Twenty-sixth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

As we learn new skills and information, we construct and update our identities. Identity construction mediates how willing we are to engage, participate, and to learn through action. Learners’ identities can direct them to invest in practices which facilitate learning or to resist these practices. Previous research has focussed on contexts of migration in which economically and socially disadvantaged language learners enter primarily monolingual English-speaking environments. Despite the consequences for teaching methodology and learning theory, there has been a lack of investigation of language learning and identity in English-speaking contexts. Having English as an alternative avenue of communication has many implications for power dynamics between language learners and more proficient speakers, and for learners’ willingness to practice the language. This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data to report on the identities and investments of learners of German at an international university in Berlin, where English is often used as the working language. It discusses these learners’ identity construction in relation to the learning opportunities they are willing to create and use, as well as the social reasons for choosing to resist certain chances for learning. By working towards a deeper understanding of the social factors involved in English-speaking contexts, this paper advocates a teaching approach that encourages practices in which learners are invested, thus improving their learning outcomes.