A narrative inquiry into h’mong students’ identity construction inlearning english

ABSTRACT This thesis reports the result of an exploratory study on the identity construction of H‟mong students in learning English from high school, who are living and studying in a mou

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

*********************

MAI THỊ BÍCH VƯỢNG

A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO H’MONG STUDENTS’ IDENTITY

CONSTRUCTION IN LEARNING ENGLISH

( Nghiên cứu tường thuật về kiến tạo bản ngã học sinh Hmong trong việc học

Tiếng Anh )

M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I)

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Hanoi – 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

*********************

MAI THỊ BÍCH VƯỢNG

A NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO H’MONG STUDENTS’ IDENTITY

CONSTRUCTION IN LEARNING ENGLISH

( Nghiên cứu tường thuật về kiến tạo bản ngã học sinh H’mong trong việc học

Tiếng Anh )

M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I)

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Le Van Canh

Hanoi – 2019

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Assoc Prof Dr Le Van Canh who gave me a lot of valuable guidance, encouragements, criticisms and correction throughout my thesis writing

I am indebted to three H‟mong students as well as teachers at Bac Ha high school, Lao Cai, who provided me with lots of useful information by narrative stories

My sincere thanks go to my family, my friends for their encouragement and support that help me to complete my work

ABSTRACT

This thesis reports the result of an exploratory study on the identity construction of H‟mong students in learning English from high school, who are living and studying in a mountainous area It attempts to find out how a small group of H‟mong high school students constructed their identities in learning English as a subject in the school curriculum I used a narrative inquiry approach to this study The study included three interviews during two weeks The findings indicate the importance of learners „identity in providing the context for the social construction of students An additional implication

of this research is the engagement, alignment, and imagination of the identity construction process that came from narratives of the students during a time when they were engaged in the construction of their learning identities

TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale for the study 1

2 Aim and objectives 1

3 Significance of the study 1

4 Research methods 2

5 Scope of the study 2

PART II: DEVELOPMENT 3

CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 3

1.1 Definition of Identity 3

1.1.1 Identity 3

1.1.2 Learning identity 5

1.1.3 Racial and Ethnic Identities 7

1.2 Identity and foreign language learning 9

1.2.1 Identity as an educational tool 9

1.2.2 Relationship between identity and second/ foreign language learning 9

1.2.3 Identity construction and foreign language learning 11

1.3 Previous studies on second language learners‟ identity 13

1.4 Chapter summary 15

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 16

2.1 The context of the study 16

2.2 Data collection methods 17

2.2.1 Narrative inquiry 17

2.2.2 Interviews 19

2.3 Data analysis procedures 2021

2.4 Chapter summary 21

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 22

3.1 Findings 22

3.2 Discussion 27

3.2.1 Engagement 28

3.2.2 Imagination 30

3.2.3 Alignment 33

3.2.4 Negotiation of meanings 34

3.3 Summary 35

PART III: CONCLUSION 37

1 Summary of findings 37

2 Limitation of the study and suggestions for further research 39

REFERENCES 40

APPENDICES 5548

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

Research on second language students‟ identity has recently gained greater importance in second language education The identity constructions

of students have been considered one of the most factors that determine to a great extent to the development pathways of education

As a result, if teachers are aware of the identities of students, they will identify the suitable ways of teaching What is more, each group of students has different identities, the ability and willingness of teaching ethnic people are the development of educational innovations

2 Aim and objectives

This study intends to provide a contribution that expands the discussion

on English language learners‟ identity by providing empirical evidence related to the construction of H‟mong students‟ identities In order to meet these aims, the following question is formulated:

learning English as a school subject?

3 Significance of the study

The study can be much beneficial to English teachers, students and researchers

Firstly, English teachers, especially who have ever taught at schools in mountainous areas, recognizing identity of ethnic people will have some new experiences on improving the methodology of teaching language The study hopes to be a sample or suggestion for them to identify the constructions of H‟mong student‟s identities

Secondly, English teachers widen their knowledge towards cultural proficiency, beliefs, attitudes, (and) Linguistics of H‟mong students

Increasing awareness will lead educators to find out suitable programs, practices, procedures, behaviour and ensure they are more equitable for all students

Thirdly, for H‟mong students, they act according to their own ways, when they concede their identities, they will aware who they are, which values of identity are the same or different from other ethnic people This can

be sources of documents to engage the relationship and solidarity with others Finally, for the researchers, the thesis can provide useful information for further studies of the same topic in the future

Briefly, English teachers, students and researchers can benefit from the results of this research

4 Research methods

A qualitative research approach was chosen for this study Data were collected by means of students‟ narratives and structured interviews

5 Scope of the study

The research is confined to study identities of one H‟mong group of students‟ construction and factors that affect the process of their identity foundation As a single case study, the research does not intend to generalize its findings

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Definition of Identity

1.1.1 Identity

The more rapid the development of globalization, the more widely educational reforms has taken place To understand how to teach students in the new challenges, we need to examine how they “form sense of themselves- identities- in relation to ways of inhabiting roles, positions, and culture imaginaries that matter to them” ( Holland & Lachicotte, 2007, p.103) In the social sciences, the experience of self in cultural, historical and political contexts has been concerned much and the concept of identity is one of the theories that have been researched in recent years John E.Joseph (2004, p.1) pointed out “your identity is who you are” or “our identity is something we uniquely process, it is what distinguishes us from other people” (Buckingham, 2008) He also mentioned identity has the relationship with a broader collective or social group of some kinds When we talk about identity, cultural identity, or gender identity, it means our identity is partly a matter of what we share other people Menard- Warwick (2005) suggested that identity relates to psychic, social and semiotic work necessary to sustain a sense of unity and sameness across time, space and identity difference and on social categories

in order to achieve its coherence Identity as a thing need to be discovered, liberated, examined and explained

Identity is also defined as a concept in the social sciences and humanities (Bendle, 2002), and the fields of education (Gee, 2000) and appliedlinguistics (Block, 2007) Eagleton uses the term “identity” as the psychic, social and semiotic work necessary to sustain a sense of unity, same across time and space

„Jenkins (1996) refers the concept both to individuals (personal identity), and collectivities (social identity) Personal identity relates to the uniqueness of the subject and is shared through the evolution of time and from each individual within the society And the theory of social identity refers to how they are perceived by others

In other words, Regarding Wenger‟s (1998) defined identity a way of talking about how learning changes who we are and creates personal histories

of being in the context of our communities” ( p.5) He also viewed identity is constructed in relationships with others, extending from the past and stretching into the future Identity is not only malleable but also dynamic Identity construction expresses that you are that seems to be the result of the participation with others in the experience of life Egan- Robertson (1998) claimed the complexity of identity construction as an intersection of a myriad

of sociological factors within a historical moment The experiences individuals live within a specific social environment creates the process of identity construction, different identities are not the same if the context was different In this regard, Lave and Wenger(1991) focused on identity development within the context of social participation as a key factor in studying This theory points that identity development occurs when individuals engage in the practices of the social communities that one belongs

to and actively participates in

So many views I adopted, identity can be understood that it refers to the sense of someone who you are, of what is the most important about you Significant sources of identity are like to include nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and class Identity is a historical, social and cultural construct and we bring our identity to communication encounters Our identity is valued throughout core cultural values Identity may be

distinguished from identification It is a label, whereas identification refers to classifying act itself Identity is thus best construed as be both relational and contextual, while the act of identification is best viewed as inherently processual We develop, change, construct, and adjust our identity through interactions with others Identity tells us about who we are in terms of our gender, social class, age, sexual orientation, work, race and ethnicity our power, ideologies, and value systems from a certain point of view

of students is the relation between language and identity Learner identity is understood to be affected by sociocultural context, varieties of participants

In fact, educationalists and learners need resources to aware of learner identity such as guidance, material, support which make the contribution on a concept and a phenomenological experience In Wenger‟s (1999) terms, learning enables through participation in communities of practice, and participation in communities of practice enables learning This participation enables a sense of recognition and individuals consider themselves as belonging to a context to a different extent depending on how they are recognized in them (Falsafi, 2010) Wenger (1998) also claims that learning is

an experience of identity and learning forms identities and identities shape learning Wigfield & Wagner (2007) also mentioned (learners‟) identity is originated from learning experiences and academic performance, may direct either competent or problematic behaviors in learning a L2 (Wigfield &

Wagner, 2007) This can be inferred that how one perceives oneself may have both positive and negative impacts on his L2 learning

Learning identity is a key aspect of metacognitive knowledge about how one learns, particular his views about learning ability Alice Kolb and David Kolb ( 2009) “ People with a learning identity see themselves as learners, seek and engage life experiences with a learning attitude and believe in their ability to learn” ( p.5) A learning identity develops over time from tentatively adopting a learning stance toward life experience, to a more confident learning orientation, to a learning self that is specific to certain contexts, and ultimately to a learning self-identity that permeates deeply into all aspects of the way one lives his life In ELT, the concept of learning identity based on the works of Carl Eogers and Paulo Freire For both of these foundational scholars of experiential learning, people who see themselves as learners are those who trust their direct personal experiences and their ability to learn from them

There are many general factors that affect identity of students in studying a foreign language such as age, intelligence, aptitude, cognitive style, attitudes, motivation and personality (Ellis, 1985) First, motivation is one of the most important factors, according to Richards (1985, p.185), motivation as a factor that determines as a person‟s desire to do something Next, Ellis ( 1985, p.292) clarifies that attitude is sets of beliefs about factors

as the target language culture, their own culture and, in case of classroom learning, of their teachers and the learning task that they are given It is clear that learners who have positive attitudes learn more, but also learners who learn well acquire positive attitudes Then, age is believed that a child development is a period during which language can be acquired more easily than that at any other time (Richards, 1985) To be continued, Ellis (1985)

mentions that intelligence is general ability to master academic skills He also means that people are intelligent in different ways and they also learn in

which)a learner has for learning a second language Richards (1985) explains that aptitude is natural ability to learn a language He analyses the language abilities combined of various abilities such as ability to identify sound patterns in a new language, the ability to recognize the difference of grammatical functions of words in sentences Students need aptitude which is responsible for learning languages Learning style as cognitive style is the particular way in which a learner tries to learn something Different learners may prefer different solutions to learning problems in a second language or foreign language learning Students‟ learning styles can be influenced by many factors such as generic background, culture, previous learning experience Learning style accounts for how learners accumulate new second language rules and how they automate existing ones (Ellis, 1986) Last but not least, personality is described as a set of features that characterize an individual The most important are introversions, extroversions, self-esteem, inhibition, risk-taking, anxiety and empathy ( Ellis, 1986) Therefore, factors such as motivation, attitude, age, intelligence, aptitude, learning style, personality influence the way learners encounter language learning

Learner identities in the second language context may be affected by unique social factors that are dramatically different from learning English as a second language in the English speaking countries

1.1.3 Racial and Ethnic Identities

The evolutionary process relates to racial and ethnic identities which consist of different dimensions, they depend on contextual influences to contribute culturally and linguistically diverse students

Racial identity: Race is a social construct based on visible physical

features to distinguish a group of people, Spickard (1922) expressed racial identity can derive from a biological dimension, or Helm (1995) also pointed out a social dimension creates racial identity

Ethnic Identity: Ethnic Identity is viewed as an individual‟s

identification with “a segment of a large society whose members have a common origin, share segments of a common culture and participate in shared activities in which the common origin and culture are significant ingredients ( Yinger, 1976) And then, Phinney (1996) defines ethnic identity as “an enduring, fundamental aspect of the self that includes a sense of membership

in an ethnic groups and the attitudes and feelings associated with that membership” (p 922) According to Besevegis et al (2010) defined ethnic identity “ sense of belonging to an ethnic group as well as the perceptions, thoughts, feelings and behaviors that derive from the individual's participation

in this group" They mean that the individual‟s complex level of personal, historical, social relationship, identification and interaction with their ethnic communities refers to ethnic identity What is more, common ancestries, share traditions, shared cultural features such as language, beliefs, and values Through ethnic identity construction, individuals explore what it means to be

a member of an ethnic group and to develop a strong sense of ethnic pride (Moua, 2014) Ethnic identity is characterized as a social construction with creating the “imaginary community” of the nation based on the existence of common cultural elements (Anderson, 1991) Ethnic identity is characterized

as a social construction with socio- historical dimensions (Veikos 1999 Hall 1997) and refers to a common geographical – historical place, to common ancestral traditions and historical memories, to a common cultures (Smith,

1991, p.14) When the person is part of a group of people who have common language, religion, customs, tradition and history contributes ethnic identity

1.2 Identity and foreign language learning

1.2.1 Identity as an educational tool

When applying in the relationship with education, the theoretical and phonological concept of identity is concerned interestingly in different disciplines Hoffman mentioned that “Identity has become the bread and butter of our education diet” (In Stard and Prusac, 2005, p.14) Gree ( 2000) and Sfard and Prusak ( 2005) show identity as analytical aid in educational contexts and suggest that inquiry into identity construction of the students can shed light on how they perceive their educational experiences and academic results

Many educational researchers pay attention to some identities called such as age, ethnic, gender and so on They pointed out multiple identity types

in both formal and informal educational contexts Identities are not only constructed through learning but also mediate participation through artifacts

It means learning forms identities and identities learning shape

1.2.2 Relationship between identity and second/ foreign language learning

Identity in language learning has attracted many educators‟ interest Norton (1995) analyzed the inter textual of the relation of language and identity Identity is considered as “ complex, contradictory and multifaceted” ( p 419) that shows how students go through a permanent process of change that is part of the process of affiliation to a social group, that in this case, is constituted by teacher, students and their surrounding environment According to Norton, the construction of a social identity is known as the relationship between the individual and the larger social world Families, schools, workplaces, among others contribute as mediators in this relationship, and students are one part of members of the same community Kanno and Norton (2005) also showed that language learners also create

imagined communities, which are groups of people with whom learners connect through the power of imagination Norton (2001) argues that second language learners have images the communities and imagined communities have a large on their current learning The view of language related to identity

is also mentioned as the key element for identity construction According to Belsay( 1980) suggests that people constitute themselves through language which defines and redefine who they are and they might become The use of language is various according to the contexts that define the way we relate to others and we perform different identity

What is more, educators have a particular interest in the relationship between identity and second language acquisition In other words, critical pedagogies concern about language as a social practice and the way it constructs In the early 1970s and 1980s, educators were interested in second language identity tended to illustrate distinctions between social and cultural identity Gumperz mentioned in language and social identity (1982) that

“social identity” was seen to combine the relationship between the individual learner and the larger social world Valdes (1986) pointed out „Cultural identity referenced the relationship the individual language learner and the larger social world In more recent years, the theory of social and cultural identity is seen to be more changeable

The article, The rise of identity in SLA research, Post Firth and Wagner (1997) (Block, 2007), provides an overview of research linking second language learning and identity that “when individuals move across geographical and psychological borders, immersing themselves in new sociocultural environments, they find that their sense of identity is destabilized and that they enter a period of struggle to reach a balance ( p 864) Another influential work mentioned identity and SLA investigation is

second language learning as participation and the reconstruction of selves (Pavlenko & Lantolf, 2000) Here, the participation metaphor of learning is described as a process of becoming a member of a certain community and applied to the study of SLA

Current research on identity and language learning, identity is conceived as dynamic, contradictory, and constantly changing across time and place ( Ricento and Wiley, 2005) To understand identity of someone, Norton (1995) pointed out that learner‟s instrumental motivation and internal motivations are related to complex social history and multiple desires can influence one another The sociological vision is given by many poststructuralists that language has a form of cultural and symbolic capital which offers profit in the market place of social interaction (Bourdieu‟s, 1991) The same idea related to this point of view, de Mejia (2002) explained that “ language may be seen as symbolic resource which can receive different values depending on the market” He also clarified that the symbolic resources include linguistic skills, cultural knowledge and specialized skills, help to gain access to value social, educational and material resources Mc Kay and Wong (1996) emphasized the constitution of learner‟s lives and their investment in learning the target language are expressed through leaners‟ needs, desires and negotiation The notion of identity accepts that when learners speak a language, they are not only exchanging information with target language speakers, but also organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world An investment in target language is also an investment in a learner‟s own identity (learners‟ identity themselves), which is constantly changing across time and space

1.2.3 Identity construction and foreign language learning

Foreign language learning researchers have developed frameworks for

exploring how a learner identity is constructed and how these processes in broad social discourses recently According to Wenbger (1998), the formation

of identity is a dual process of identification and negotiation of meanings with three models of belongings that act as the sources of identification: engagement, imagination and alignment

Engagement means investing in what people do and also in a person‟s relationships with other people in the practice community For one thing, though participants in practice or living one‟s experience, people will know how a person can participate in activities Through connecting with other individuals, people gain a sense of themselves in relationships with other members Therefore, identity is both experience and relationship (Wenger, 1998) The experiential aspect of identification can be explained as the concept of “self” as “ something which has a development, it is not initially there at birth, but arises in the social process of experience and activity” ( Mead & Morris‟, 1934, p.135) The relational aspect is explained as the development and maintaining through the interaction within social settings and the negotiation of roles in those settings ( Beijaard, Verloop, & Vermunt , 2000)

Imagination is known as the ability of relating oneself to the context that is beyond one‟s community of practice The using people‟s experiences

to draw unrestricted pictures of the world and of someone in that world create the process of imagination Wenger (1998) mentioned the imagination as “a process of expanding our self by transcending our time and space and creating new images of the world and ourselves” (p 176) Therefore, imagined identities originate directly from individuals‟ imagination: “Who they are will the depend on not only who they really are in reality but also who they imagine themselves to be” (Xu, 2013, p.80)

Another source of identification is alignment It is the effort of an individual to bring his/ her actions into conformity with the community of practice so that the individual will become aligned with the community By means of alignment, the identity of a group becomes the identity of its manners However, Wenger (1998) showed that alignment is created solely in the way can result in dissociation and alienation

One of other processes in identity construction is the negotiation of meanings which create from the process of shaping and contributing to the meanings at the community of practice These meanings are created through participation of individuals and then shared, used, modified, and appropriated

by these participants

1.3 Previous studies on second language learners’ identity

The study on second language learners‟ identity is built on the theoretical foundations of sociocultural and posts – structuralism theory (Norton, 2006) As Vygotsky‟s sociocultural theory is that social interaction through language This means that the mind develops through interaction with the world, the process of interaction is a gold directed for a person to connect

to the world

In addition, according to a post-structuralism perspective, Peirce (1995) pointed out “society” and “culture” as two important factors of learning She also mentioned the relationship between the individual and society references

“social identity” and an ethnic group association referenced “cultural identify” As Stet and Burke (2000) put much of social identity theory deals with intergroup relations that is how people recognize themselves as one of members of groups in comparison with other groups The work on social identity is inspired by the works of four poststructuralists: Mikhail Bakhtin (1986), Pierre Bourdieu (1991), Gunther Kress (1993) and Christine Weeden

(1997) Bakhtin (1981) persuades the idea that language development is a matter of appropriating the world of others Pierre Bourdieu (1977) focuses on the importance of power in structuring speech and asserts that there are the unequal relationships between interlocutors Guither Kress (1989) mentions the theory of language as text within the context As a feminist poststructuralist, Weedon (1997) implied identity as the concept of subjectivity He concerns the conditions within the context She centralizes the role of language in the analysis of the relationship between the individual and the context Pierce (1995) draws on Weedon‟s concept of subjectivities and presents three characters of social identity: the multiple nature of identity, identity as a site of struggle, and identity as changing overtime which refers to the relationship between the individual and the larger social world

What is more, the factors of culture are defined the relationship between individual and context are combined as “outside the individual” and

“inside” as individual is identity of learners Individuals are considered and consider themselves as belonging to a context depending on how they come to see them (Falsafi, 2011) Regardless of how the terms are defined, second language acquisition of a personal struggle (identity) within a larger context (culture/ society) is a theme within identity – focused ( Nunan and Choi, 2010) And then, the opinions of post- structuralism paradigm, Noonan (2006) viewed identity as changeable, multiple, irrefutably social and potentially Identity construction of students as language learners is regarded by Luke

them take different positions in daily interactive behaviors and that the positions

“offer possibilities for difference, for multiple and hybrid subjectivities that human subjects make and remake ”(p.14) This means that teachers should listen to how learners express different identities as they employ diverse cultural and linguistic resources to construct knowledge in classroom

In Vietnam, the research about students‟ identity has been exploring Some of the domestic scholars have considered the concept of identity as the core matter of their research Ha (2008) also reviewed the literature on definitions of identity as “multiple, dynamic and hybrid” She also mentioned the relationship between language, culture and identity and related conceptual tools in order to understand different processes of identity formation This view is similar to Nguyen (2008), Le and Phan ( 2013), Chau ( 2014) According to which identity is considered as multiple, shifting, and in conflict What is more, Phuong (2018) had a journal about learners‟ identity

in studying second language, she highlighted learner‟s identity which is originated from learning experiences and academic performance, may direct either component or problematic behaviors in learning a L2 ( Wigfield & Wagner, 2007)

To sum up, many researches relating identity or students‟ identity have been studied However, The constructions of Hmong students‟ identity in studying English at a mountainous area are the different points in my research

1.4 Chapter summary

This chapter has reviewed the literature on students‟ identity Especially, ethnic identity is expressed clearly As disclosed by literature, identity and foreign language have closed relationship The construction of learners‟ identity is dynamic process which involves numerous factors Furthermore, contextual elements play an important part in learners‟ identity construction

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

2.1 The context of the study

This study was conducted in Bac Ha (BH) high school, which is located

in Bac Ha, Lao Cai This school began its operation in 1966 There were approximately 54 teachers and 860 students, with 82, 3 % ethnic students, Hmong students accounted for 65 % of the school‟s student population At

BH high school, the teaching and learning of studying English followed the program of government text book and supported with available facilities such

as computers and Internet access in the school, and story and picture books at the library Students were encouraged to make full use of such plenty activities such as English club, outdoor activities

The cases

The cases in this study were Vang, Sung, Ly (pen names), who are of

Hmong ethnicity They were 15 years old, grade 10 students Vang, Sung, Ly grew up from a small mountainous village in Bac Ha district, the north of Lao Cai, Vietnam Vang is the oldest child in a family of five children, three boys and two girls Sung is the second girl of six children, three boys and three girls Ly is the second girl of nine children, 4 girls and five boys, her sister suicide 5 years ago because of being sold to China All of them were born in very poor family with crowded children Their parents were farmers The family depended on farm work and selling handmade products for a living In order to feed themselves, all members of family had to do a number of peripheral jobs such as producing and selling rice, doing many handmade such as sewing and embroidering brocade clothes and handkerchiefs and scarfs They also raised pigs, chickens, buffalos Vang, Sung, Ly and their brothers and sisters, in additions to doing housework, also worked in the field,

climbed the mountain to find wood, fruit, also participated in the family businesses by feeding the pigs and selling the handmade products Despite the hard work and unfavorable living conditions, the children still tried to go to school and study

Her parents never pushed their children to study Perhaps, they wanted their children to stop studying and stay at home to help them work for money Their parents worked all day and did not have much time to tend their children‟s studies These children had to work a lot, while schooling

Despite this, they learned English well So, the question is that hHhow

do H‟mong students construct and/or develop their identities in the process of learning English as a school subject? These were the motivating questions driving the study reported here

2.2 Data collection methods

We use narrative to construct and express meaning in daily life which

is the same as a system of understanding White (1981) argues that the story is

a human ability to be born; he emphasized the nature of passion through which people bring experience with meaning Similarly, Bruner (1990) asserts

that the story is "a system under which everyone organizes their experience, knowledge about and dealing with the social world " (p 35) Polkinghorne (1988) adds that narrative is "the main diagram by means of which man existence is rendered meaningful "(p.11), he added "We live in the story, tell

it and reassess the meaning of our past actions, predicting the outcome of our future projects Similarly, Ochs & Capps (1996) states, "Narrative activity provides Traders have the opportunity to impose the order Events are disconnected and created Continuing between past, present and imagined the world "(p 19) Briefly, it is through narrative that we represent and restructure our world and our everyday life

This study uses narratives to research Hmong students‟ identity construction in learning English because of the following reasons:

Firstly, narratives in research are used as the instrument tool to find out the nature of HSI in addressing the broader issues connected with language learning as well as in identifying the interplay of the various factors that could influence the language learning process These were applied in a variety of forms- diaries, life- history, journals, and language learning memoirs, on-line texts, and face – to – face interviews which were subjected to various kinds of analysis For instance, examining diaries offers insights into HS‟ private world on how they conceptualize their language learning experiences (Schumann, Bailey, 1983) Narratives collected through “talks” and

“conversations” with HS have opened pathways for me to gain a more comprehensive understanding on new theoretical constructs for studying language learning such as anxiety, emotions, investment, motivation, agency, power, and, of course, identity (Norton, 2000; Angelil-Carter, 1997) HS differences such as beliefs and learning strategies that have traditionally followed a more empirical approach have also been explored using narratives

as exemplified in the studies by Kalaja and Barcelos (2006) and Oxford and

Green (1996) Therefore narrative inquiry was attractive instruments that

helped to encapsulate the HS essence involved in language learning

Secondly, The inclusion of social, cultural and environmental

influences on experiences makes narrative inquiry particularly suitable for

research in identity that impact the person's experience These HS experiences

are captured in the living and telling of narratives, and can be studied by

listening, observing, reading and interpreting text Narrative inquiry is a way

to understand experience and a way to study experience (Clandinin,

2006, Clandinin, 2007, Clandinin, 2013, Clandinin and Connelly, 2000)

2.2.2 Interviews

The interviews were initiated when Semi-structured was another

instrument to collect data for this study According to Golombek ( 1998) and

Johnson & Golombak ( 2002), face to face semi- structured interviews were

employed as a second source of data The former requires a “restorying”

process is the significant difference between narrative inquiry and thematic

analysis (Liu & Xu, 2011, p 591) In addition to follow – up questions that

were emailed to the participants and answered also through electronic

correspondence Thanks to face to face interviews, they had more immediate

environment to relive the experiences they had previous encountered The

meetings revealed considerable development in her identity

The interviews were done to investigate people's views in greater depth

(Kvale, 1996; 2003) With the use of data, the „quality‟ and „nature‟ of how

people behave, experience and understand are explored and described and

link people's actions to their beliefs That is, the value of interviewing is not

only because it builds a holistic snapshot, analyses words, reports detailed

views of informants; but also because it enables interviewees to “speak in

Field Code Changed Field Code Changed Field Code Changed Field Code Changed

their own voice and express their own thoughts and feelings” (Berg, 2007: 96) Moreover, interviewing, as well as other qualitative approaches to social science research, differs from quantitative methods in the sense of its ability

to analyze the resulting data making an allowance for participants' social life

In this research I interviewed three Hmong female students who are studying grade 10 at a mountainous high school

To sum up, the current study adopted a qualitative approach to address the research questions in the preceding chapter With the aim to explore the Hmong students‟ identity construction, the research based itself on entries that also written from the participants‟ reflections of their studying and life Questions and interviews were followed up to verify ambiguous display of thoughts to expose deeper layers of the participants‟ psychological process These instruments, alongside the combination of psychological, biographical and social perspective are used to increase the triangulation of the research data

Data collection

The three cases in this study were chosen purposefully I knew them through my visit to their schools I learned that they were of H‟mong ethinicity and they learned English well I told them the purpose of my study and they were willing to share their stories

First I asked them to write a narrative telling how they were learning English and why they were learning English that way Then after I had analysed theeir stories, I invited them to face-to-face interviews I informed them of the topics of the interviews without specific questions in advance ( see interview questions in Appendix A)

2.3 Data analysis procedures

Narratives are mainly used by combining interviews with text elicitation technique Instead of answering the interview questions,

participants write and speak about their experiences, through questions were asked, I could deepen their information

General questions regarding each participant‟s history of learning English ( e.g., when they started to learn English, why they started learning English at that time, their initial feelings about learning English, ect.) were first given to the participants They were then asked to detail their stories of learning English Depending on the responses received from each participant, further conversation was conducted with individual participants over an extended period of time of two weeks Although they were guiding questions for the interview, not all questions were predetermined Rather, they emerged

in the process of data collection and communication

In analyzing the data, the participants‟ responses were read, and relevant information that fully represents the story of their learning English was selected The information includes how they learned English inside and outside the school and their feeding about themselves when they were able to express themselves in English Although subjectivity unavoidably affected

my selection of the information in the data analysis process, it also showed

me to elicit more insights from the participants on their language learning construction

2.4 Chapter summary

This chapter has given information on the context of learning English

in Vietnam and the case of the study The research approach and the procedures of collecting and analyzing the data have been also clarified This

is a qualitative case study that employed narratives and interviews as main instruments of data collection The findings of the study are presented in Chapter Three that follow

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

There are two parts in this chapter Part one presents the findings and lists them into different categories with their identities in particular times and places Part two discusses these findings using the theoretical framework proposed by Wenger (1998) as well as the reviewed literature

3.1 Findings

Vang’s story

Vang was born in a mountainous area in the highland of northern Vietnam She started to learn English when she was 10 She had known some little English before going to school She expressed interest in traveling aboard in the future

taught me some simple English Pidgin When I began learning English, I did not learn English well, but I dreamed of traveling aboard at the first of meeting foreigners”

She found that one of the requirements for chances to travel aboard was competence in English English became her favorite subject and she decided

to work hard on it She believed that

“English is an international language, which is primarily used almost any field such as sport, navigation, business, etc The person who does not have quite a good command of English is a great disadvantage in terms of employability in comparison with those who have”

In addition to her learning at school, she met a lot of difficulties in learning English At high school, it seems that all students were usually studied to follow the ways of solving the tasks Especially, teachers instruct their students to focus on the tests for examination such as writing and

reading Other language skills including listening and speaking were overlooked

“I had hardly chance to learn to speak English and only listened to native speakers talking on cassette tapes or computers I had chance to learn grammar, but I could not spoke a full sentences when combining vocabulary and grammar I only have chance to practice reading words or sentences in an exercise”

Evenly, they followed the old syllabus beginning from the grade 6 which was abandoned due to lack of teachers, even they had to communities with teachers and friends in Vietnamese, also their second language They found it hard to integrate into the practice of new language through another language

“The first time I really felt difficulties in studying how to write vocabulary and listening although I had spoken English Pidgin before Most

of things what teachers said, they could not understand The most I could do was to catch some words, which did not help me much I always had to turn to

my friends to ask what she said” What is more, she also said that she felt overwhelmed and suffered for months before she was able to make use of the advantages of having so many friends to learn from

From these difficulties, she tried her best to overcome all Gradually, she was fond of learning English She is learnt skills such as grammar, listening and speaking Almost everything she said in the class is in English, she interact with their friends in English, with her and her classmates coming from other ethnic groups, for real life situation She pointed out that

“sometimes communication fails, gradually it will improve” With the guide from teachers, they passed the average mark though most of them communicate very smoothly in English; she could speak longer sentences and expressed her thinking easier