Identity Imposition in EFL Textbooks for Adult Secondary Education in Chile (original) (raw)

"The Construction of identity as L2 users of a group of college students in the Chilean educational context" AUTHORS

2020

The construction of the students’ identity is conceived as the individual’s perception of themselves. While its fabrication occurs within one subject, its trajectory is not unilateral whatsoever. Rather, it consists of multiple factors which are efficient enough to impact the way a human being embraces the surroundings they daily develop themselves into. Namely gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other traits in the language identity (Hornberger & McKay, 2010). Thus, it is critical for educators to think of pupils as entities with collective and changing identities and not just as individuals with, in this case, English language learning needs (Anwaruddin, 2020). This means not only the experiences students might have inside the classroom guide and modify their identity in a target language, for the social matters occurring outside of it, namely a space where they are able to expand themselves and communicate in English openly according to their interests, have a major spot as well. Wenger (2000) identifies such matters as what is known as communities of practice, and explains language learning is socially mediated by the participation students have in these spaces, because of the sense of belonging and relationship with others with the same preferences as them.

EFL Student-Teachers' Identity Construction: A Case Study in Chile

The objective of this study is to explore the process of professional identity construction of two English as a foreign language student-teachers from a sociocultural theoretical lens. A qualitative case study was conducted through personal narratives, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The results show that the process of student-teachers' professional identity construction is unstable and dynamic, and is shaped by interrelated personal and external factors such as self-image, learning environment, and practicum experiences.