Speaker
Description
This presentation reports findings from a qualitative study examining how social class shapes English learners’ reading practices and reader identities. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of capital and habitus, it examines the reading experiences of two Taiwanese students from contrasting class backgrounds. It illustrates how their class-based resources shaped reading opportunities but not necessarily engagement with English reading. The presenter will discuss other social factors influencing reading engagement and implications for reading instruction in non-English-dominant contexts.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
In many non-English-dominant societies, English is widely associated with global mobility and socioeconomic advancement, leading families to invest heavily in English education and contributing to class-based disparities in learning opportunities. While reading often serves as a primary source of English input in such contexts, second language reading research has largely focused on cognitive factors or treated social class narrowly as socioeconomic status, overlooking its cultural and social dimensions. Drawing on Bourdieu’s (1984, 1986) concepts of capital and habitus, this study addresses this gap by examining how class-based and other social resources shape English learners’ reading practices and reader identities.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
- How do class-based resources influence learners’ access to and engagement with English reading materials?
- How do learners perceive themselves as English readers, and how do these identities interact with their reading experiences?
Abstract section 3: Content/method
The study focuses on two Taiwanese high school students from contrasting class backgrounds: one enrolled in a private bilingual school and one attending a public high school with financial aid. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, individual reading sessions in which participants discussed self-selected English texts, and written reflections. The data were analyzed through iterative qualitative coding to identify patterns linking social class, reading practices, and reader identity.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
The findings show that social class strongly influences learners’ access to English reading resources and learning opportunities. However, such advantages do not necessarily translate into greater engagement or a stronger reader identity. Instead, the findings show that institutional reading norms, first-language literacy experiences, and peer relationships played important roles in shaping how participants approached and engaged with English reading. The presentation will discuss how these findings complicate deterministic accounts of social class and consider implications for reading instruction in non-English-dominant contexts.
Abstract section 5: References
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste. Harvard University Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). Forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). Greenwood Press.
| Title | How Social Class Shapes EFL Reading Practices and Reader Ide |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | General |