The Construction of Social Identity

I found these articles very interesting because I feel everyone is unique and capable of changing their identity. It is evident that different factors affect their identity formation. The affective filter is so important for teachers to not only understand, but to take action with. When I studied abroad in Spain, I had a very low affective filter. I was highly motivated to succeed and conquer the Spanish language and my host family was extremely supportive of my language abilities. I felt completely comfortable speaking and practicing Spanish around them. That is the type of classroom environment I want to have when I am a teacher- one that is accepting and engaging. Krashen states that comprehensible input in the presence of a low affective filter is a major causal variable in second language acquisition. The information presented to the child should not be "too easy" nor "too hard" but rather intellectually stimulate them enough to spark motivation and knowledge growth. Norton's article on Social Identity also stated that even if learners have a high affective filter, they still must invest in the target language to speak it. This investment must be understood as it relates to the mutiple, changing, contradictory identities of these language learners.

One thing I really want to encourage my students to do is claim their rights to speak in the L2 outside of the classroom. The smaller the distance between language learners and the target group language speakers, the better. These social interactions are so crucial and insightful and really allows children to practice what they are learning in the classroom and begin applying it to the real world to see how much it pays off (thus hopefully lowering their affective filters!)

All this being said, I think it would be beneficial to list out the objectives Norton referenced in his article:
1. Investigate opportunities to interact with target language speakers.
2. Reflect critically on engagement with target language speakers. (what happened? why? how?)
3. Reflect on oberservations in diaries or journals. (while developing writing skills!)
4. Pay attention to and record unusual events. (what made these interactions unusual? cultural differences? social context?)
5. Compare data with fellow students and researchers. (collaboration and meaningful exchange of info!)

Norton's Language and Identity article had even more interesting ideas. I liked what he said about how a learner that is engaged in textual practices (comprehension and construction of the text) is mediated by the learner's investment in the activity and the learner's identity. This really caught my attention because I recently helped start a bilingual Reader's Theater program at a recent school. I feel the students will greatly benefit from it- both in their literacy skills and confidence skills. Acting out a script will allow them to express themselves and learn how it feels, which in turn will help them linguistically I hope!

Norton talked a lot about immigration and how assimilation looks more like secularization sometimes (with religion, for example). I think it is very important that we guard our words and make others feel completely welcome and free to express and share their opinions! Early Asian immigrants didn't see American culture as something that belonged to them and they didn't see how they could contribute to it. I find this extremely sad because their rich culture has so much to offer! No one should feel like an outsider. Another sad but fascinating fact Norton brought up was how national identity was negotiable for European immigrants but non-negotoable for members of racial minorities. I feel we still have such problems circulating the US. English was so often viewed as the key to assimilation, but is Americanization all that it is cut out to be? Perhaps there is more to other cultures than we even want to dare consider. Looking back in time, we may never know which memoirs were never even published. It is likely that only the "happy linguistic assimilation" stories were told. Links between language and identity that are depicted, or deleted, in immigrant autobiographies are critically influenced by sociohistorical contexts where the authors learned and used their languages to produce the narratives, says Norton.

Too often, Americans prefer to Americanize foreigners and keep them at a safe distance, distinguishing "us" from "them." Norton says, "There is a reinforced link between monolinguialism and Americanness that prompted late 20th century immigrant writers to see second language learning as painful to negotiate their linguistic identities and defend or give up their right or even desire to be bilingual." That is not how I want my students to feel.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Norton's articles on the construction of social identity. There is always a lot of information brought up to me that makes me want to continue to strive to be the best, most competent bilingual educator I can be!