Return migration from the United States to Mexico has been increasing in the last decade. Researc... more Return migration from the United States to Mexico has been increasing in the last decade. Research reports that many returnees, who are English dominant, drop out of school to look for work in call centers and transnational companies (Anderson, 2015). Others pursue higher education in English-based programs such as those for becoming English language teachers (Rivas Rivas, 2013). This article explores what role language ideologies have in the decision making of three returnees to pursue a degree in English language teaching (ELT) and how such language ideologies inform the participants’ bilingual identities and teaching practices. Findings suggest that while some ideologies held by participants and hiring entities in Mexico, such as linguistic imperialism and linguistic purism, give students an advantage in the workforce, they also generate a sense of otherness that can create barriers to social integration and implicit effects on how they view their language teaching capacities and practices.
Resumo: Os dados apresentados neste artigo provêm de um estudo realizado ao longo de dois anos, q... more Resumo: Os dados apresentados neste artigo provêm de um estudo realizado ao longo de dois anos, que examina as vidas de imigrantes transnacionais de adultos jovens, cujas famílias residem há vários anos nos Estados Unidos, sempre mantendo estreitos vínculos com seu país de origem, o México, até que decidiram ou foram forçados a voltar. Estes participantes aprenderam inglês como filhos de imigrantes mexicanos nos Estados Unidos. Por meio de uma abordagem narrativa, os resultados mostram como esses estudantes constroem suas identidades através de sentimentos ambivalentes em relação a ambos os países e como esta construção identitária molda seus interesses em tornarem-se professores de Inglês ou mesmo rejeitarem a língua,
Matthew T. Prior’s (2016) book Emotions and Discourse in L2 Narrative Research examines the affec... more Matthew T. Prior’s (2016) book Emotions and Discourse in L2 Narrative Research examines the affective dimensions of autobiographical interview research. Rather than discussing theoretical views only, this volume takes the reader into the arena of emotionality by analyzing the role of the interviewer and the impact it has on the interviewee and the interview data.
AbStrACt: A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicativ... more AbStrACt: A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicative competence when learning foreign languages. However, little do we know about how foreign language teachers help their learners to develop oral strategies that will enable them to cope with speaking problems on the fly and beyond the FL classroom. In this article we focused on a single oral communicative strategy that, we argue, has been neglected, in general, in foreign language classrooms. We present the findings of a research that focused on teaching fillers in FL classrooms in different teaching contexts and various FL classes. Las muletillas y el desarrollo de la competencia estratégica oral en el aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras reSumen: Se ha investigado bastante sobre cómo los estudiantes desarrollan la compe-tencia comunicativa durante el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras (LEs). Sin embargo, se sabe muy poco sobre cómo los profesores ayudan a sus estudiantes a desarrollar estrategias orales que les permitan enfrentar problemas que surgen en el momento de la comunicación y más allá del aula. En este artículo presentamos y discutimos los resultados de una investiga-ción acerca de la enseñanza de las muletillas en clases de LEs en diferentes contextos educa-tivos. Se concluye que la enseñanza de las muletillas ha sido descuidada en gran medida en los salones de lenguas extranjeras. Palabras clave: Muletillas, lenguas extranjeras, competencia comunicativa y competencia estratégica.
The objective of this research was to explore the effects of language brokering
upon identity for... more The objective of this research was to explore the effects of language brokering upon identity formation within the family unit of students who have lived in the United States for a period of time and have come back to live in Mexico. The participants are six students that are currently undertaking a BA in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) at a large public university in central Mexico. Findings from interviews, following a narrative approach, seem to show that these participants’ experiences as language brokers are highly valuable when they decide to become English teachers. Most of them decide to become English teachers because they want to help others to learn the language and bring those experiences into the classroom.
This paper explores the different factors that appear to affect the ongoing construction of secon... more This paper explores the different factors that appear to affect the ongoing construction of second language authorial identity in a professional academic environment in Mexico. Through narrative research methodology from a qualitative paradigm, the everyday struggles of two university professors to maintain their professional status in second language writing are explored. The areas of study for these two are chemistry and penal law. With data the learning processes of entering into a community of second language writers are studied as well as the problems they faced and how they resolved them. Finally, the process of negotiating an authorial identity in a second language seems to be a constant underlying struggle composed of a variety of psychological factors. En este artículo se exploran los diferentes factores que parecen impactar la construcción de identidad de autor permanente en un medio académico profesional en México. Esta búsqueda se da a través de la metodología narrativa desde un enfoque cualitativo de la lucha cotidiana de dos profesores por mantener su status profesional en la redacción en segunda lengua. Sus áreas de trabajo son química y derecho penal. Los datos recopilados permitieron explorar los procesos y problemáticas del ingreso a una comunidad de autores de segunda lengua. Finalmente, se ilustra cómo este proceso de la creación de una identidad de autor es una continua batalla que está compuesto de una gama de factores psicológicos. Palabras clave: identidad, lucha del escritor, narrativa, redacción en segunda lengua.
Razones de alumnos y maestros sobre el uso de la primera lengua en el salón de lenguas extranjera... more Razones de alumnos y maestros sobre el uso de la primera lengua en el salón de lenguas extranjeras (francés e inglés) en el centro de México The present study explores the use of the first language in a context of foreign language teaching. This qualitative research presents the classroom practice and points of view of French and English teachers and students within a public educational institute in central Mexico using the techniques of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The results show that teachers and the majority of students perceive the use of the first language as positive and part of the teaching and learning process. A small number of students do not like the use of the first language in the classroom and prefer that their teachers use the target language only. Key words: First language use, qualitative research, students and teachers' points of view. La presente investigación explora el uso de la lengua materna en un contexto de enseñanza de lenguas extran...
AbStrACt: A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicativ... more AbStrACt: A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicative competence when learning foreign languages. However, little do we know about how foreign language teachers help their learners to develop oral strategies that will enable them to cope with speaking problems on the fly and beyond the FL classroom. In this article we focused on a single oral communicative strategy that, we argue, has been neglected, in general, in foreign language classrooms. We present the findings of a research that focused on teaching fillers in FL classrooms in different teaching contexts and various FL classes. Las muletillas y el desarrollo de la competencia estratégica oral en el aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras reSumen: Se ha investigado bastante sobre cómo los estudiantes desarrollan la compe-tencia comunicativa durante el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras (LEs). Sin embargo, se sabe muy poco sobre cómo los profesores ayudan a sus estudiantes a desarrollar estrategias orales que les permitan enfrentar problemas que surgen en el momento de la comunicación y más allá del aula. En este artículo presentamos y discutimos los resultados de una investiga-ción acerca de la enseñanza de las muletillas en clases de LEs en diferentes contextos educa-tivos. Se concluye que la enseñanza de las muletillas ha sido descuidada en gran medida en los salones de lenguas extranjeras. Palabras clave: Muletillas, lenguas extranjeras, competencia comunicativa y competencia estratégica.
El uso de una tercera lengua (L3) se hizo evidente durante las observaciones que se realizaron a ... more El uso de una tercera lengua (L3) se hizo evidente durante las observaciones que se realizaron a los alumnos de Licenciatura en la Enseñanza del Español como Segundo Lengua (LEES) en la Universidad de Guanajuato. Es decir, se observó que una lengua que no era ni lengua meta, ni la lengua nativa de los profesores, ni de los alumnos era usada por el maestro como una estrategia de enseñanza. Este capítulo, presenta los resultados de un studio que exploró el uso de una tercera lengua como estrategia en el salón de clase de español como segunda lengua extranjera (ELE) en dos universidades mexicanas públicas: la Universidad de Guanajuato y al Universidad Veracruzana.
The complex socio-political relationship between Mexico and the United States has created for yea... more The complex socio-political relationship between Mexico and the United States has created for years the constant migration of Mexicans looking for the "American dream". This research sought to explore the process of identity construction of students of BA programs related to English language and English Language teaching who have had part of their schooling in the USA and have returned to Mexico. This phenomenon was explored in three different contexts: University of Chihuahua, University of Guanajuato, and University of Veracruz. These represent the north, central, and southern part of Mexico.
Return migration from the United States to Mexico has been increasing in the last decade. Researc... more Return migration from the United States to Mexico has been increasing in the last decade. Research reports that many returnees, who are English dominant, drop out of school to look for work in call centers and transnational companies (Anderson, 2015). Others pursue higher education in English-based programs such as those for becoming English language teachers (Rivas Rivas, 2013). This article explores what role language ideologies have in the decision making of three returnees to pursue a degree in English language teaching (ELT) and how such language ideologies inform the participants’ bilingual identities and teaching practices. Findings suggest that while some ideologies held by participants and hiring entities in Mexico, such as linguistic imperialism and linguistic purism, give students an advantage in the workforce, they also generate a sense of otherness that can create barriers to social integration and implicit effects on how they view their language teaching capacities and practices.
Resumo: Os dados apresentados neste artigo provêm de um estudo realizado ao longo de dois anos, q... more Resumo: Os dados apresentados neste artigo provêm de um estudo realizado ao longo de dois anos, que examina as vidas de imigrantes transnacionais de adultos jovens, cujas famílias residem há vários anos nos Estados Unidos, sempre mantendo estreitos vínculos com seu país de origem, o México, até que decidiram ou foram forçados a voltar. Estes participantes aprenderam inglês como filhos de imigrantes mexicanos nos Estados Unidos. Por meio de uma abordagem narrativa, os resultados mostram como esses estudantes constroem suas identidades através de sentimentos ambivalentes em relação a ambos os países e como esta construção identitária molda seus interesses em tornarem-se professores de Inglês ou mesmo rejeitarem a língua,
Matthew T. Prior’s (2016) book Emotions and Discourse in L2 Narrative Research examines the affec... more Matthew T. Prior’s (2016) book Emotions and Discourse in L2 Narrative Research examines the affective dimensions of autobiographical interview research. Rather than discussing theoretical views only, this volume takes the reader into the arena of emotionality by analyzing the role of the interviewer and the impact it has on the interviewee and the interview data.
AbStrACt: A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicativ... more AbStrACt: A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicative competence when learning foreign languages. However, little do we know about how foreign language teachers help their learners to develop oral strategies that will enable them to cope with speaking problems on the fly and beyond the FL classroom. In this article we focused on a single oral communicative strategy that, we argue, has been neglected, in general, in foreign language classrooms. We present the findings of a research that focused on teaching fillers in FL classrooms in different teaching contexts and various FL classes. Las muletillas y el desarrollo de la competencia estratégica oral en el aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras reSumen: Se ha investigado bastante sobre cómo los estudiantes desarrollan la compe-tencia comunicativa durante el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras (LEs). Sin embargo, se sabe muy poco sobre cómo los profesores ayudan a sus estudiantes a desarrollar estrategias orales que les permitan enfrentar problemas que surgen en el momento de la comunicación y más allá del aula. En este artículo presentamos y discutimos los resultados de una investiga-ción acerca de la enseñanza de las muletillas en clases de LEs en diferentes contextos educa-tivos. Se concluye que la enseñanza de las muletillas ha sido descuidada en gran medida en los salones de lenguas extranjeras. Palabras clave: Muletillas, lenguas extranjeras, competencia comunicativa y competencia estratégica.
The objective of this research was to explore the effects of language brokering
upon identity for... more The objective of this research was to explore the effects of language brokering upon identity formation within the family unit of students who have lived in the United States for a period of time and have come back to live in Mexico. The participants are six students that are currently undertaking a BA in TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) at a large public university in central Mexico. Findings from interviews, following a narrative approach, seem to show that these participants’ experiences as language brokers are highly valuable when they decide to become English teachers. Most of them decide to become English teachers because they want to help others to learn the language and bring those experiences into the classroom.
This paper explores the different factors that appear to affect the ongoing construction of secon... more This paper explores the different factors that appear to affect the ongoing construction of second language authorial identity in a professional academic environment in Mexico. Through narrative research methodology from a qualitative paradigm, the everyday struggles of two university professors to maintain their professional status in second language writing are explored. The areas of study for these two are chemistry and penal law. With data the learning processes of entering into a community of second language writers are studied as well as the problems they faced and how they resolved them. Finally, the process of negotiating an authorial identity in a second language seems to be a constant underlying struggle composed of a variety of psychological factors. En este artículo se exploran los diferentes factores que parecen impactar la construcción de identidad de autor permanente en un medio académico profesional en México. Esta búsqueda se da a través de la metodología narrativa desde un enfoque cualitativo de la lucha cotidiana de dos profesores por mantener su status profesional en la redacción en segunda lengua. Sus áreas de trabajo son química y derecho penal. Los datos recopilados permitieron explorar los procesos y problemáticas del ingreso a una comunidad de autores de segunda lengua. Finalmente, se ilustra cómo este proceso de la creación de una identidad de autor es una continua batalla que está compuesto de una gama de factores psicológicos. Palabras clave: identidad, lucha del escritor, narrativa, redacción en segunda lengua.
Razones de alumnos y maestros sobre el uso de la primera lengua en el salón de lenguas extranjera... more Razones de alumnos y maestros sobre el uso de la primera lengua en el salón de lenguas extranjeras (francés e inglés) en el centro de México The present study explores the use of the first language in a context of foreign language teaching. This qualitative research presents the classroom practice and points of view of French and English teachers and students within a public educational institute in central Mexico using the techniques of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The results show that teachers and the majority of students perceive the use of the first language as positive and part of the teaching and learning process. A small number of students do not like the use of the first language in the classroom and prefer that their teachers use the target language only. Key words: First language use, qualitative research, students and teachers' points of view. La presente investigación explora el uso de la lengua materna en un contexto de enseñanza de lenguas extran...
AbStrACt: A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicativ... more AbStrACt: A lot of research has been carried out on how students go about developing communicative competence when learning foreign languages. However, little do we know about how foreign language teachers help their learners to develop oral strategies that will enable them to cope with speaking problems on the fly and beyond the FL classroom. In this article we focused on a single oral communicative strategy that, we argue, has been neglected, in general, in foreign language classrooms. We present the findings of a research that focused on teaching fillers in FL classrooms in different teaching contexts and various FL classes. Las muletillas y el desarrollo de la competencia estratégica oral en el aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras reSumen: Se ha investigado bastante sobre cómo los estudiantes desarrollan la compe-tencia comunicativa durante el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras (LEs). Sin embargo, se sabe muy poco sobre cómo los profesores ayudan a sus estudiantes a desarrollar estrategias orales que les permitan enfrentar problemas que surgen en el momento de la comunicación y más allá del aula. En este artículo presentamos y discutimos los resultados de una investiga-ción acerca de la enseñanza de las muletillas en clases de LEs en diferentes contextos educa-tivos. Se concluye que la enseñanza de las muletillas ha sido descuidada en gran medida en los salones de lenguas extranjeras. Palabras clave: Muletillas, lenguas extranjeras, competencia comunicativa y competencia estratégica.
El uso de una tercera lengua (L3) se hizo evidente durante las observaciones que se realizaron a ... more El uso de una tercera lengua (L3) se hizo evidente durante las observaciones que se realizaron a los alumnos de Licenciatura en la Enseñanza del Español como Segundo Lengua (LEES) en la Universidad de Guanajuato. Es decir, se observó que una lengua que no era ni lengua meta, ni la lengua nativa de los profesores, ni de los alumnos era usada por el maestro como una estrategia de enseñanza. Este capítulo, presenta los resultados de un studio que exploró el uso de una tercera lengua como estrategia en el salón de clase de español como segunda lengua extranjera (ELE) en dos universidades mexicanas públicas: la Universidad de Guanajuato y al Universidad Veracruzana.
The complex socio-political relationship between Mexico and the United States has created for yea... more The complex socio-political relationship between Mexico and the United States has created for years the constant migration of Mexicans looking for the "American dream". This research sought to explore the process of identity construction of students of BA programs related to English language and English Language teaching who have had part of their schooling in the USA and have returned to Mexico. This phenomenon was explored in three different contexts: University of Chihuahua, University of Guanajuato, and University of Veracruz. These represent the north, central, and southern part of Mexico.
This chapter explores the understandings of the ELT (English Language Teaching) profession and th... more This chapter explores the understandings of the ELT (English Language Teaching) profession and the multiple issues involved in how people are seen as or not as ‘native/non-native’. It is based on a study conducted with Mexican, American and British teachers who work at a university in central Mexico. Using a narrative approach, I present a description of how a particular community of teachers and students, in a university’s language department in central Mexico, use identity, ethnicity and labelling to deal with the ‘native/non-native’ debate. Issues, such as the political Mexican-American relationship, physical appearance, pejorative terminology, and accent, emerged from the data as factors determining the participants’ personal and professional identities. The participants’ discourses of attachment and detachment reveal how they feel at times close to Mexico or the profession, but at other times are perceived as not being part of the community, no matter how many years they have been living in the country or how many years they have taught English.
Resumen En los últimos años, la crisis económica así como factores sociales y políticos han incre... more Resumen En los últimos años, la crisis económica así como factores sociales y políticos han incrementado la cantidad de migrantes de retorno. Según el Censo del 2010 del Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI) [1] y estudios realizados por el Consejo Nacional de Población en el 2013 (CONAPO) [2], Guanajuato se encuentra entre los cuatro estados de la república con el mayor porcentaje de migrantes de retorno. El flujo continuo de migrantes ha dado origen a una generación de jóvenes estudiantes que son considerados " ni de aquí, ni de allá " [3]. La presente investigación se concentra en las historias de vida de cuatro migrantes de retorno que radican en diferentes puntos del estado de Guanajuato, y que actualmente son alumnos de la Licenciatura en la Enseñanza del Inglés en la Universidad de Guanajuato, Campus Guanajuato. El análisis narrativo de las historias de vida, fue facilitado por tres etapas en las que se utilizaron diferentes técnicas de recolección de datos. A través de estos datos, se procedió a identificar los incidentes críticos en las experiencias académicas de los migrantes. En la discusión de los resultados, los incidentes críticos son construidos en conjunto a través de la voz del narrador y de los participantes. Abstract The economic crisis along with social and political factors have incremented the amount of returning migrants in recent years. According to the 2010 INEGI (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática) [1] Census and studies conducted by the CONAPO in 2013 (Consejo Nacional de Población) [2], Guanajuato has been placed among the top four states in Mexico with the highest percentage of returning migrants. This continuous flux of migrants has brought with it a young generation of students that are considered " ni de aquí, ni de allá " [3]. The present project focuses on the life stories of four returnees living in different parts of the state of Guanajuato. All of the participants in this project are current students of the BA in TESOL of the University of Guanajuato, Campus Guanajuato. The narrative analysis of the life stories consisted of three different stages of data collection. Through the data, critical incidents were identified in the academic experiences of the returnees. In the discussion of the results, critical incidents are co-constructed through the narrative voice of the researcher and the participants. Furthermore, implications for the study of critical incidents in the academic experiences of returnees are discussed.
This paper explores the different factors that appear to affect the on-going construction of seco... more This paper explores the different factors that appear to affect the on-going construction of second language authorial identity in a professional academic environment in Mexico. Through narrative research methodology from a qualitative paradigm, the everyday struggles of two university professors to maintain their professional status in second language writing are explored. The areas of study for these two are chemistry and penal law. With data the learning processes of entering into a community of second language writers are studied as well as the problems they faced and how they resolved them. Finally, the process of negotiating an authorial identity in a second language seems to be a constant underlying struggle composed of a variety of psychological factors.
This study aimed at exploring the processes of teacher socialization and identity formation of ni... more This study aimed at exploring the processes of teacher socialization and identity formation of nine English as a foreign language teachers at public schools in central Mexico. These teachers began their careers in the National English Program in Basic Education. Qualitative research and narrative inquiry were used as a basis for this research. The data revealed that the teachers' socialization was somewhat informal in that little was required from them to gain entrance into the program. Once teaching, the participants dealt with challenges in their teaching contexts and the program. From these challenges, the teachers were able to make decisions concerning their future as teachers, forming and imagining their identity.
This study aimed at exploring the processes of teacher socialization and identity formation of ni... more This study aimed at exploring the processes of teacher socialization and identity formation of nine English as a foreign language teachers at public schools in central Mexico. These teachers began their careers in the National English Program in Basic Education. Qualitative research and narrative inquiry were used as a basis for this research. The data revealed that the teachers' socialization was somewhat informal in that little was required from them to gain entrance into the program. Once teaching, the participants dealt with challenges in their teaching contexts and the program. From these challenges, the teachers were able to make decisions concerning their future as teachers, forming and imagining their identity.
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Papers by Irasema Mora Pablo
upon identity formation within the family unit of students who have lived in
the United States for a period of time and have come back to live in Mexico.
The participants are six students that are currently undertaking a BA in TESOL
(Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) at a large public
university in central Mexico. Findings from interviews, following a narrative
approach, seem to show that these participants’ experiences as language brokers
are highly valuable when they decide to become English teachers. Most of them
decide to become English teachers because they want to help others to learn the
language and bring those experiences into the classroom.
upon identity formation within the family unit of students who have lived in
the United States for a period of time and have come back to live in Mexico.
The participants are six students that are currently undertaking a BA in TESOL
(Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) at a large public
university in central Mexico. Findings from interviews, following a narrative
approach, seem to show that these participants’ experiences as language brokers
are highly valuable when they decide to become English teachers. Most of them
decide to become English teachers because they want to help others to learn the
language and bring those experiences into the classroom.