructed their professional identities. Data were collected through a dynamic methodological framework, comprising: semi-structured interviews conducted monthly,focus group interviews held every 3 months, and participants’ reflective journal entries collected every 2 weeks. Text mining techniques and content analysis, through KH Coder 3.0, were employed to explore the nuanced aspects of teachers’ identity reconstruction,focusing on contextual elements, agency, and pedagogical practices. The use of KH Coder 3.0 software for word co-occurrence and word association analysis revealed that university lecturers reconstructed their professional identities in response to the challenges posed by two main factors: (1) adapting to new educational contexts and (2) overcoming difficulties in teacher–student communication caused by the abrupt shift from traditional in-person education to online schooling. Through their practical experiences, educators emerged as proactive problem solvers, receptive adapters, and confident professionals. These findings carry implications for educational institutions and teacher educators, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing pedagogical systems that encourage teachers to excel in hybrid teaching contexts, fostering proficiency in online communication and virtual teaching methods.
... This requires more nuanced research, particularly with regard to the intersections of these identities (Norton & De Costa, 2018). Notwithstanding that an array of studies has focused on language teacher identity (LTI), a recurrent notion of interest (Chao, 2022, Pennington & Richards, 2016, identity is fluid, multiple, and in a site of struggle, which can be productively harnessed or suppressed by both learners and teachers (Norton, 2019). For PSTs, such a state of flux may not necessarily be oriented around LTI only, but influenced by their multiple identities, including but not limited to professional, personal, linguistic/ethnolinguistic, political, ethnic, gender identities. ...
Article
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When multilingual learners traverse across cross-border and study-abroad contexts, they enter different sociocultural spaces, negotiate conflicting identities, and may or may not invest in these identities. Addressing the lacuna, this longitudinal case study draws upon the model of investment to conduct a long-term, systematic investigation of the identities and investment of Miranda, a multilingual learner, and a pre-service teacher-as she studied, over seven years, as a university student (B.A.) in mainland China, a taught postgraduate student (M.Ed.) in Hong Kong, and a research student (M.Phil. and Ph.D.) in New Zealand. Findings reveal how Miranda negotiated, constructed, and performed multiple identities in shifting contexts and how the way her capital was valued shaped the way she positioned herself and was positioned by others. Attending to the fluidity and complexity of identities, this study provides educational authorities and teachers with implications for helping to chart the path for empowering students across contexts.
... Secondly, it examines how opportunities to use and learn the language are socially constructed, to which, thirdly, practices, resources, and identities contribute. Fourthly, identity research produced the concept of investment, which recognizes the complex relationship between the learner and their commitment to learning the language and makes room for lear (Norton, 2019). Within identity research, exploring . ...
Article
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Despite their centrality to undergraduate teaching in U.S. universities, few studies focus on ITA’s and their experiences within ITA training classes. Through a multiple case study of two In-Service ITA’s (China, Taiwan) investments (Darvin & Norton, 2015) in one such class, it became clear how idiosyncratic are perception of these courses: one ITA’s profound negativity involved accusations of institutional racism, yet another flourished through the class. Data included journaling, interviews/ stimulated recalls, course assignments, and classrooms (ESL and departmental) observations. Findings, presented as narrative then as conceptual configurations of investments, explained their experiences bifurcated due to their disparate teaching experiences and to policies decisions made within one’s home departments. This study expands the scope of ITA and investment research by connecting macro and micro-level aspects. Pedagogical implications are to center pedagogy on learners’ investments, utilizing reflexive activities to prevent misaligning the course with learners’ identities, ideologies and desired capital.
... Thus, when Josh chose to interview the German gymnasium students, he was also choosing to cite and use dominant theories of identity in SLA, including the work of Norton. Norton's work, which had been included in the required readings, explicitly draws on post-structuralism and feminist theories, and her concept of identity is one of her seminal contributions to the field (Norton-Pierce, 1995;Norton, 2019). Students, however, had the same latitude as all academic writers to draw on literature they saw as relevant to their analysis. ...
Article
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Despite decades of research supporting the pedagogic value of learners’ plurilingual resources to their linguistic and academic development, pre-service teachers frequently arrive at university inculcated in ‘target language only’ practices underpinned by monoglossic ideologies. The challenge for teacher education is to productively disrupt quotidian beliefs about language beliefs and prompt reconsideration of future classroom practices. Drawing on the work of the Douglas Fir Group (2016) , this paper explores the identities, beliefs and values of two student-teachers as they emerged over the length of an innovative English-German pedagogic project on plurilingualism. The project involved German student-teachers developing a language portrait project for Grade 6 students; student-teachers using project data for undergraduate assignments; and English MA students interviewing young learners about their language portraits via videoconference. The videoconference provided young learners further opportunities to use their plurilingual resources and MA students with data for assignments on identity and investment. Working with DFG’s framework (2016), we examine the interplay of the meso- and macro-dimensions of the larger project’s design and the sometimes contradictory indexing of values and identities within and across activities. Analysis reveals that design choices sometimes unintentionally reinforced linguistic ideologies inconsistent with the project’s objectives, though these conflicts also led student-teachers to unexpected insights. We close with personal reflections on the implications of the first iteration of this design-based research project for the advancement of plurilingual pedagogies in teacher education. Open access article: https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/aila.22007.pot
... Traditional grading with strict deadlines and points associated with 'effort' or 'participation' unfairly penalizes the same students who are likely already facing other challenges. To echo Norton (2019), if the classroom practices are classist (such as by valuing 'effort' via amount of time invested, regardless of whether or not the student has other financial obligations) or racist and sexist (such as by valuing 'participation' via the norms of typical participation by white men), students may not be invested. In contrast, when situational and identity-based inequities are reduced and students feel comfortable bringing their whole selves to the classroom, investment-and in turn learning outcomes-should improve. ...
... Though it did not seem to enhance the development of their speaking skill in English, it functioned as an effective coping strategy which facilitated learners' ability to engage with the requirements of this event while working within a demanding timeframe, especially for those struggling with English language use. It, thus, allowed many to survive the demanding nature of this event and paved the way for learners to reframe their struggles and work to attain a more powerful identity, i.e. the identity of a language learner who was able to competently present in English (Norton, 2019). ...
Article
This study examines how a group of students enrolled in preparatory year program at a Saudi university describe their experiences while engaging with a specific literacy event, i.e. oral presentations in an English as a Foreign Language classroom. It adopts a case study methodology that relies on qualitative data-collection techniques, including reflections written by female undergraduates, informal conversations with these undergraduates, observational fieldnotes of classroom activities and a research journal. Relying on a social understanding of literacy, collected data are thematically analysed to examine how students view their experiences in this academic literacy event. Three major themes are highlighted in this study in relation to students’ experiences with this event: topic choice, fear and anxiety and the gains and losses associated with learning to prepare and make short presentations in English. Discussion sheds light on the impact of these experiences on the identity positions that learners develop and negotiate to participate in this event. It also highlights some of the challenges that mediate students’ experiences in this event and how they recognize and address these challenges. The study draws attention to the need for more in-depth, qualitative research to examine academic literacy events in tertiary education in which learners’ voices are brought to light to explore the situated nature of learning and its impact on learners.
... However, much of the second language literature on identity focuses on adult immigrant and foreign language learning contexts (as explained in Darvin & Norton, 2015;Norton, 2000;Norton, 2019;Pavlenko & Blackledge, 2004) and, therefore, may not translate directly to the realities and context of Indigenous language learners. Bonny Norton is recognized by Swain and Deters (2007, p. 828) as having made a "significant contribution to the social turn in SLA research," and she continues to be an important contributor to the literature on language learning and identity. ...
Article
Damages done to Indigenous languages occurred due to colonial forces, some of which continue to this day, and many believe efforts to revive them should involve more than Indigenous peoples alone. Therefore, the need for learning Indigenous languages as “additional” languages is a relatively new societal phenomenon and Indigenous language revitalization (ILR) an emerging academic field of study. As the ILR body of literature has developed, it has become clear that this work does not fit neatly into any single academic discipline. While there have been substantial contributions from linguistics and education, the study and recovery of Indigenous languages are necessarily self-determined and self-governing. Also, due to the unique set of circumstances, contexts, and, therefore, solutions needed, it is argued that this discipline is separate from, yet connected to, others. Applied linguists hold specific knowledge and skills that could be extended to ILR toward great gains. This paper explores current foci within ILR, especially concepts, theories, and areas of study that connect applied linguistics and Indigenous language learning. The intention of this paper is to consider commonalities, differences, current and future interests for shared consideration of the potential of collaborations, and partnerships between applied linguistics and ILR scholars.
Chapter
This volume looks at the preparation of future critical language teachers in the face of an increasingly multilingual and transcultural contemporary world.This is seen through the lens of the collapse of Nation-State borders that crumble in the face of migration and the intense flow of languages that comes with it. It brings together international research that problematizes, theorizes, re-positions and re-conceptualizes myriad structural, systemic, ideological, political and pedagogical issues that intersect with the possibilities and impossibilities of the development of language teachers’ agency. The volume examines the needs of linguistically diverse student populations and considers the socio-cultural and socio-political barriers that interfere with the exercise of teacher agency for social justice in language classrooms. It offers a theoretical and empirical overview of how language teacher education has addressed multilingualism and transculturalism in critical approaches in many complex countries in their diversity and/or postcolonial history, including Brazil, Qazaqstan, Scotland, and Thailand.
Article
Identity is a subject of intense scrutiny in the field of Applied Linguistics. Of particular concern are issues of intersectionality of language and culture in the lives of minority groups. Yet, the empirical evidence in support of language and cultural identity (re)construction of ethnic minorities in Japan is far from conclusive. Drawing on a narrative inquiry approach, the present study seeks to shed light on multilingual identity construction and negotiation in different language contexts, as experienced by Riko, a third‐generation Japanese woman of Korean descent. Our analysis shows that Riko's multilingual identity is undermined in Japan and Korea where monoglossic ideologies are still prevalent. The sociohistorical and sociopolitical context of Japan and Korea does not allow her to have any middle ground, exacerbating the potential for multilingual identity conflicts. In contrast, Riko's US study abroad experience aids her in cultivating a critical and deeper understanding of being a multilingual citizen. Findings further highlight the role of English which enables her to transcend the challenges posed by her ethnicity. In light of our findings, we draw implications for the significance of developing greater global and cultural awareness in language education and academic programs. 정체성은 응용언어학 분야에서 오랜 시간 동안 다양한 방법으로 연구되고 있는 주요 주제이다. 그중에서도 소수 민족의 삶에서 언어와 문화 간의 상호교차성은 중요 관심사로서 자리 잡고 있다. 그런데도, 여전히 일본에 거주하는 소수 민족의 언어와 문화 정체성 (재)형성에 관한 연구는 충분한 실증적 증거를 제시하지 못하고 있다. 본 연구는 내러티브 탐구 방법 을 통하여 재일 한국인 3세 리코의 다중언어 정체성 형성과 교섭을 다양한 언어 사용 맥락에서 살펴보았다. 연구 결과, 리코의 다중언어 정체성은 한국이나 일본과 같은 단일민족국가에 팽배해 있는 언어 패권에 의해 갈등이 일어나는 것으로 나타났다. 특히, 한일 관계 기저에 깔린 사회 역사적, 사회 정치적인 배경은 리코의 다중언어 정체성 형성 및 변화 과정에서 갈등을 악화시켰다. 이와는 반대로, 리코는 미국에서의 학습 경험을 통해 더욱더 비판적이고 깊이 있게 다중언어 정체성을 형성하고 교섭할 수 있었음을 보여 주었다. 또한, 이 과정에서 영어는 리코의 민족성에서 비롯된 문제점에서 벗어나는 데 중요한 역할을 하는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 연구 결과를 토대로, 본 연구는 다문화 인식 및 역량 강화의 중요성을 제언함과 동시에 그에 상응하는 언어 교육과 프로그램 개발의 필요성을 논의한다. 키워드 정체성; 언어 교육; 다중언어주의; 내러티브 탐구; 자이니치 코리안
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Research has focused almost exclusively on ITA’s experiences as instructors, overlooking the ITA training class. This has led to the marginalization of Pre-Service ITA’s in the literature. The locus of potentially important learning, a descriptive, multiple case study examined the investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015) of 3 Pre-Service ITA’s in their ITA training class over one semester at a large U.S. university. Data included ITA’s weekly journals, individual interviews/ stimulated recalls, class assignments, and fieldnotes from classroom observations. Findings are presented as portraits of real, multifaceted ITA’s, then from cross-case analyses. Participants experienced the same course very differently, impacted most prominently by their ITA educators’ teaching approach, their exposure to teaching role models, and their home department structures. Recognizing the incredible diversity ITA’s represent, pedagogical implications suggest an “intense exposure experience” or teaching-training focused pedagogy be implemented -instead of test-centric pedagogies, situating ITA’s learning within un-simulated spaces with real undergraduates.
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How can we foster the learner investment required for difficult, reflexive discussions about linguistic justice? We address this question through our efforts as instructors in a general education course on language in the US. To help students reflect on their own positionality within systems of oppression, we nurtured student-instructor relationships where students felt respected, valued, and capable of success using objectives-based assessment strategies and structured independent research projects. Students’ positive feedback and focus on LEARNING over simply earning a grade demonstrate the efficacy of our approach.
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Imagined communities of practice create spaces for language learners to participate in local and global interactions as individuals and as members of global communities. However, scant research has examined imagined communities of practice in the context of English as an international language (EIL). The present study adopted a mixed-methods design to explore English language learners’ perspectives on using English in the context of EIL. A total of 592 participants completed an Imagined Community of Practice Questionnaire, and 64 participated in semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis, which identified four underlying factors, including constructing language learning identity, learner agency, coordination and synergy, and EIL and global communication. Furthermore, themes emerging from the interview data indicated that imagined communities of practice could afford opportunities for English language users to negotiate their identity, communicate globally, preserve values uniting English language users, exercise learner agency, and practice coordination and synergy in their imagined communities. These findings suggest that English language teachers should place a high value on imagined communities of practice.
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This paper takes on a heuristic approach (Crowley & Debra, 2004) to the study of Saudi writerly identity. In this critical review paper, the author argues that little work has been carried out to study Saudi English as a second langauge (ESL) writers' identity, for most of the empirical studies approach their writing as substandard writers. Therefore, this paper adds critical insights to the exciting literature about L2 Saudi writers and invite second language (L2) researchers to deconstruct the essentialized view towards peripheral writers. The paper also was guided by the question: how are ESL Saudi writers perceived in the Western educational system? Throughout the paper, the researcher problematizes that most studies about L2 Saudi writers are rife with references to phenomena in these student writings as negative transfers and linguistic errors. Other empirical studies were blinded from Saudi L2 discourse by the minutia of mechanism and look at students' writings as illegitimate. However, studies like Canagarajah’s (2013) and Saba’s (2013) can forward the conversation into a deeper understanding of these students’ writing identities and how they perceive themselves as writers and knowledge constructors. The article briefly explores the current definition of identity and how it is related to second language writing, followed by an explanation of Ivanić’s framework of writer identity. Then, the paper reviews previous research on how ESL Arab students negotiate and construct their written identities in Western educational settings. Finally, the author proposes directions for future empirical research and promising windows for studying the identity of Saudi ESL writers.
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This article discusses how drama as a multimodal performance can be a powerful means to represent marginalized identities and to stimulate critical thought among teachers and learners about material conditions of existence and social inequalities.
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This article locates Norton's foundational work on identity and investment within the social turn of applied linguistics. It discusses its historical impetus and theoretical anchors, and it illustrates how these ideas have been taken up in recent scholarship. In response to the demands of the new world order, spurred by technology and characterized by mobility, it proposes a comprehensive model of investment, which occurs at the intersection of identity, ideology, and capital. The model recognizes that the spaces in which language acquisition and socialization take place have become increasingly deterritorialized and unbounded, and the systemic patterns of control more invisible. This calls for new questions, analyses, and theories of identity. The model addresses the needs of learners who navigate their way through online and offline contexts and perform identities that have become more fluid and complex. As such, it proposes a more comprehensive and critical examination of the relationship between identity, investment, and language learning. Drawing on two case studies of a female language learner in rural Uganda and a male language learner in urban Canada, the model illustrates how structure and agency, operating across time and space, can accord or refuse learners the power to speak.
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'Imagined Communities' examines the creation & function of the 'imagined communities' of nationality & the way these communities were in part created by the growth of the nation-state, the interaction between capitalism & printing & the birth of vernacular languages in early modern Europe.
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Identity and Language Learning draws on a longitudinal case study of immigrant women in Canada to develop new ideas about identity, investment, and imagined communities in the field of language learning and teaching. Bonny Norton demonstrates that a poststructuralist conception of identity as multiple, a site of struggle, and subject to change across time and place is highly productive for understanding language learning. Her sociological construct of investment is an important complement to psychological theories of motivation. The implications for language teaching and teacher education are profound. Now including a new, comprehensive Introduction as well as an Afterword by Claire Kramsch, this second edition addresses the following central questions: -Under what conditions do language learners speak, listen, read and write? -How are relations of power implicated in the negotiation of identity? -How can teachers address the investments and imagined identities of learners? The book integrates research, theory, and classroom practice, and is essential reading for students, teachers and researchers in the fields of language learning and teaching, TESOL, applied linguistics and literacy.
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Educational researchers active in the critical study of language as ‘discourse’ are interested in language as a social practice. In other words, they investigate the way language constructs and is constructed by a wide variety of social relationships. These relationships might be as varied as those between writer and reader; teacher and student; test maker and test taker; school and state. What makes the researchers ‘critical’ is the shared assumption that social relationships are seldom constituted on equal terms. Social relationships may reflect and constitute inequitable relations of power in the wider society, on terms that may be defined, amongst others, by gender, race, class, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. For this reason, critical discourse research is centrally concerned with the way language is implicated in the reproduction of and resistance to inequitable relations of power in educational settings. It is important to note, however, that there is no coherent ‘field’ of critical discourse research. Although critical discourse researchers share a common interest in language, power, and social justice, they are associated with a wide variety of fields, including linguistics, education, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and philosophy.
Article
Whereas there has been much research on language and identity with respect to learners, teachers, and teacher educators, there has been little focus on the identity of the researcher, an important stakeholder in language education. Our research therefore addresses the following question: To what extent can narrative inquiry illuminate the ways in which researcher identity is negotiated in language teaching research? To address this question, we draw on a digital literacy study in multilingual Uganda to narrate how we engaged in our own storytelling, and the process by which we invited teachers to share their experiences of teaching through the medium of English as an additional language in a poorly resourced rural school. Central themes were our attempts to reduce power differentials between researchers and teachers, and our desire to increase teacher investment (Norton, 2000) in our collaborative research project. Drawing on numerous small stories (Bamberg, 2004; Georgakopoulou, 2006), we argue that several researcher identities were realized, including international guest, collaborative team member, teacher, and teacher educator. Our article supports the case that small stories enrich traditional narrative inquiry, both theoretically and methodologically, and make visible the complex ways in which researcher identity impacts research, not only in language teaching, but in education more broadly.
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The author argues that second language acquisition (SLA) theorists have struggled to conceptualize the relationship between the language learner and the social world because they have not developed a comprehensive theory of social identity which integrates the language learner and the language learning context. She also maintains that SLA theorists have not adequately addressed how relations of power affect interaction between language learners and target language speakers. Using data collected in Canada from January to December 1991 from diaries, questionnaires, individual and group interviews, and home visits, the author illustrates how and under what conditions the immigrant women in her study created, responded to, and sometimes resisted opportunities to speak English. Drawing on her data analysis as well as her reading in social theory, the author argues that current conceptions of the individual in SLA theory need to be reconceptualized, and she draws on the poststructuralist conception of social identity as multiple, a site of struggle, and subject to change to explain the findings from her study. Further, she argues for a conception of investment rather than motivation to capture the complex relationship of language learners to the target language and their sometimes ambivalent desire to speak it. The notion of investment conceives of the language learner, not as a historical and unidimensional, but as having a complex social history and multiple desires. The article includes a discussion of the implications of the study for classroom teaching and current theories of communicative competence.
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In seeking to better understand English language learners and their imagined identities, which is the central focus of our article, scholars have drawn extensively on the work of Norton and colleagues. This work has foregrounded the language learner as a participating social agent with complex and changing identities. It is this agentive sense of self that is linked, in narratives, to larger socio-cultural and historical social practices. Our interest here lies particularly in the effects of migration on language learners. With this in mind, we advocate that classroom communities be fostered wherein a range of narrative identities, as sense-making practices, are respectfully harnessed as resources for learners of diverse linguistic histories, to create more socially just and responsive “possible worlds”.
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In recent years, a number of ESL professionals have pointed to the ambivalent role of English in different parts of the world. Whose interests are served in the teaching of English internationally? What is the significance, for teachers and learners of English, of the debate on the “new marriage” between language and politics (Walters, 1989, p. 1)? In seeking to address these questions, this article draws on a poststructuralist theory of language to challenge the hegemony of “communicative competence” as an adequate formulation of principles on which to base the teaching of English internationally. It argues that the teaching of English can open up possibilities for students by helping them to explore what might be desirable, as well as “appropriate,” uses of English. By way of example, the article examines the current movement in South Africa for “People's English”: how teachers and learners of English are attempting to resolve the ambivalent role of English in South Africa by appropriating the language in the interests of freedom and possibility for all South Africans.
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  • Douglas Fir Group
Promoting digital literacy in African education: ICT innovations in a Ugandan primary teachers' college (Doctoral dissertation)
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Andema, S. (2014). Promoting digital literacy in African education: ICT innovations in a Ugandan primary teachers' college (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://elk.library.ubc.ca/handle/ 2429/48513
A transdisciplinary framework for SLA in a multilingual world
Douglas Fir Group. (2016). A transdisciplinary framework for SLA in a multilingual world. Modern Language Journal, 100(S1), 19-47. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12301
Identity and investment: Issues in an adult education classroom
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Ryan, K. (2012). Identity and investment: Issues in an adult education classroom. Unpublished paper for LLED 510, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. de Saussure, F. (1966). Course in general linguistics. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.