Identity in second language learning: Access to the target language group

In recent years the role of identity in SLA has emerged in the literature as the linguistic community develops an understanding of the significance of identity in language learning (McKay & Wong, 1996). Norton (2000) refers to identity as “how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future” (p. 5). An understanding of identity in language learning and the relationship of the language learner to the learning environment helps to illuminate what previous theories about the role of affective variables failed to explain, namely, why some learners succeed and others fail with seemingly similar abilities and motivation levels and under similar circumstances. Previous research on learner differences attempted to identify characteristics in learners which explained why some individuals are ‘good language learners’ and others are not (Norton Peirce, 1995). Those studies focused on factors such as anxiety levels, extroversion vs. introversion, age, aptitude, and motivation. Motivated individuals were found more likely to seek opportunities to practice in the target language than individuals who were not motivated (Gardner & MacIntyre, as cited in Norton Peirce, 1995). However, theories about motivation carry an implication that learners who avoid interaction fail to create such opportunities for themselves (Norton, 2000). Moreover, motivation theories have not explained why an individual can be motivated and seek out interaction with target language speakers in some circumstances, but be reticent, unmotivated, and uninvolved under other circumstances (Norton Peirce, 1995). Research on identity is beginning to shed light on this seeming dichotomy in second language learning. Drawing on recent literature, this paper seeks to show that second language learners do not always have agency to create language learning opportunities in circumstances in which they might find themselves, and to further show that power differential between interlocutors in language learning contexts can affect the ability of Identity in SLA Page 3 language learners to interact with target language speakers, ultimately affecting their ability to become proficient in the target language. The question raised for second language acquisition is, “Can learners access interaction through development of a social identity which empowers them to take social risks? ” The implication of that question for second language teaching is, “What can be done to effectively foster a social identity in students that facilitates their learning of the target language? ” This open access graduate research paper is available at UNI ScholarWorks: https://scholarworks.uni. edu/grp/1247 This Research Paper by: Stephanie J. Marra Entitled: Identity in Second Language Learning: Access to the Target Language Group has been approved as meeting the research paper requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of English Language and Literature. April 28, 2008 Ardith Meier April 28, 2008 Joyce Milambiling Identity in SLA Page 1 Running Head: IDENTITY IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING Identity in Second Language Learning: Access to the Target Language Group Stephanie J. Marra University of Northern Iowa Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of English Language and Literature University of Northern Iowa February, 2008 Identity in SLA Page 2 Identity in Second Language Learning: Access to the Target Language Group In recent years the role of identity in SLA has emerged in the literature as the linguistic community develops an understanding of the significance of identity in language learning (McKay & Wong, 1996). Norton (2000) refers to identity as “how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future” (p. 5). An understanding of identity in language learning and the relationship of the language learner to the learning environment helps to illuminate what previous theories about the role of affective variables failed to explain, namely, why some learners succeed and others fail with seemingly similar abilities and motivation levels and under similar circumstances. Previous research on learner differences attempted to identify characteristics in learners which explained why some individuals are ‘good language learners’ and others are not (Norton Peirce, 1995). Those studies focused on factors such as anxiety levels, extroversion vs. introversion, age, aptitude, and motivation. Motivated individuals were found more likely to seek opportunities to practice in the target language than individuals who were not motivated (Gardner & MacIntyre, as cited in Norton Peirce, 1995). However, theories about motivation carry an implication that learners who avoid interaction fail to create such opportunities for themselves (Norton, 2000). Moreover, motivation theories have not explained why an individual can be motivated and seek out interaction with target language speakers in some circumstances, but be reticent, unmotivated, and uninvolved under other circumstances (Norton Peirce, 1995). Research on identity is beginning to shed light on this seeming dichotomy in second language learning. Drawing on recent literature, this paper seeks to show that second language learners do not always have agency to create language learning opportunities in circumstances in which they might find themselves, and to further show that power differential between interlocutors in language learning contexts can affect the ability of Identity in SLA Page 3 language learners to interact with target language speakers, ultimately affecting their ability to become proficient in the target language. The question raised for second language acquisition is, “Can learners access interaction through development of a social identity which empowers them to take social risks? ” The implication of that question for second language teaching is, “What can be done to effectively foster a social identity in students that facilitates their learning of the target language? ” The Import of Identity in SLA Researchers in SLA have not always been concerned with identity per se. Research has progressed in two major conceptual areas (Firth & Wagner, 1997). The first approach emanating from linguistic research has focused on language itself as the object of study, for example how it is structured and innate capabilities of humans to decipher and use it. That approach tends to ignore social aspects of language production and use which other scholars believe to be important (Bourdieu, 1982/1991; Firth & Wagner). The focus on linguistic analysis thereby stimulated scholars who took issue with this perceived lack to advance their own theories along another vein. Scholars from related fields of sociolinguistics (Bourdieu, 1985, 1989, 1982/1991), anthropology (Schumann, 1978) and psychology (Tajfel, 1974), who were interested in social identity, influenced that change. However, the other approach taken by researchers in the field of SLA until recent years has largely focused on individuals, in the sense that attention was paid to factors that make language learning possible, the cognitive processes that are engaged, emotions and traits of individuals that affect learning, and teaching techniques and curriculums that assist individual learners in acquiring language (Firth & Wagner, 1997). The identity of “learner” as found in the SLA literature is a description which infers an insufficiency in the language proficiency of individuals whose skills in a second or additional language have not developed to Identity in SLA Page 4 the point of being native-like in a target language. The terms “interlanguage” and “non-native” speaker, which frequently appear in the literature, also infer the deficiency of the learner. In other words, individuals are deemed deficient when assigned the label of learner because the focus of the second approach to language study has not been to investigate the ability of human beings to communicate and interact through language, but rather to measure success of language learning and teaching by a learner’s degree of proficiency in a target language. It is not surprising that research has developed along two incongruent paths when one considers the impact of Noam Chomsky, probably the most influential researcher in the field of linguistics (Firth & Wagner, 1997). His Universal Grammar theory exemplifies the homogeneous approach of linguist analysis which treats language production as an entity unto itself, as if all language users are operating on the same societal level and using language as if separate from the social context in which it is produced. His theory, first published as Syntactic Structures in 1957, is primarily a language property theory rather than a learning theory (Mitchell & Myles, 2004). Chomsky is concerned with human beings’ innate abilities for language, and how language structures are represented in the mind. He categorizes these into language parameters, principles, and parameter-setting (Cook, 1997). He makes a distinction between a linguistic conception of “I-Language”, or internal language as it exists in the mind, and language as it is seen in actual use in society, which he terms “E-language” for external language. Chomsky disagrees with researchers who expound a social interactionist view equivalent to E-language “by claiming that language is knowledge” (Cook, p. 250). He continues to the present to refine his theories but remains unconcerned with social factors related to SLA or with practical applications for first or second language learning or teaching. His ideas continue to have considerable influence on the SLA community, however, b