A narrative inquiry into h’mong students’ identity construction in learning english

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 kiến tạo ngã học sinh Hmong việc học Tiếng Anh ) M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I) Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 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 kiến tạo ngã học sinh H’mong việc học Tiếng Anh ) M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I) Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Le Van Canh Hanoi – 2019 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and effort and it has not been submitted to any other university or institution wholly or partially Hanoi, January 2019 Mai Thị Bích Vượng 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 Rationale for the study Aim and objectives Significance of the study Research methods Scope of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of Identity 1.1.1 Identity 1.1.2 Learning identity 1.1.3 Racial and Ethnic Identities 1.2 Identity and foreign language learning 1.2.1 Identity as an educational tool 1.2.2 Relationship between identity and second/ foreign language learning 1.2.3 Identity construction and foreign language learning 1.3 Previous studies on second language learners‟ identity 1.4 Chapter summary CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 The context of the study 2.2 Data collection methods 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 Summary of findings 37 Limitation of the study and suggestions for further research 39 REFERENCES 40 APPENDICES 5548 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BHHS : Bac Ha high school HS : H‟mong students HIS : H‟mong students‟ identity PART I: INTRODUCTION 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 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:  How H‟mong students construct their identities in the process of learning English as a school subject? 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 Research methods A qualitative research approach was chosen for this study Data were collected by means of students‟ narratives and structured interviews 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 on the narrative research approach International Journal of Qualitative Methods 5(4), 1-11 42 29 Murray, G (2009) Narrative Inquiry In J Heigham & R.A Croker ( Eds), Qualitative research in applied linguistics: a practical introduction ( pp.45-65) New York: Palgrave Macmillan 30 Norton, B (1995) Social Identity, investment, and language learning TESOL Quarterly, 29 (1), 9-30 31 Norton, B (2006) Identity as a sociocultural construct in second language education In K Cadman & K O‟Regan (Eds.), Tales out of school: Special issue of TESOL in Context (pp 22-33) 32 Norton, B (2010) Identity, literacy, and English-language teaching TESL Canada Journal, 28(1), 1-13 Norton, B., & McKinney, C (2011) An identity approach to second language acquisition In D Atkinson (Ed.), Alternative approaches to second language acquisition (pp 73-94) 33 Norton, B (2001) Non-participation, imagined communities, and the language classroom In M Breen (Ed.), Learner contributions to language learning: New directions in research (pp.156- 171) Harlow: Pearson Education Norton, B & Kamal, F (2003) The imagined communities of English language learners in a Pakistani school Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, (4), 301-318 34 Norton, B., & Toohey, K (2001) Changing perspectives on good language learners TESOL Quarterly, 35(2), 307-322 Norton, B., & Toohey, K (2011) Identity, language learning, and social change Language Teaching, 44(4), 412-446 35 Nunan, D., & Choi, J (2010) Language and culture: Reflective narratives and the emergence of identity New York: Routledge 43 Formatted: Font color: Auto 36 Moua, M.Y (2014) Ethnic Socialization and Ethnic Identity: Examining Intergenerational Conflict as a Moderator Among Hmong American Adolescents University of WisconsinMilwaukee Theses and Dissertation Paper 507 Retrieved from http://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi? Field Code Changed article=1512&context=etd 37 Ochs, E & Capps, L (1996) Narrating the self Annual Review of Anthropology, 25, 19-43 38 Le Van Canh (2001) Language and Vietnamese pedagogical contexts Teacher‟s edition 39 Le Van Canh ( 2013) Native English speaking Teachers‟ construction of Professional Identity in an EFL Context: A case of Vietnam The journal of Asia TEFL, 10(1), 1-23 40 Le, T.T.H & Phan, L.H ( 2013) Pronlematizing the culture of learning English in Vietnam: revisiting teacher identity 248-264 41 Rattansi, A., & Phoenix, A ( 2005) Rethinking youh identities Modernist and postmodernist frameworks Identity:An international Journal of Theory and Reseach, 5, 97-123 42 Strauss A Corbin J (1990) Basics of qualitative research Grounded theory procedures and techniques Newbury Park: Sage Publications Strauss A Corbin J (1998) Basics of qualitative research techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory Second edition Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications 43 White, H (1981) The value of narrativity in the representation of reality In On Narrative Ed 44 WJT Mitchell Formatted: Font color: Auto Chicago: University of Chicago Press 44 Phan Le Ha, ( 2008), eaching English as an International Language: Identity, Resistance and Negotiation New Perspectives on Language and Education Multilingual Matters ( Formatted: Font color: Auto Formatted: Font color: Auto Formatted: Font color: Auto Formatted: Font color: Auto 45 Phan, H.L ( 2008) Teaching English as an international language: Identity, resistance and negotiation Clevedon: Multilingual matters 47 P h i l l i p s o n , R ( 9 ) L i ngustic imperialism Oxford, England: Oxford university Press 48 Polkinghorne, D E (1995) Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis, in: J A Hatch & R Wisniewski (Eds) Life History and Narrative, pp 5–24 (London: Falmer Press) 49 Valdes, J.M.: 1986, Culture Bound: Bridging the Cultural Gap in Formatted: Font color: Auto Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England 50 Veikou, Th (1999) Ethnicism and ethnic identity Athens: Greek Letters 51 Spickard, P R (1992) The Illogic of American Racial Categories In Maria P.P Root (Ed), Racially mixed people in America Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc 52 Tsui, A.B.M 2007) Complexities of identity foramtion: A narative inqury of an EF teacher TESOL Quarterly, 41 (4, 657-680 53 Richards J, Platt J, & Weber H (1985) Longman Dictionary of 45 Applied England: Longman 54 Xu, H (2013) From the imagined to be practice: a case study on novice Formatted: Font color: Auto EFL teacher‟s professional identity change in China Teaching and Teacher education, 31, 79-86 55 Wenger, E (1998) Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 56 Wigfield, A & Wagner, A L (2007) Competence, motivation, and identity development during adolescence In A J Elliot & C S Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp 222-39) New York: The Guilford Press 57 Wenger, E ( 1998) Communities of practice: :Learning, meaning and identity Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press 58 Yin, R ( 2003) Application of case study research ( 2nd ed.) 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sociocultural studies of identity In H Daniels, M Cole, & J V Wertsch (Eds.), The Cambridge companion to Vygotsky Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press (pp 101e135) 44 Luke, A (1996) “Text and Discourse in Education: An Introduction to Critical Disourse Analysis.” http:// www.jstor.org/ p - 48 45 Mads Jakob Kirkebæk, Xiang-Yun Du, Annie Aarup Jensen ( 2013) Field Code Changed Teaching and Learning Culture: Negotiating the Context Springer Science & Business Media P 124-125 Field Code Changed 46 Menard-Warwick, J (2009) Gendered identities and immigrant language learning Clevedon: Multilingual Matters 47 Miller, J (2003) Audible differences: ESL and social identity in schools Clevendon: Multilingual Matters 48 Moen, T (2006) Reflections on the narrative research approach International Journal of Qualitative Methods 5(4), 1-11 49 Murray, G (2009) Narrative Inquiry In J Heigham & R.A Croker ( Eds), Qualitative research in applied linguistics: a practical introduction ( pp.45-65) New York: Palgrave Macmillan 50 Norton, B (1995) Social Identity, investment, and language learning TESOL Quarterly, 29 (1), 9-30 51 Norton, B (2006) Identity as a sociocultural construct in second language education In K Cadman & K O‟Regan (Eds.), Tales out of school: Special issue of TESOL in Context (pp 22-33) 52 Norton, B (2010) Identity, literacy, and English-language teaching TESL Canada Journal, 28(1), 1-13 Norton, B., & McKinney, C (2011) An identity approach to second language acquisition In D Atkinson (Ed.), Alternative approaches to second language acquisition (pp 73-94) 53 Norton, B (2001) Non-participation, imagined communities, and the 50 Field Code Changed language classroom In M Breen (Ed.), Learner contributions to language learning: New directions in research (pp.156- 171) Harlow: Pearson Education Norton, B & Kamal, F (2003) The imagined communities of English language learners in a Pakistani school Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, (4), 301-318 54 Norton, B., & Toohey, K (2001) Changing perspectives on good language learners TESOL Quarterly, 35(2), 307-322 Norton, B., & Toohey, K (2011) Identity, language learning, and social change Language Teaching, 44(4), 412-446 55 Nunan, D., & Choi, J (2010) Language and culture: Reflective narratives and the emergence of identity New York: Routledge 56 Moua, M.Y (2014) Ethnic Socialization and Ethnic Identity: Examining Intergenerational Conflict as a Moderator Among Hmong American Adolescents University of WisconsinMilwaukee Theses and Dissertation Paper 507 Retrieved http://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1512&context=etd 57 Ochs, E & Capps, L (1996) Narrating the self Annual Review of Anthropology, 25, 19-43 58 Le Van Canh (2001) Language and Vietnamese pedagogical contexts Teacher‟s edition 59 Le Van Canh ( 2013) Native English speaking Teachers‟ construction of Professional Identity in an EFL Context: A case of Vietnam The journal of Asia TEFL, 10(1), 1-23 60 Le, T.T.H & Phan, L.H ( 2013) Pronlematizing the culture of learning English in Vietnam: revisiting teacher identity 248-264 61 Rattansi, A., & Phoenix, A ( 2005) Rethinking youh identities 51 Modernist and postmodernist frameworks Identity:An international Journal of Theory and Reseach, 5, 97-123 62 Strauss A Corbin J (1990) Basics of qualitative research Grounded theory procedures and techniques Newbury Park: Sage Publications Strauss A Corbin J (1998) Basics of qualitative research techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory Second edition Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications 63 White, H (1981) The value of narrativity in the representation of reality In On Narrative Ed WJT Mitchell Chicago: University of Chicago Press 64 Dr Phan Le Ha, ( 2008), eaching English as an International Language: Field Code Changed Identity, Resistance and Negotiation New Perspectives on Language Field Code Changed and Education Multilingual Matters ( 65 Phan, H.L ( 2008) Teaching English as an international language: Identity, resistance and negotiation Clevedon: Multilingual matters 66 Polkinghorne, D (1988) Practice and narrative In D Polkinghorne Narrative knowing and the human sciences (pp157-184) NY: SUNY 67 Phillipson, R.(1992) Lingustic imperialism Oxford, England: Oxford university Press 68 Polkinghorne, D E (1995) Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis, in: J A Hatch & R Wisniewski (Eds) Life History and Narrative, pp 5–24 (London: Falmer Press) 69 Valdes, J.M.: 1986, Culture Bound: Bridging the Cultural Gap in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England 70 Veikou, Th (1999) Ethnicism and ethnic identity Athens: Greek Letters 71 Spickard, P R (1992) The Illogic of American Racial Categories In Maria P.P Root (Ed), Racially mixed people in America Newbury Park, 52 CA: Sage Publications, Inc 72 Tsui, A.B.M 2007) Complexities of identity foramtion: A narative inqury of an EF teacher TESOL Quarterly, 41 (4, 657-680 73 Richards J, Platt J, & Weber H (1985) Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics England: Longman 74 Xu, H (2013) From the imagined to be practice: a case study on novice EFL teacher‟s professional identity change in China Teaching and Teacher education, 31, 79-86 75 Wenger, E (1998) Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 76 Yinger, J M (1976) Ethnicity in Complex Societies In L A Coser and O N Larsen (eds.),The Uses of Controversy in Sociology New York: Free Press 77 Wigfield, A & Wagner, A L (2007) Competence, motivation, and identity development during adolescence In A J Elliot & C S Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp 222-39) New York: The Guilford Press 78 Wenger, E ( 1998) Communities of practice: :Learning, meaning and identity Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press 79 Yin, R ( 2003) Application of case study research ( 2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: sage 80 HmongNationalDevelopment,Inc.2010.Available http://www.vuenational.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/05/State-of-theHmong-American-Community-2013.pdf 53 54 APPENDICES Interview Questions Câu 1: Em bắt đầu học tiếng Anh từ nào? Câu 2: Lý em học tiếng Anh? Câu 3: Cảm nhận cá nhân việc học tiếng Anh thân mình, ( thích hay khơng thích, nào, sao?) Câu 4: Em tự đánh giá tiến / không tiến việc học Tiếng Anh, Lý đạt tiếng vậy? Câu 5: Trong trình học tiếng Anh, em gặp khó khăn gì? Em giải khó khăn nào? Câu 6: Ngồi học tiếng Anh lớp, em có học thêm Tiếng Anh đâu không? ( Mô tả kỹ lưỡng Vd học thêm nhà, trường, nhà thầy cô….?) Câu 7: Trong tương lai, em dự kiến học tiếng Anh, sử dụng tiếng Anh nào? Câu 8: Giả sử trường khơng có Tiếng Anh, em có học tiếng Anh khơng ? Vì sao? Câu 9: Em có ý định bỏ học / bỏ học Tiếng Anh không? Vì sao? Câu 10: Theo quan điểm riêng em, Làm để học giỏi tiếng Anh ? 55 ... 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... 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... 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,