Second language (L2) learner identity from the relational view

The issue of L2 learner identity is discussed here from a relational view, as reflected through the students positioning of themselves in relation to other people in the wiki. To the pair of English language speaker commenters involved as a real audience, the students’ behaviours and reactions reveal something about L2 learner identity in a relational view to proficient English language speakers. In all their comments, as the English speaker commenters mostly asked information-seeking questions and shared their stories and feelings, all of which showed their genuine interest in socio-cultural issues in the papers, it could be implied that they were inclined to position the students as L2 users. However, as the students chose not to respond to the comments, even to the questions asked, it appeared to suggest a rejection of the L2 user identity, and to opt, instead, for an L2 learner identity. According to the relationality principle of viewing identity from a sociocultural perspective as described in the literature (Bucholtz & Hall, 2005, p. 598), the speaker commenters’ identity is intertwined with the students’ one: as

172 the students ascribed to the commenters an identity like that of teachers, they took up for themselves the identity of L2 learners. In line with the implication made in Kern, Ware, and Warschauer’s work in the field of online language pedagogy (2004, p. 254) that the important thing about language development is the learner’s ability to negotiate and construct new roles and identities, a suggestion from this study is that learner identity construction involves investment from both sides, the learner and the teacher. This suggestion aligns with what Reeves (2009) indicates about teacher investment in learner identity, which was described in the literature.

On the other hand, some other students were much less specific in terms of viewing themselves in relation to other people and were inclined to position themselves as L2 users in relation to an (imagined) English language speaking community that might be created through the wiki. One interview response quoted in section 6.3.1 reveals that the student, when using English, viewed herself as moving away from an L2 learner

identity: she felt like she was in a different class, including those who were able to use

English to communicate in the society where English was becoming popular.

Of note here is how an L2 learner identity developed into an L2 user identity: although the student was highly aware of her current L2 learner identity (i.e. “my speaking is not very good”), she viewed that identity as part of a wider imagined L2 user identity (i.e. “I am likely to be in a different class… I am a modern person”). Critically, her negotiation of herself away from an L2 learner identity was based on her imagination and aspiration, centering on an L2 ideal self, that is the person whom she would like to become in relation to English (Markus & Nurius, 1986). From this perspective, it can be argued that an L2 learner identity can become more complete if the learner can adopt an image of someone he or she would like to become in the future in relation to the L2, and relate his or her learning activities to becoming that adopted L2 ideal self.

6.5.3 Teacher identity

The discussion about teacher-student relationships particularly in the clash between the traditional classroom and wiki, as put forth by Victor in the end-of-experience interview, reveals two issues of relevance about teacher identity: context and teacher self.

Victor repeatedly stressed that the context of this particular wiki, which was part of the official student assessment, and which had to work in line with other classes doing the

173 same course in the college, contributed to how he adopted multiple roles as a class teacher. It also contributed to the ways in which he made sense of his teacher identity in relation to his practices and the discourses he created. Although Victor as a teacher saw himself as a person who embraced novelty and exploration in his classes in general, as expressed in his reflective writing, the ways in which these qualities played out varied across contexts. As a matter of fact, Victor this time did not let the students explore for themselves as freely as he often wanted and he decided to get involved right from the beginning as an instructor largely due to the contextual constraints. His interview responses showed that his practices did not stem from what he thought he had to do or ideally wanted to do, but from what he believed to be the best practices for his students in this particular context. It was revealing that what drove him powerfully this time was not so much internal factors such as his personal nature or teacher selves, but more the external factors within the context. As theorized in the literature (e.g. Varghese et al., 2005), Victor’s teacher identity could be seen conflictual; however, a closer examination shows that while a teacher might have a core identity, he might have differing sub-identities that are more or less central to the overall identity, and that are operated in a balance of conflicts across the sub-identities (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009, p. 177).

If context can be seen as a driving force of Victor’s practices in this wiki experience defining the multiple teacher roles he adopted, teacher selves can be seen as providing fuel for the operation of his practices. It is worth mentioning that the articulation Victor made about his nature as a teacher who embraced novelty and exploration in his classes was made when he finished this wiki experience, an experience which was remarkably fraught with on-going negotiation of teacher selves. From a teacher belief perspective, the negotiation was between being someone who believed that a teacher’s instruction in the initial stages should be as specific as possible in order to reduce students’ frustration, and someone who also believed that a teacher-free learning environment was conducive for the learning process and thus ideally wanted to be “more or less an outsider”. From a socio-cultural perspective, the negotiation was between being someone who as a teacher was at least at an equal or higher level with his students in terms of technology ability, and someone who endeavoured to meet students’ expectations on him as a fulcrum. Those teacher selves, which were apparently conflictual, could possibly impede teacher practices in such a new and as yet

174 undiscovered context as a wiki. However, while Victor struggled at times, it was also apparent that the different selves at times operated reciprocally with no individual self coming into play in isolation. Thus the negotiation of those teacher selves had a facilitating effect on Victor’s practices as a wide repertoire of possible identities and practices which he drew on as resources in ways that worked for himself, the learners and in terms of his wider contextual obligations.