Speakers
Abstract section 1: Relevance
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) offers opportunities to influence learners’ motivation and identity beyond skills-focused courses. Research on L2 motivation emphasizes the role of the ideal L2 self (Dörnyei, 2009), while sociological perspectives highlight learner investment, imagined communities, and identity negotiation in language learning (Norton, 2010). Although CLIL is widely practiced in tertiary settings, its effects on L2 identity remain underexplored. This study examines pre- and post-course survey and qualitative interview data, showing that CLIL courses may enhance a connection to the ideal L2 self, imagined communities, and investment in language learning.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
1) Did our CLIL courses allow our Japanese EFL learners to identify their ideal L2 selves and imagined communities?
2) In what ways did our CLIL courses allow our Japanese EFL learners to identify their ideal L2 selves and imagined communities?
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
Students identified more closely with their L2 selves at the end of the course, with their self-assessments in the four basic English skills increasing between 5.0 and 10.4%. Through post-course interviews, we generated a theory that early experiences and investment in foreign language learning, when positive, lead to increased motivation and a picture of the ideal self. As this cycle of experiences and motivation repeats itself, learners slowly become able to envision their imagined communities, though this process takes longer than the scope of this research allowed for us to draw conclusions from it.
Abstract section 5: References
Dörnyei, Z. (2009). The L2 Motivational Self System. In Dörnyei, Z., Ushioda, E. (Eds.),
Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self. Multilingual Matters, Clevedon,
pp. 9-42
Kinoshita, Y. (2003). Grounded theory approach no jissen -Shitsutekikenkyu heno sasoi- [Practice of grounded theory approach -Invitation to qualitative research-]. Tokyo: Kobundo.
Norton, B. (2010). Language and Identity. In Hornberger, N. H., & McKay, S. L. (2010).
Sociolinguistics and Language Education. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, pp.
349-369
Abstract section 3: Content/method
Pre- (n=31) and post- (n=25) course surveys were conducted across four sections of the researchers’ second-year Global Topics courses to determine students’ perceived English ability, importance of English, and likelihood of using English in various aspects of their lives. The data was then analyzed. Select students were interviewed after the course was completed. The transcripts of their responses were analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA) which was developed by Kinoshita (2003).
| Title | Exploring the three IIIs of L2 Identity |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | College and university education |