Sense of self and language learning: Two Japanese learners’ stories
The LLED research seminar on Friday January 26, 10:30AM-12:00PM, Ponderosa Commons Oak House Multipurpose Room (Room 2012) will be presented by visiting scholar Dr. Akiko Nakayama from Saga University, Japan. All welcomed!
Abstract:
The experiences of study abroad can have profound effects on students’ identity (Kinginger, 2015). It is important to understand why and how this transformation occurs, not only for providing/reforming educational curriculum but also for individual language teachers, because understanding the learner’s “realm of meaning” (Polkinghorne, 1988) has implications for the teaching practice.
Adopting the position of “storyteller” rather than narrative analyst (Smith & Sparkes, 2006), I will introduce the interview-based stories of two Korean male undergraduate students who are majoring science and engineering in Rainbow University in western Japan. The two stories are contrasted. One participant, Hun, thinks his Japanese and Korean selves are different, and has a generally positive view of both. The other participant, Lee, also thinks his Japanese self and Korean one are different, but has positive view only of the Korean one.
In their stories, it is salient the success and failure of making Japanese-speaking friends network depend on how their Korean identity constructed in the network. I argue that in the process of making Japanese friends, participants had to navigate the discourses spread among Japanese young generation, include stereotypes of Koreans.
Attendees to the presentation will be invited to interpret the stories and discuss what makes this difference together. I wish to discuss the educational contribution of this stories together. All personal/ institutional names are pseudonyms.
Biostatement:
Akiko Nakayama is an Associate Professor of the Organization of General Education at Saga University Japan, where she enjoys teaching Japanese from threshold level to academic level. She also organizes a Japanese-language-based short term exchange student program designed for international students from affiliated universities around the world in Saga University. She also teaches production based intercultural communication class for Japanese and international students. She earned her Ph.D. at Osaka University, where she conducted research into language-learners’ sense of selves when they are using different languages through learner’s life stories. Her research interests are language learners’ life stories, critical applied linguistics, and qualitative research.
Her recent publications include a 2016 book, titled Sense of Self and Language Learning: Life Stories of Korean Students Studying in Japan, as well as a 2016 article (with Reiko KATO and Akemi KURACHI), What comes after the linguistic instrumentalism? Some cases in the US and Korea, and a chapter titled Meaning of narrating life stories, in a 2015 edited ebook titled Life Story Studies in Japanese Language Teaching – Listening and Writing Narratives (all in Japanese).
She is currently a visiting scholar in Language and Literacy Education at UBC where she is learning new perspective of language teaching and research with Prof. Ryuko Kubota.