TELLING TALES: DISCURSIVE NARRATIVES OF ESOL MIGRANT IDENTITIES

Abstract

This paper concerns migrant identity construction in an ESOL course. Taking a poststructuralist perspective, identity is viewed a fluid process of ongoing struggle between different subject positions that individuals take in a variety of social sites. In this study, five migrant ESOL learners were interviewed to talk about the concept of self to investigate the process of identity construction. The purpose of this study was also to identify the role of learning English for migrant workers in relation to imagined community and self. The study showed how these migrant ESOL learners conceptualize self in relation to two aspects: learning English and investment, gaining social and cultural capitals and access to imagine community, and being transmigrants. This paper highlights the implications in language education.

Keywords

• ESOL learners; identity; language learning; migrants; transmigrants    

TELLING TALES: DISCURSIVE NARRATIVES OF ESOL MIGRANT IDENTITIES

Öz

Bu makale bir ikinci dil olarak İngilizce dersindeki göçmen kimliği oluşturma ile ilgilidir. Postyapısalcılık açısından ele alındığında, kimlik bireylerin çeşitli sosyal mevkilerde takındıkları farklı özne pozisyonları arasında süregelen çatışmanın canlı bir süreci olarak görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada, kimlik oluşturma sürecini incelemek için beş göçmen diğer dil konuşanları için İngilizce öğrencisi ile benlik kavramı hakkında röportaj yapılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, aynı zamanda, göçmen işçiler için İngilizce öğrenmenin rolünü muhayyel topluluk ve benlik ile bağlantılı olarak tespit etmektir. Bu çalışma bu göçmen diğer dil konuşanları için İngilizce öğrencilerinin benliği iki açıdan nasıl kavramsallaştırdıklarını göstermektedir: İngilizce öğrenme ve yatırım, sosyal ve kültürel sermaye kazanma, hayal edilen camiaya erişim, ve ülkeler arası göçmen olmak. Bu çalışma dil eğitimindeki önerileri vurgulamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İkinci dil olarak İngilizce öğrencileri; kimlik; dil öğrenimi; göçmenler; ülkelerarası göçmenler

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