The Relationship between Learner Identity and Language Learning

Dae Jong Kim. Student

Culminating Experience in Multicultural Education

New York University

A person who learns a target language will go through the process of language and cultural identity formation within the context where he/she learns the target language (e.g., Cervatiuc, 2009; Halic, Greenberg, & Paulus, 2009; Hirano, 2008; Pomerantz, 2008)

How?Why?

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to explore the formation of learner identity through comparing two different second language learners with different lengths of stay in N.Y so that we can see how learner identity affects language learning and vice versa

Why duration of stay matters?

What is this study for?

The findings of Hirano’s (2008) study were categorized into three: (1) her student’s experience of difficulties in learning English in the past had an effect on the construction of his identity as a limited English learner; (2) the student’s identity and his learning difficulty somehow affected each other; (3) appropriate teaching methods can boost the transformation of a student’s identity.

Literature review

The findings of study (Halic, Greenberg, & Paulus, 2009) are the difficulties of mastering the language, the perceptions of English as both an obstacle and a way to access learning success, the construction of new identities between the “home” culture and the host culture (p.84).

Literature review

The findings of the Cervatiuc’s study are as follows: (1) they created a “counter-discourse” to prevent them from feeling reduced or limited by native speakers for their lack of English proficiency; (2) they tried hard to be members of social networks so that they could improve their English with native speakers

Literature review

1. Participants2. Instrument3. Data collection4. Data analysis procedure

Method

Hang (53) : femaleWas born in KoreaHas been working as an accountant for 35 yearsHas been studying in New York for 3 months at level 1

Young (32): femaleWas born in KoreaHas been working as a manager until she came to N.YHas been studying English in New York for 3 yearsIs now preparing TOEFL to go to college in order to major in restaurant management

Participants

One-to-one in-depth interviews

Each interview starts with one open-ended question: “How would you describe your current level of English as compared to when you first came to New York?”

Backgroundexperience as a foreign and second language learnerperceptions of themselves and English

Instrument

The data was collected through one-to-one in-depth interviews with the two participants. The interviews were conducted in Korean in order to elicit more information from both participants since they are both Korean. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and then translated into English for data analysis.

Data collection

1. Read through all the transcripts of interviews to understand the whole picture2. Pull out distinctive factors or themes from each interview3. Select and organize the most relevant interpretations to the research question

Data analysis procedure

Findings

Recognition of learning difficulties

Self-awareness of

the difficulties

and attitude toward

English and themselves

Reform learning

strategies and

learner identity

Applying reformed learning

strategies with

reformed learner identity

Learning English as a foreign or

second language

Learning English as a foreign and a second language

The two participants’ experience of learning English as a foreign and second language included full of challenges in which they must had to find ways to improve English in order to achieve their goals.

Learning English

As both participants started to take English seriously as a fundamental and inevitable step toward their future goals, their desire to improve English and anxiety about improvement seemed to force them to spot their learning difficulties

Recognition of learning difficulties

Self-awareness of learning difficulties and attitude toward English and themselves

The increase of both participants’ awareness of themselves and their learning difficulties gave them a second thought about what kind of a language learner they were

Self-awareness

They started to attempt to do things that they thought it could help them move on to the next stage of second language acquisition

In this stage, gaining or keeping confidence in oneself and one’s language ability seems very important

Reform learning strategies and identity

New second language learning experience starts again from this stage

Applying Reformed Strategies to Language Learning with Reformed

Learner Identity

Findings

Recognition of learning difficulties

Self-awareness of

learning difficulties

and attitude toward

English and themselves

Reform learning

strategies and

learner identity

Applying reformed learning

strategies with

reformed learner identity

Learning English as a foreign or

second language

The most interesting thing unrevealed through this study was that their self-awareness of their learning difficulties acted as a catalyst for their own reformation of their learning strategies and learner identity

MotivationAwareness

Discussion and Conclusion

How to help students deal with learning difficulties

How to raise students’ self-awareness of themselves as a language learner

Suggestions

Let’s celebrate this moment!

Thank you !