This study seeks to understand how queer language learners negotiate their sexual identities in the second language as they enter a target community with NSs. I examine the identity construction in talk by two gay Thai English language... more
This study seeks to understand how queer language learners negotiate their sexual identities in the second language as they enter a target community with NSs. I examine the identity construction in talk by two gay Thai English language learners and two native English-speaking gay Asian Americans. Informed by Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory of community of practice, I explore how each participant created, displayed, and negotiated their identity in this community. Informed by membership category analysis (MCA) in conjunction with conversational analysis (CA), I show that the participants’ individual identities play a central role in the type of language that they use and acquire within the context of a broader social identity. Identity And Cultural Capital Studies in second language acquisition have shown that identity is an important aspect in language learning, yet researchers have not yet been able to conceptualize comprehensively the relationship between the language learner and ...
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This study seeks to understand how queer language learners negotiate their sexual identities in the second language as they enter a target community with NSs. I examine the identity construction in talk by two gay Thai English language... more
This study seeks to understand how queer language learners negotiate their sexual identities in the second language as they enter a target community with NSs. I examine the identity construction in talk by two gay Thai English language learners and two native English-speaking gay Asian Americans. Informed by Lave and Wenger's (1991) theory of community of practice, I explore how each participant created, displayed, and negotiated their identity in this community. Informed by membership category analysis (MCA) in conjunction with conversational analysis (CA), I show that the participants' individual identities play a central role in the type of language that they use and acquire within the context of a broader social identity.
This case study examines the classroom participation of a Korean queer (transgender) learner of English as a second language at a language institute for international adult students in the United States. To understand the dynamics of this... more
This case study examines the classroom participation of a Korean queer (transgender) learner of English as a second language at a language institute for international adult students in the United States. To understand the dynamics of this learner's participation, we focus on how she constructed gender identity and learner identity in interaction. Our analysis indicates that although the class content was not designed to elicit biographic information from students, this learner agentively managed her gender identity expression, which, at times, was met with challenge by her peers. As a second language learner, she self-positioned both as a lazy student and an effective language user – contradictory positionings that might be explained by the disconnection between the class content and the cultural capital that she sought to gain. Our study extends research on investment in second language learning by examining identity positioning in actual discourses and by linking classroom interaction and the learner's experiences outside of the classroom. The analysis can also inform researchers and teachers about the complexities and nuances of gender identity construction and negotiation in classroom discourse.