Sociocultural Theory &

Second Language Learning Research

Reema AlsweelSept 25, 2007

EDUC 882

What makes you… you

Quickly jot down a few

things that you feel

make you unique;

describe yourself.

The choice of a language or a culture to represent and identify oneself

Language & identity

• “Identity constructs and is constructed by language”(Norton, p.419)

• “The language we acquire determines the way we construct our vision of the world” (Su Kim p.156)

• “…differences in languages do have a significant impact on differences in thinking” (Watson-Gegeo, p.334)

Identity & Culture

• “…identity construction must be understood with respect to larger social processes, marked by relations of power that can be either coercive or collaborative” (Norton, p.419)

• “Identity is not only the individuals conception of the self, but also the individual’s interpretation of the social definition of the self, both within his or her inner group as well as the larger society” (Su Kim, p.138)

• “… humans are social and cultural beings, bounded by the sociocultural context and the layers and sublayers of human interaction” (Su Kim, p.149)

Culture & language

• “All languages carry within them a particular worldview and a particular culture” (Su Kim, p.156)

• “Knowing a second language allows one to transcend the cultural borders of one’s own language group and access the views and ideas of another culture”(Su Kim, p.150)

How does L2 make you feel?

Turn to you partner and discuss times you felt pride in an L2 or L3… and times you felt ashamed

NS VS NNS

• Who are native speakers of English?– White people?

• No clear definition of the terms.

• Research has shown no connection between race and ability in English (Norton, p.423)

• Who owns English?

• “More people who speak English as a FL than the combined total of those who speak it as a 1st or 2nd language.” (Su Kim, p.139)

• “English is now more commonly spoken as a second, rather than first, language by bilinguals and is used more frequently for intercultural communication between NNSs than between NSs” (Ricento, p.903)

Labels

• How did the labeling affect your participation or

even mood in class?

• “… naming is inevitable and can be useful but

that the categories have to be kept open and co-

constructed with learners” (Norton, P.424)

• “An individual’s identity in L2 contexts is

mediated by the reactions of others to that

individual’s social and cultural position, which, in

turn, can influence that individual’s motivation to

learn in ways that are not predictable using

standard psychological or sociological

categories and variables mentioned earlier”

(Ricento, p.899)

Questions

Thank You