The Complexity of Identity and Interaction in Language Education

by Nathanael Rudolph, Ali Fuad Selvi, Bedrettin Yazan

Overview

This book addresses two critical calls pertaining to language education. Firstly, for attention to be paid to the transdisciplinary nature and complexity of learner identity and interaction in the classroom and secondly, for the need to attend to conceptualizations of and approaches to manifestations of (in)equity in the sociohistorical contexts in which they occur. Collectively, the chapters envision classrooms and educational institutions as sites both shaping and shaped by larger (trans)communal negotiations of being and belonging, in which individuals affirm and/or problematize essentialized and idealized nativeness and community membership. The volume, comprised of chapters contributed by a diverse array of researcher-practitioners living, working and/or studying around the globe, is intended to inform, empower and inspire stakeholders in language education to explore, potentially reimagine, and ultimately critically and practically transform, the communities in which they live, work and/or study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781788927413
Publisher:	Channel View Publications
Publication date:	08/07/2020
Series:	Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching , #7
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.15(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

Nathanael Rudolph is an Associate Professor of Sociolinguistics and Language Education at Kindai Universityin Higashiosaka, Japan. His research interests include translingual practice, critical approaches to language teacher and learner identity, and (in)equity in (and beyond) language education.

Ali Fuad Selvi is an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Teaching English as a Foreign Language Program at Middle East Technical University, Northern Cyprus Campus. His research interests include Global Englishes and its implications for language learning and teaching.

Bedrettin Yazan is an Assistant Professor of Educational Linguistics at the University of Alabama, USA. His research interests include language teacher learning and identity, language policy and planning, World Englishes, and collaboration between ESL and content-area teachers.

Table of Contents

Nathanael Rudolph, Ali Fuad Selvi, and Bedrettin Yazan: Introduction: The Complexity of Identity and Interaction in Language Education

Section I: Learners, Teachers, and the “Ares,” “Cans” and “Shoulds” of Being and Becoming

Chapter 1: Syed Abdul Manan, Maya Khemlani David, Liaquat Ali Channa and Francisco Perlas Dumanig: The Monolingual Bias: A Critique of Idealization and Essentialization in ELT in Pakistan

Chapter 2: Meike Wernicke: Constructing “Other” Identities as a French Second Language Teacher

Chapter 3: Lobat Asadi, Stephanie Moody and Yolanda Padrón: “English is the Commercial Language Whereas Spanish is the Language of My Emotions:” An Exploration of TESOL and Bilingual Teacher Identity and Translanguaging Ideologies

Chapter 4: Véronique Lemoine-Bresson: Identity Dynamics in the Speeches of Language Teachers' in French and German Primary Schools: How Do They Go About Constructing “Interculturality”?

Chapter 5: Jeremy Gombin-Sperling and Melanie Baker Robbins: English in Cuba: Reflections on a Study of Cuban Teachers’ and Students’ Relationships to English

Section II: Teacher Identity As/In/Beyond Practice

Chapter 6: Şeyma Toker: From Being a Language Teacher to Becoming a Graduate Student-Teacher: in the Midst of Professional Identities

Chapter 7: Naashia Mohamed: Who am I and Where Do I Fit In: A Narrative Analysis of One Teacher’s Shifting Identities

Chapter 8: April Salerno and Elena Andrei: Suntem Profesori / We Are Teachers: Self-Exploration as a Pathway to Language Teacher Education

Chapter 9: Alfredo Urzúa: Teacher Identity Construction in Progress: The Role of Classroom Observations and Interactive Reflective Practices in Language Teacher Education

Chapter 10: Sedat Akayoğlu, Babürhan Üzüm and Bedrettin Yazan: Preservice Teachers’ Cultural Identity Construction in Telecollaboration

Section III: Learner Negotiations of Identity in and Beyond the Classroom

Chapter 11: Shinji Kawamitsu: Meaning-Making as a Site of Struggle: One Japanese Language Learner’s Negotiation with Identity and Writing

Chapter 12: Adolfo Arrieta and Nayibe Rosado: Negotiating Complex Identities through Positionings in On-Going Interaction: A Case Study in a Foreign Language Teacher Education Program in Colombia

Chapter 13: Sarah Hopkyns: Dancing Between English And Arabic: Complexities in Emirati Cultural Identities

Chapter 14: Eliana Hirano and Caroline Payant: The Story of Tabasum: An Exploration of a Refugee Student’s Developing Identities

Glenn Toh: Afterword

Editorial Reviews

As labels for people and practices proliferate in contemporary scholarship with sometimes inconsistent conceptualizations of language education, this book brings these theories to bear on situated interactions. It transcends disciplinary boundaries by drawing from the wealth of available scholarly resources for interpretation. Thus it provides much-needed clarity on the way these conceptualizations play out for different educational outcomes.

Suresh Canagarajah

From a methodological and theoretical perspective, the volume presents a variety of promising approaches for scholars designing studies on these issues, which is one of its primary contributions to a field long dominated by positivist and experimental models of research [...] the volume would be a worthwhile addition to teacher educators’ libraries, a potential text for second language acquisition courses – particularly for those planning to teach at the university and adult levels – and a useful supplemental resource for research-focused applied linguistics courses.

LINGUIST List 32.2198 - Melissa B Hauber-Özer

Resistant to the vacuous pitfalls of reductionism, this dynamic volume draws from an impressively broad range of contexts and collaborators to scrutinize how identities of tangible substance and complexity are realized as impacting upon the seen and unseen powers and processes within language education.

Damian J. Rivers

For educators who are feeling increasingly pushed towards efficiency, speed, and productivity, and therefore often towards limited and reductionist understandings of identity, this volume’s call to focus on complexity is refreshing. The collection of voices from an expansive range of geographical, institutional, and social contexts offers a variety of approaches to considering identity work in the context of our everyday interactions.

Suhanthie Motha