1. English 343
Identity, investment and
language learning

2. Agenda
 Your voices: 1) Share one idea and one
question that stuck with you from this
week‟s readings, 2) Reading a few blogs
 Discussion of Social identity with Bonny
Norton
 Discussion of Kelly Hall Identity Chapter
 Discussion of Holliday et al.
 Language and culture trajectory project
discussion (at around 8:00)

3. Key Concepts
 Investment vs motivation
 Identity as a site of struggle
 Social Distance theory
 Cultural capital
 Habitus
 Discourse
 Cultural Models
 Social identity
 Interactional Sociolinguistics (e.g. Contextual
cues)

4. YOUR
VOICES!

5. Jean says..
 Norton points out that the relationship between the language learner and the
social world is difficult to conceptualize because “comprehensive theory of
social identity that integrates the language learner and the language
learning context” has not been fully developed. Reading about the different
motivations to speak English and when not to are issues that plague language
learners when they are in an environment in which the native language is not
their own. Although every woman mentioned in Norton‟s article indicated
that they were highly motivated to learn and speak English, but there are
particular social conditions that these women were uncomfortable with
speaking English.
 This doesn‟t come as a surprise to me, though I‟ve never consciously
thought about it. I think if there is the fear that one might be judged or
ostracized, the speaker will cease to speak a language that they are not as
proficient in. The idea of motivation isn‟t limited to immigrants, but people
who are a part of multiple groups in society. In every group the language use
will change and how things are communicated may differ from group to
group. For example, I use language differently when I associate with other
Koreans. My body language and the way I use language to communicate
will change from how I communicate with other Americans who‟s primary
language is English.

6. Curt says…
 After reading Language and Identity by Hall, I had found
that many of the concepts that were discussed in the
article are often experienced by teachers who are
teaching students from a different cultural environment
than themselves. When I taught Yupik Eskimo Natives living
on the Alaskan tundra I had found some of these same
issues to be at times problematic. At times, I had found that
the social values at school and the social values of the
village can be so different from each other that the school
children often find that the two worlds are completely
incongruent from each other. This in turn, has led many
Eskimo students to separate and compartmentalize the two
places, both in physical space and temporal time, into
disjointed activities. This in turn, maintains their school
experience as foreign institution intruding into their lives.

7. Annie says..
 In Norton‟s article about social identity and language learning, I
found the section featuring Eva‟s language acquisition to be
particularly eye opening. I thought it was interesting that just
because Eva was unfamiliar with Bart Simpson that she would might
be portrayed as a “poor language learner who has not developed
sociolinguistic competence”. I know plenty of people who don‟t
watch television, or chose to avoid such unappetizing shows like
The Simpsons who are completely fluent in English and have been
raised in America all their life. It then made me wonder how much
of another culture must be known in order to call yourself “literate”
or identify yourself with another language. Also it made me
wonder why it should be more important in a social environment to
be familiar with a cartoon character while being knowledgeable
about politics and discussing important topics is often considered
taboo?

8. Sarah J. says….
 Back to the effects of Shumann‟s theories on my
understanding of these concepts, I was also intrigued by his
theory of social distance and the effect that social
solidarity has on it. It‟s interesting to think about how mutual
the language acquisition process has to be: the
newcomers and natives have to be almost equally willing
for learning to take place in order for it to be successful. The
former group has to be receptive to learning and using the
target language while the latter group has be to receptive
to teaching and understanding their new neighbors. What
strikes me most about this is how much it also applies to
general education. Not only do students need to be
curious and eager to learn; their teachers need to also be
willing to understand each student and his or her unique
needs and abilities. In so many ways, ESL education is very
closely related to general education.

9. Meagan says…
 I have been learning to think differently since completing the
readings this week. I never realized the complexities of
language, and that it isn‟t just learning how to speak the language.
There are so many things to take into account such as:
frameworks, contextualization cues, inferencing, facework, social
identity, and rhetorical devices. There are so many things to learn
in addition to the language in order to understand and be
understood. Hall states that a traditional perspective considers
culture is treated separately from language. I think this is more
often the case and language and culture are very combined. The
example of the doctor/patient in Holliday‟s Intercultural
Communication book really brings to light all of the complications
that can arise when communicating in a language new to you.
Wrong conclusions can be made so easily when not understanding
the cultural background of each individual in a situation. Many
times an ELL is talked to as they are slow or stupid. Doctors have
made hugely wrong diagnosis‟ due to a few misunderstandings. A
teacher can make this same mistake. I learned this from personal
experience.

10. Alexis says…
 After looking at each autobiography, the importance of
incorporating lived experiences and social identities into the lives of
language learners within the formal second language curriculum.
The author goes on to give objectives and methodologies from the
classroom-based social research (CBSR) to “engage the social
identities of students in ways that will improve their language
learning outside of the classroom and help them claim the right to
speak. It might help students understand how opportunities to
speak are socially structured and how they might create
possibilities for social interaction with target language speakers” (p.
26). As a classroom teacher I find these objectives to be very
helpful in developing a student‟s oral and literacy skills in second
language learners and making them feel comfortable with
language outside of the classroom setting. I think by using these
objectives within a classroom this will help a student feel more
comfortable in their language skills and will motivate them to want
to use the skills that they are learning to communicate not only in
the classroom but outside of the classroom as well.

11. Sarah S. gives an example of
Gee‟s Discourse…
 Taking this idea further, I can see how it can work well for an ELL
teacher. Tapping into student discourse would be an excellent way
to begin English instruction. In October, we were blessed to have a
Macedonian student begin our school. He had no English
experience and spent the first week of school in tears and utter
resistance to being part of our school. Over time we were able to
make small gains by tapping into his discourse of being a soccer
player. He was able to communicate with students through non-
verbal soccer actions. This helped him become more at ease with
other students and his teachers. After he was able to display his
soccer discourse/identity, we were able to build language on top
of that. He has built his identity at school as a soccer
player, mathematician, and English language learner. Every day a
new discourse may be shared or an established one may be used
for a starting place (prior knowledge) for instruction.

12. Bonny Norton‟s article

13. Research gap
 SLA researchers have not adequate addressed how
relations of power affect the interaction in target
language.
 The notion of “individual” needs to be
conceptualized
 Artificial distinction are drawn between the individual
and the social- lead to arbitrary mapping of
particular factors. Why is it that learners can
sometimes be motivated and extraverted sometimes
the other way?
 More attention needed on poststructural theory of
identity as multiple, “a site of struggle”, ad “subject
to change”—We need a more comprehensive
theory of identity!

14. Social Distance
 Shumann(1976) minimal congruence
between the culture of the target
language speakers and the culture of the
language learner.

15. The focus of research
 Thefocus of her research was on the
natural language learning experiences of
the women in their
homes, workplaces, and communities.

16. From motivation to investment
 The concept of motivation (instrumental
vs integrative) does not capture the
complex relationships between the
relations of power, language learning and
identity.
 If learners invest in a second
language, they do so with the
understanding that they will acquire a
wider range of symbolic and material
resources.

17. Investment
 “when language learners speak, they are
not only exchanging information with
target language speakers but they are
constantly organizing and reorganizing a
sense of who they are and how they
relate to the social world. Thus an
investment in the target language is also
an investment in a learner‟s own social
identity, and identity which is constantly
changing across time and space” (p. 18)

18. Communicative Competence
 Hymes defines communicative competence
as the goal of achieving an effective and
appropriate communication.
 “Those who speak regard those who listen as
worthy to listen and those who listen regard
those who speak as worthy to speak”—This is
not always the case! Norton moves this
forward with poststructuralisrt framework of
identity.
 Ability to claim the right to speak should be
an integral part of an expanded notion of
communicative competence.

19.  Despite of their high motivation, the
women in Norton‟s study were
discouraged to speak.
 They were not feeling as “legitimate
speakers” (Bourdieu, 1977)

20. Discussion questions
 Identifya few excerpts in the article that is
an example for how the immigrant
women strived to gain their right to speak
 What are some of the classroom-based
implications? What kind of pedagogy
might help learners claim their right to
speak?
 How can you implement a classroom-
based research with your students?

21. Norton (1995) says…
 Motivation is not a fixed personality trait
but must be understood with reference to
social relations of power that create the
possibilities for language learners to
speak…When learners have high
affective filter, it is their investment in the
target language that will lead them to
speak

22. Holliday et al chapter
 The main focus of this section is to discuss how
our multiple/changing identities are parts of
broader narratives and discourses
 Those who cannot identify with the dominant
narrative are likely to feel alienated and
excluded (think of some of the dominant
narratives around language education)
 When we use the language (speak and write)
we always take a particular perspective on
what the “world” is like (Gee)

23. De Fina (2006)
 Bytelling stories, narrators are able not
only to represent social worlds and to
evaluate them, but also to establish
themselves as member of particular
groups through interactional, linguistic,
rhetorical and stylistic choices .

24. De fina also talks about
negotiation of identities
Discourse approach to explore identity:
 This view rejects the conception of
identity as static and recognizes the
centrality of interaction and social
activities.
 According to changing social
circumstances, identities intersect or
contrast with each other.

25. Gee‟s Discourse
 Discourse: language plus other stuff—socially accepted
associations among ways of using language, of
thinking, valuing, acting and interacting.
 Discourses are not units with clear boundaries. Discourses are
embedded in social institutions, and often involves various “props”
like classrooms, labs, books etc.
 Recognition: People may disagree in what they see. You say “it‟s a
modern classroom teacher leading a discussion” and I say “ No, it‟s
a traditional teacher giving a hidden lecture in the guise of a series
of known-answer questions to the students”
We all try to understand/make sense of the human interactions. We
need to be aware of the history of certain Discourses (e.g. Discourse of
“being Indian”, “being Chinese-American”)
Think of different social identities you enact in various different settings.
What different styles of language do you employ? What symbols and
objects might accompany the language?
1) As a student in a college classroom
2) As a job applicant at a job interview

26. James Gee‟s Discourse
 “Making visible and recognizable who we are and what we
are doing always involves a great deal more than „just-
language‟. It involves acting-interacting-thinking-valuing-
talking (sometimes writing-reading) in the ‘appropriate way’
with the ‘appropriate’ props at the ‘appropriate’ times in the
‘appropriate’ places (105)”
 Situated Identities: Different identities or social positions we
enact and recognize in different settings.
 You project yourself as engaged in a certain activity (being a
student, teaching English as a foreign language, being a
member of a sorority club). If I have no idea who you are and
what you are doing, then I cannot make sense of what you
have said, written or done.
 Making visible and recognizable who you are and what you do
requires more than a language—language plus other stuff (
people, objects, time and places)—Think about how someone
gets recognized as a “good student”, a “good cook or a
“gang member‟—these involve “acting-interacting-thinking-
valuing-talking”

27. “Real Indian” Weider and
Pratt‟s work
 “Real Indian” is not something one can
simply be. Rather, it is something one
becomes, or is “in the doing of it”, that
is, in the performance.
 Knowing how to be a “real Indian” rests
on one‟s being able to sync with other
“real Indians” and with objects (e.g.
material items of the culture) in the
appropriate times and places.

28. Let‟s look at another Discourse
 What experimental physicists know is, in
large part, not in their heads. Rather, it is
spread out , inscribed in scientific
apparatus, books, journals, institutions, rou
tines and actions of other people.
 There are verbal and non-verbal ways to
be a physicists.

29. Recognizable discourses
 There‟s a way of being a kindergarten student
in Ms, X‟s class with its associated
activities, words, deeds, and things. Ms. X, her
students, her classroom, with its objects and
artifacts, and characteristic practices are all
in the Discourse she and her students create.
 When there‟s a sharing time in class (“show
and tell”), some stories are not recognized as
“acceptable” in this class and other types
are. Thee recognition work creates a
Discourse.

30. Another example
 You, and African-American male, speak and act
here and now in an attempt to get recognized as a
“business manager coaching project team.” If you
get recognized as such, then your performance in
this Discourse of business management. If you
don‟t, it isn‟t.
 Your performance might be influenced , intentionally
or not, by another one of your Discourses( your
membership to a Discourse of being a Jazz fan). If it
gets recognized in the business management
Discourse, you have just “infected” one discourse
with another and widened what counts as a
Discourse in management.
 Talk about the example of Kairos
(http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/

31. Identity and Language
Learning
 Schuman (1976) talks about social distance and
psychological distance.
 Social distance: The degree of social solidarity between the
two groups. The greater the social distance between two
groups the more difficult it is for the members of the second
language learning group to acquire the language of the
target language group.
 Psychological distance: How individuals feel while learning
a new language “language/culture shock, ego
permeability”
Holliday et al have some reservations! This theory implies that
the target language speakers have a shared culture and
language. Hoffman‟s account on hoe identities are
reconstructed” captures this complexity better (e.g. initial
phase of loss and the phase of recovery and reconstruction)

32. Group Discussion on
Pellegrini, A. On Study Abroad
Make sure that your group includes at least one
person who lived or studied abroad.
 See the quote on pg. 121. How you think that
this particular person‟s feeling of being
perceived to be unintelligent, lacking
personality or humor in his/her study abroad
experience might affect his/her ability to use
the new language?
 How does the new language affect the
presentation of self and what changes within
the self are necessary for the learner to grow
in the foreign language?

33. Pavkenkov and Lantof‟s 2000
article on the phrases of loss
and reconstruction
 Inyour groups, define each phase with
examples from Eva Hoffman‟s narratives.
 What are some of the implications for
teachers who work with students who
need to adapt to life in a new context
and, at the same time, need to learn an
additional language?

34. Cultural Awareness in Healthcare:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxp_
7aRA_tQ&feature=related
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdhp
WhXv4YQ&feature=related
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNLtA
j0wy6I

35. Hall Chapter 2
Language and
identity

36. Social identity
 Group membership along with the values,
believes and attributes associated with
them.
 Social identities embody particular
histories (Gee). It also encompasses
participant roles, positions relationships,
reputations and other dimensions of social
practice

37. Social identity cont.
 “ We hold similar expectations of what others
are likely to do and not do as members of
their particular groups. The linguistic resources
we use to communicate, and our
interpretations of those used by others, are
shaped by these mutually held perceptions. In
short, who we are, who we think others
are, and who others think we are, mediate in
important ways our individual uses and
evaluations of our linguistic actions in any
communicative encounter”. (p. Hall, 34)

38. Social identity and agency
 How we enact any particular identity is
also responsive to contextual conditions.
 While our social identities are to a great
extend shaped by the groups and
communities, we as individual agents also
play a role in shaping them. “Social
identities influences our identities, they do
not determine them” (Hall, p. 35)

39. Habitus
 A set of bodily dispositions acquired through
extended engagement in our everyday
activities that dispose us to act in certain way
(e.g. our everyday social experiences).
 Our habitus is continually being reconstituted
by our lived experiences as individual actors.
WE ARE NEITHER FREE AGENTS NOR COMPLETELY
SOCIALLY DETERMINED PRODUCTS.

40. Interactional Sociolinguistics
 An applied linguistic approach to the study of
language use and identity. Based on the works of
the well-known anthropologist, John Gumperz.
 Contextual cues: any verbal signs which
processed in co-occurrence with
symbolic, grammatical and lexical signs (e.g. turn-
taking patterns, language codes, lexical and
pragmatic forms of speech.
 One can examine: communication breakdowns in
multiple disciplines (e.g. classrooms, health
sciences, doctor-patient relationships, gendered
conversations, workplace conversations)

41.  When we look at the communication
closely, we see that differences between the
mainstream communities and minority could
result in negative consequences.
 For example, differences in participation
structures may lead to the misjudging of the
children‟s language abilities by the teacher
(Phillipson‟s study on Navajo children)
 Children‟s silence can wrongly be interpreted
as linguistic deficiencies.

42. Hall underlines
 Regardless of the degree to which knowledge of
cue meanings is shared, communicative
cooperation cannot be assumed. We also need
to look at social, political, historical discourse
orders.
 Locating communicative difficulties in cultural
norms ascribes a deterministic role of culture, thus
renders invisible role of individual agency in
shaping social action…Individuals do not reside in
well-defined communicative worlds by clear
boundaries. (p. 42) We can be members of
multiple and sometimes contradicting speech
communities and discourses.

43. Assignments
 Language and culture trajectory DUE
 Reading and blogging
 Reduced Load for next week: Only blog
about one article (no word limitations)