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Identity shifts within a French (L1) scientific community of

English (L2) language learning

a.reynolds@sussex.ac.uk

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Identity shifts within a French scientific community of

English language learning

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Identity and emotions linked to L1

L1 MILK TONGUE

REFERENCE LANGUAGE

MOTHER TONGUE

NATIVE TONGUE

LINGUA MATERNA 1ST

ACQUIRED LANGUAGE

How many of you speak more than 1 language? What is your mother tongue? 3

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Language acquisition and NEW IDENTITY?

New identities linked to new interlanguages

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Language acquisition modifies pre-acquired langage(s) and creates new

interlanguages

L1? --L2? L1?-- L3?

L2?--L3? L1

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L2 IdentityL1 Identity

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IdentityIdentity

Sociological

MathematicalBiological

Psychological

GenderDigital

Cultural

Philosophical

Racial

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Weak to Strong L2 Identity and the social construct

• Context

• Age

• Needs

• Motivation

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Research methods

• Questionnaires & Diaries • Interviews• Matched-Guise• Responses to cultural

images• Sketch drawings-

diagrams

• Written word• Spoken word• Aural apprehension*• Visual recall

• 2D conceptualisation

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What is a scientist within a scientific community?

• The degrees of involvement of each member will be central or peripheral to scientific research. All the members of the community will not be directly involved with scientific research but are essential for the organisation and well being of the community. As Wenger states in his Community of Practice, the members of a community of practice can be “actively participative, non-participative or indirectly participative”.

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Shaping the question and answer relationship

• Passive – Interactive

• Degree of influence

• Narrative masks

• Memory:– snapshots or « selective, distorted, and changing »?

« All people rewrite their memories constantly, recalling some sections in detail, others more vaguely, deleting portions, blowing some parts up while shrinking others » (Hoddeson:188)

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Alternative research methods

Drawing

Looking

Listening

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Draw me your brain!

• Use the piece of paper to draw me a mind map of your mind. You can use words and or pictures.

• Refer to who you are, what you are good at and what you like. Someone who knows you well should be able to recognize you from your mind map.

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Split Brain Syndrome

Broca (1824–1880) and Wernicke (1848-1905) located language to the left hemisphere. When a corpus callosotomyis performed, patients show no particiluar syndromes. Except when speech and vision come into play simultaneously.

The left hand is controlled by the right hemisphere

The right hand is controlled by the left hemisphere.

LH RH

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The Wada Test

The left hemisphere: focal area for language

TEMP

Zzz

Zzz

Amytal de Sodium Control

-Loss of speech capacity for a few minutes.

-The right hemispheres sees the spoon, but is unable to transmit this information to the language centers in the dormant left hemisphere.

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Identity concepts within a social construct

-attitute tests

-stereotypes

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Matched guise technique

Audio A Audio B

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L2 distancing

What 5 words would you use to best describe BRITISH?

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Possible Applications

• To enhance L2 identity concepts within the language classroom.

• To develop on the existing research methods in SLA.

• To pilot an L2 identity scale.

• To create archives of L2 identity accounts.

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The End