Cohen

Published on January 2017 | Categories: Documents | Downloads: 47 | Comments: 0 | Views: 511
of 10
Download PDF   Embed   Report

Comments

Content

Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education
Language and Identity

Contributors: Josué M. González Print Pub. Date: 2008 Online Pub. Date: July 01, 2008 Print ISBN: 9781412937207 Online ISBN: 9781412963985 DOI: 10.4135/9781412963985 Print pages: 422-426 This PDF has been generated from SAGE knowledge. Please note that the pagination of the online version will vary from the pagination of the print book.

Universiti Utara Malaysia Copyright ©2013

SAGE knowledge

10.4135/9781412963985.n163 Much has been written on language and identity and the influence each has on the other. Academic journals such as TESOL Quarterly and Linguistics and Education have published special issues exploring the themes of language and identity. The purpose of this entry is to examine selected perspectives regarding the topic of language and identity and possible implications for classroom teachers. The entry begins with some commonly discussed categories of identity and how identity is constructed or negotiated. Following is a discussion of language, identity, and their reciprocal influence. The entry concludes with a brief discussion of implications for pedagogy and language instruction.

Defining Identity
Traditionally an individual's identity was looked upon as singular and stable—perhaps permanent—and over which one had little control. If a person was a carpenter by occupation, that was how everyone viewed him, and how he viewed himself. However, over time, this view has progressively changed. Current literature on the topic holds that individuals have multiple identities, which are constantly changing and being negotiated depending on the time and context of the situation. That is to say, an individual has numerous facets of the self (e.g., man/woman, spouse, parent, boss), all of which together form the individual's multiple identities. These multiple facets or ways of looking at oneself in relation to the world are socially constructed. That is, identities are not biologically preprogrammed but are directly influenced by our social environment. For example, the term husband has different meanings depending on the society in which one lives. In some cultures, husbands are allowed numerous wives, whereas in Western society, the law permits only one wife. The concept of husband, therefore, is a socially constructed concept. It can be argued, therefore, that this facet of identity— being a husband—is only one of a person's multiple identities. Michel Foucault postulates about the individual in a temporal sense: that an individual doesn't “become,” but instead continually “transforms.” “Becoming” implies that people reach an end in the construction of their identities; “transform” implies that their identities are never finished forming and that people are never finished constructing
Page 2 of 10 Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education: Language and Identity

Universiti Utara Malaysia Copyright ©2013

SAGE knowledge

their identities. In other words, individuals are constantly changing, and thus, their identities change too. This is again a direct challenge to, or a contradiction of, how identities were thought of in the past. A person may have the job title of a carpenter, but depending on the context, he may look at his identity as a carpenter from different perspectives. If he just made an enormous error that will force the crew to restart a project in constructing something, he may have negative thoughts regarding his selfperception of being a carpenter. However, likewise, if he just completed a beautiful, intricately designed, built-in entertainment center in someone's family room, he will be proud to be a carpenter. Hence, his identity as a carpenter is never stagnant, but is always changing and dynamic. According to Aneta Pavlenko and Adrian Blackledge, identity is placed in three different categories: imposed identities, assumed identities, and [p. 422 ↓ ] negotiable identities. Imposed identities can be described as those that cannot be negotiated in a particular time and place. For example, in Nazi Germany, numerous individuals were forced to accept a certain identity, that of being Jewish, which had numerous life-threatening implications. People may have disagreed with being identified as being Jewish, perhaps because they did not practice Judaism or identify themselves as Jews; however, that was irrelevant. Hiere was no negotiation of identity permitted within that specific context. For a less dire example, immigrant children have historically been misplaced in special education programs on the basis of their lack of English language proficiency. These students therefore were identified as “special education students” instead of being rightly diagnosed as second-language learners. These students' identities were thus imposed on them, without them having a say in the matter. Not knowing that the identity imposed on them was possibly harmful to their development, some students may have grown up believing that they belonged in that category. The second type or category of identity is assumed identities. These types of identities can be applied to those who are comfortable with and not willing to contest their identities. Having assumed identities is frequently valued and legitimatized by the dominant group within a given society. An example of this type of identity is the heterosexual White middle-class male in the United States. Although not all heterosexual White middle-class males in the United States feel comfortable with this identity, it is typically not contested. Interestingly, people who have this identity frequently do not consider themselves as “having a culture,” but instead will look
Page 3 of 10 Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education: Language and Identity

Universiti Utara Malaysia Copyright ©2013

SAGE knowledge

at others, especially minorities and immigrants, as having a culture. A common phrase from this population is, “I don't have a culture. I am just American.” They thus conceptualize culture in a narrow way, such as race (other than Caucasian) or of some display of a stereotyped feature or tradition from a group different from their own. The third category of identity is negotiable identities. Negotiable identities pertain to all identity options that can be, and are, contested or resisted by particular individuals and groups. Take, for example, immigrants to the United States. In today's society, immigrants are expected to assimilate into the mainstream culture and take on U.S. norms, thereby substantially diminishing or losing their culture and self-identification of being from their home country. Even with this formidable pressure from the dominant culture, immigrants now have a greater choice whether to lose their language, culture, and ways of life from the home country or to continue their own in keeping with their comfort levels, needs, and desires. Numerous immigrants are choosing to maintain their language, culture, and ways of being brought from their home country, thereby contesting the identity of a fully assimilated immigrant to the United States. They choose to be selective in what facets of American life they will appropriate into their identities (following work hours, going to the gym, learning English, etc.). James Gee believes that in addition to having these various facets of ourselves to use or call upon, if an attribute is not recognized as defining someone as a particular kind of person, then it cannot serve as an identity of any sort. In other words, people construct their identities by the recognition that others give them. Take immigrant students from Mexico, for example, who may try to become members of the dominant society, which in this case is White English-speaking America. However, if they, for whatever reason, are not accepted as members of White English-speaking America by White Englishspeaking Americans, immigrants from Mexico will never truly appropriate the identity befitting of a member of that community. To understand identities, it is important to recognize that identities are always constructed in a social context through discourse (language and context). The definitions of the different types of identity described earlier all use some form of positioning. Two specific types of positioning are interactive positioning and reflective positioning. Interactive positioning assumes one individual positioning the other. In Germany under Nazi rule, the Nazis positioned others with identities as persons of the
Page 4 of 10 Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education: Language and Identity

Universiti Utara Malaysia Copyright ©2013

SAGE knowledge

Jewish faith. In another previous example, the school or testing structure positioned immigrant students within the special education program. The positioning was done via the interaction between two individuals or groups of individuals. The second type of positioning is reflective positioning. Although how individuals view themselves is heavily influenced by those surrounding them, reflective positioning occurs when individuals actively position themselves. An example of this is when immigrant students in the classroom do not participate in the mainstream English classroom because they believe that their English is not good enough for them to participate. Even though the others within that classroom may or may not agree with these immigrant [p. 423 ↓ ] students' estimation of their English ability, they continue to be passive members of that classroom community, thus literally and figuratively positioning themselves at the margins of that community.

Language and Identity Related
The foregoing brief descriptions of the various types of identity raise the question of what identity has to do with language. An individual negotiates a sense of self within and across different contexts at different times through language. In other words, languages are used to legitimize, challenge, and negotiate particular identities. Another look at the three different types of identities described earlier in the context of language —imposed, assumed, and negotiable—will help to explain this concept. Imposed identities are those that have been imposed on an individual (e.g., the language learner wrongly being labeled a special education student). To understand how imposition occurs in the context of language, imagine two people having a conversation. When they begin speaking, language is the first thing that the other person is going to hear. They both will be listening not only to intonation, stress, and other speech factors, but also to the word choice (semantics), grammatical structures (syntax), and the manner in which the words are being used (pragmatics). These three factors say a lot about us as members of society. If one were speaking grammatically incorrectly, one may be perceived as an uneducated person. If one were using certain slang terms associated with a younger population, one could be perceived as either a member of that group or perhaps immature for trying to use those terms. If one were
Page 5 of 10 Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education: Language and Identity

Universiti Utara Malaysia Copyright ©2013

SAGE knowledge

using erudite words wrongly or out of context, one may be viewed as trying to impress someone with pedantic language. The language used is like opening a book for others to see inside the speaker. Because language has this open-book effect, people will position or impose a certain identity on others whether or not it is accurate. Frequently, immigrant children who speak a language other than English as their first language may be looked upon by their teachers and peers as not as bright as they truly are. This is not because they are lacking in intelligence, but because they do not yet have the English-speaking skills to adequately express themselves and negotiate their identity in the school context. Interestingly, after numerous experiences interacting with others who think of these children as unintelligent, these children may begin to think of themselves as unintelligent as well, which may lead to other negative outcomes in school such as absenteeism, misbehavior in class, and eventually dropping out. Although this may sound oversimplified and perhaps even exaggerated, it is actually a daily occurrence for thousands of immigrant children across the United States. Thus, imposed identities can have a detrimental effect on immigrant students and their futures in school. Assumed identities are those identities that typically are held by the dominant group within a society. Individuals who have these types of identities are typically not willing to contest these identities. In other words, they understandably like being members of the dominant group within the society and do not typically want to be placed in another position within the social structure of a given society. With the identity as a member of the dominant group comes the belief of having certain rights and privileges (communication is always in the dominant language, all road and business signs are written in the dominant language, school is taught in the dominant language, most movies are in the dominant language, etc.). Although often unknown to members of the dominant language group, these beliefs create a direct positioning of others who do not speak or speak the dominant language with limited proficiency. The influence that society (the dominant group, or other minority groups) has over an individual's self-perception or identity is powerful. Take again, for example, immigrant children who speak Spanish as their native language at home. When they are home and speaking with their parents in Spanish, they are typically proud to speak to their parents in that language, and their identity as Spanish speakers is strong and confident.
Page 6 of 10 Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education: Language and Identity

Universiti Utara Malaysia Copyright ©2013

SAGE knowledge

However, researchers such as James Cummins, Marcelo Suárez-Orozco and Carola Suárez-Orozco, and Stephen Krashen have demonstrated that after being exposed to “English-only” instruction in school, these same children begin to understand that English is the language whose speakers have the power and control in this society. Simultaneously, they see that Spanish is not a high-status language here. This dichotomy provides the children with a dilemma: Which language should I speak? Popular culture in the United States pressures immigrant children to speak English and forget Spanish, despite losing communication with their parents. Researchers in the fields of immigration and global studies and bilingual education, along with most [p. 424 ↓ ] advocates of bilingual education, many teachers, and families, say that they should learn both languages. Unless that happens, children who were once proud Spanish speakers will consciously attempt to stop speaking Spanish with their parents, family, and friends. Their goal is to speak only English and eradicate Spanish from their lives to avoid a negative ascribed identity. The positioning, whether directly or indirectly, positive or negative, by the dominant language group leaves a profound mark on the individual's identity. This occurrence is not only common, but happens to a large proportion of immigrants in the United States as well as many Native Americans who have lived here for centuries. This phenomenon is partly why linguists for years have been calling the United States a language graveyard: Languages other than English do not prosper here. To add to the discussion, it is believed that simply by the dominant group members' unawareness that they are indeed the dominant group, or by the dominant group's insistence on keeping itself in the status as the dominant group (proposing English as the official language, English-only education in schools), dominant group members are creating an environment within which their assumed identities are positioning all other members of society as the “other,” thereby greatly adding to the social phenomenon of language minority children's relative lack of success in school. The third category, negotiable identities, refers to all identity options that can be, and are, contested and resisted by individuals and groups. The description of this category of identity mentioned that recent immigrants have the right to choose what aspects of the new culture of their new homeland they can appropriate. With this right, immigrants are opting to raise their children bilingually, understanding the importance of the heritage language as well as the importance of learning English, and instilling a
Page 7 of 10 Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education: Language and Identity

Universiti Utara Malaysia Copyright ©2013

SAGE knowledge

pride in their heritage language as well as in English. When children maintain a pride in their affiliation with their homeland (language and culture), they have a strong identity associated with their heritage language and culture. Research has shown (see, e.g., work conducted by Maria Eugenia Matute-Bianchi) that such children frequently are more successful academically than when they assimilate to the new culture. This has been mainly shown in Mexican and other Spanish-speaking immigrant populations and in various Asian and South Asian immigrant populations as well (Korean, Indian, and Chinese).

Pedagogical Implications
Language and identity are important facets of a student's life. Because of their reciprocal role, some researchers, such as Krashen and Cummins, believe that the use of English-only policies in school, both in the classroom and on the playground, in effect takes the voice away from nonnative-English-speaking students. Allowing students to speak in their native languages can be looked at as a positive technique that reinforces students' self-perceptions. Teachers can build upon this wealth of knowledge that children have and provide a venue in which they can thrive and learn in their classrooms. It is believed that if teachers and administrators understood the interconnection between language and identity, they would naturally promote diversity and the richness it brings to a classroom. Luis Moll and his colleagues have proposed the idea of “funds of knowledge”—everything that children bring with them (their experiences, understandings of the world, and language)—and using this knowledge as a base from which to continue to build their students' knowledge of the world. Rather than looking at the students from the deficit perspective, according to which they are simply recipients of information that the teachers provide, or empty vessels needing to be filled, students are instead individuals who talk, have perspectives on their past experiences, and have a genuine interest in their futures. Thus, students become individuals who should be conferred with, talked with, and worked with. A review of the literature regarding the mutual influence of language and identity may help teachers and administrators make their own informed decisions on how to best educate language minority students. James Cohen
Page 8 of 10 Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education: Language and Identity

Universiti Utara Malaysia Copyright ©2013

SAGE knowledge

10.4135/9781412963985.n163 See also Further Readings Cummins, J. Empowering minority students: A framework for intervention . Harvard Educational Review , vol. 56 no. (1) (1986). pp. 18–36. Foucault, M. (1991). Politics and the study of discourse . In G. Buchell, ed. , C. Gordon, ed. , & P. Vuller (Eds.), The Foucault effect . Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Gee, J. P. (2000). Identity as an analytic lens for research in education . In W. Secada (Ed.), Review of research in education (Vol. 25, pp. 99–125) . Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association. Krashen, S. (1996). The case against bilingual education . Culver City, CA: Language Education Associates. Martin-Jones, M., ed. , Heller, M., ed. Education in multilingual settings: Discourse, identities and power [Special issue] . Linguistics and Education , vol. 8 no. (l-2). (1996). Matute-Bianchi, M. E. (1991). Situational ethnicity and patterns of school performance among immigrant and nonimmigrant Mexican-descent students . In M. Gibson, ed. & J. Ogbu (Eds.), Minority Status and Schooling: A comparative study of immigrants and involuntary minorities (pp. 205–247) . New York: Garland Press. Moll, L. C, & González, N. (2003). Engaging life: A funds-of-knowledge approach to multicultural education . In J. A. Banks, ed. & C. A. M. Banks (Eds.), Handbook on multicultural education (2nd ed.) . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Norton, B., ed. Language and identity [Special issue] . TESOL Quarterly , vol. 31 no. (3). (1997). Pavlenko, A., ed. , & Blackledge, A. (Eds.). (2004). Negotiation of identities in multilingual contexts . Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Page 9 of 10

Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education: Language and Identity

Universiti Utara Malaysia Copyright ©2013

SAGE knowledge

Suárez-Orozco, C, & Qin-Hillard, D. (2003). Formulating identity in a globalized world . In M. M. Suárez-Orozco, ed. & D. Qin-Hillard (Eds.), Globalization: Culture & education in the new millennium . Berkeley: University of California Press & Ross Institute. Suárez-Orozco, C, & Suárez-Orozco, M. M. (2001). Children of immigration . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Page 10 of 10

Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education: Language and Identity

Sponsor Documents

Or use your account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Forgot your password?

Or register your new account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link to create a new password.

Back to log-in

Close