Language acquisition and learners’ cultural Identity：A qualitative study of students in Beijing Foreign Studies University_参考网
Language acquisition and learners’ cultural Identity：A qualitative study of students in Beijing Foreign Studies University
李红青Abstract：With massive internal migration from villages or little towns to big modern cities in China， students are facing significant changes of cultural identity， which may influence their language acquisition in the new environment. This paper aims to investigate the nature of these problems through a case study format and will elucidate some of the difficulties for language teaching and social peace for future in-depth studies.Key words：acquisition1. IntroductionThe vast majority of the literature on “identity and language learning” is now emanating from the United States and most European countries.
This is because these two societies are in a significant turmoil because of huge “transfers of populations” between and amongst them. The rapid and seemingly uncontrolled internal and international migration， exchanges of populations， and cultural clashes is exacerbated by the lack of intercultural understanding and lingering prejudices of many ethnicities （tribes） and are barriers to integration. Some of the problems arising from these waves of migration have roots in gender， religion， color and poverty which hinder cultural integration and result in difficulties in social stability and often interferes with the processes of acculturation， social harmony and even language acquisition.Most of these discussions of identity are not totally relevant to China which is also experiencing a horizontal （migrants） and vertical （upwardly mobile） population transfers through travel， increased wealth and education but is directly related to personal identity issues since there are massive numbers of migrants moving from the small village/ little town to large metropolitan areas for various reasons. This paper will discuss the nature of these problems through a case study format and will elucidate some of the difficulties for language teaching and social peace.There is a lot research on learners self-identity and second language acquisition among students who are studying abroad， but the study of learners self-identity and second language acquisition within China has been almost left untouched， which reflects the significance of this study.2. Literature ReviewThe subject of cultural identity has been well-discussed in scientific areas such as anthropology， psychology and sociology. Norton （2000） defines identity in the following：I use the term identity to reference how a person understands his or her relationship to the world， how that relationship is constructed across time and space， and how the person understands possibilities for the future.
However， the post structuralist view on identity posits that the self is placed within the domains of subjectivity （Weedon， 1997）， in that the concept of the self and ones identity is considered relational to ones socio-political milieu. The international literature divides students into various categories， but， in the authors opinion， students cultural identity has become more “hidden” in the analysis of factors such as urban/rural， traditional/modern and self-esteem issues stemming from their early childhood training. The crucial problem of “identities” is often the result of massive migration from small villages or towns to big， sophisticated cities and the evolution of the nation from a traditional， agricultural economy into a world economic power. Therefore， this paper focuses on the changes in students identity and the hidden factors such as， gender， culture， religion， motivation， self-esteem and motivation to move through the ladder of success in modern society. These factors impact the acquisition of language learning since “when boundaries expand and markers change， individuals must reconstruct their identities and re-negotiate their place in the larger society” （Liu， 2015）.All in all， as Leveridge （2008） implies， there is an intrinsic relationship between language， culture and identity， and language is used to express ones identity and culture since “language is essentially rooted in the reality of the culture， the tribal life and custom of a people，” （Malinowski， 1994， p. 5）. Thus “ones identity has a major influence on how they perceive others， their self-esteem， self-confidence， aspirations， motivations and effort expended in various aspects of their life （Smith， Walker， Fields， Brookins &Seay， 1999） especially in the acquisition of language”.3. MethodologyIn order to examine these issues in a qualitative research project， I have interviewed seven students with the purpose of eliciting their concepts of “self-identity” and its relationship to their academic and social performance. The method of this research was based on the design of a 14-point （questions） schedule which was used in a telephone interview with the interviewees.4. ParticipantsThe participants are provincials from other cities or villages and who are studying in Beijing Foreign Studies University. The age of the participants is between 20-40. Three male students and four female students. One female student is Uighur from Xinjiang Province and the rest are Han.
5. Data collectionThis qualitative study has been conducted through interviews. The author invited participants who have been willing to share their experiences with the author. The author has given sufficient instructions in Mandarin.
Sometimes the author has utilized the aid of a competent minority language speaker so that misunderstandings were kept to a minimum.6. Analysis of respondents interviewIn order to provide deep-insight results for the readers， this research has used a qualitative method that is known as “content analysis” and has been carried out through interviews to “identify the specific characteristics of a body of material with the purpose of identifying patterns， themes or biases that will help understand in-depth feelings” （Nonyei， 2007， pp. 34-43）. The data have been analyzed based on the constant comparative method of qualitative data analysis （Miles and Huberman， 1994）.（1） Student AStudent A is a 21-year-old girl who comes from a village in Xinjiang Province.
She is a fourth year undergraduate in Beijing Foreign Studies University. This analysis is a narrative report of our telephone interview. Her family financial situation is not very good – just enough for making a living. The family is very traditional Muslim. At the beginning， she felt it was very difficult to “handle” since she is the youngest in her family and she had very few “social skills”. She said “I feel that coming to Beijing is not to learn knowledge but to learn how to live and work”.
These difficulties didnt hurt her because she came to Beijing to study in BeiWai. She told me， “I just didnt want to submit to the tradition.
I had got my chance and won the right to go to BeiWai to study.
Why should it be forbidden？” This strong “will” has become a strong motivation which has made her one of the top students in her language classes.
As Tarhan （2014） stated “motivation has been regarded as a key element of language learning since the last three decades.”
However， she does experience culture changes from her hometown where every woman must wear the hijab.
It is forbidden in BeiWai which made her feel uncomfortable. Since cultural identity has been defined as the “essence of ones self， comprising beliefs， values and worldviews of a group within which such knowledge is shared” （Adler， 1977）， interference in these values can cause an identity problem. She added， “ I decided to learn Malay rather than English because Malaysia is also a Muslim country in which people have the same traditions and religion as that in my hometown， so I feel comfortable to learn Malay.” Although she broke with her family， she still carries her tradition and religion， which influenced her decision in choosing a second foreign language.
（2） Student BStudent B is 25-year-old girl who comes from a little town in An Hui Province and is studying for an MA degree in English Education. She said， “My family is not rich， I mean， just enough for making a living， and it is relatively traditional but my parents usually listen to my ideas and when I told them that I wanted to go to Beiwai to study for a Masters degree， they would not say anything and just let me go.” Her family is not as tradition as student A， so it was very easy for her to come to Beiwai. Nevertheless， she has academic learning problems because of a lack of social and cultural experience. “I feel pretty incompetent during the class and I dont know how to write my assignments... because most of my classmates are more experienced and competent than me， and I feel I cannot keep up with them. There are a lot of things that I dont know.”
Deficiency in social and cultural experience has hindered her performance and second language acquisition， and makes her feel inferior to her classmate， which is because “language is essentially rooted in the reality of the culture， the tribal life and custom of a people，” （Malinowski， 1994， p. 5）.（3） Student CStudent C is an over 30- year- old woman， who is studying in the first year for the master degree in Beiwai. She comes from traditional and middle income family in a small village in Henan Province. She is a Buddhist and doesnt like the life in Beijing because the pace of life is too fast. “I see people are all busy with their own business， which is very different from the life in my hometown： teachers in Beiwai are strict and I feel very lonely.” Liu （2015） has pointed out that “when boundaries expand and markers change， individuals must reconstruct their identities and re-negotiate their place in the larger society，” which means she has to adjust herself in order to fit into the modern city. “The reason to study in Beiwai is to improve my English and find a better job” she said， which shows her low motivation in learning English as a result she performed badly in her learning “ I feel that it is very difficult to learn English and I always got low scores，” she said sadly. “I am very incompetent during the class and I think the questions are quite difficult and I am not confident to answer because I am a Buddhist and I like quiet life and I dont like to compete with others” she added.
As Bowker （2002） claims， religion has played a part in all known societies （Bowker， 2002） and it influence learners second language acquisition often negatively.
（4） Student DStudent D is at her early fortys and she comes from a small， poor and remote village in Hei Longjiang Province. Her family members are all illiterate peasants. She had terrible time at the beginning when she came to Beijing， “ I even did not dare to take the subway because I was afraid that I would never come up on the street again，” she said amazingly. “With a magnificent desire for English， I quickly melted into the English world and I integrated myself in the modern society. It was very easy for me to accept some new knowledge because I didnt have any cultural baggage to dump.” It is true that learners can learn better without cultural baggage. As an old saying goes， “An empty glass is easy to be filled up.” “the only reason that I came to Beijing is to study English in Beiwai.” She is highly motivated， which leads to great success in her learning. As Tarhan （2014） stated “motivation has been regarded as a key element of language learning since the last three decades.” motivation is not the only factor that effect language acquisition but it is very important to overcome difficulties and successfully achieve a language.（5） Student EStudent E is a more than 30-year-old male who comes from a middle-class family in the capital city of Qinghai Province.
He is studying in the MA degree program of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics in BeiWai.
He also grew up in a traditional family. He did not have too much of a problem in adjusting to the large city of Beijing because his hometown is also a large city. However， he is suffering from a problem of associating with women students which can be defined as a gender problem. “I feel very lonely because there are too many girls and too few men” – a situation which he had previously not encountered. “I think it is very uncomfortable to talk to females”， he said.
“I am an extrovert among my male friends but I seldom talk during class since I am a man who is different from the females”. Gender is among the most salient of identity categories in the study literature （Kinginger， 2013， p 348）. His self-identity as a man hints at his language learning ability – especially in a “world of women”. “I feel that I am pretty incompetent”， he said.（6） Student FStudent F is a 35-year old man who comes from a middle income family in Jiangxi province. He has studied and worked in Beijing for 5 years. He also has difficult in talking to women during the class. He said， “I always sit in the back of the classroom and dont know what to say when the girls try to talk to me because of the difference of gender.” He added， “therefore， I missed a lot of chance to express my own ideas to the class. As a result， my final scores are not very satisfied since there are many team works during each semester.” Again ， student F is in the same situation of self-identity as a male， which partially contributes to his lower academic achievement. “The way that gender identities get constructed in particular communities may have very concrete consequences for the kinds of second language proficiency developed by men and women” （Ehrlich 1997， p. 435）. “I am the only child in my family and mother died when I was 5 years old so I seldom had the chance to talk and play with girls or females.” said student F. The community that he grew up in developed the attitudes for his current language acquisition and academic performance problems.
（7） Student GStudent G is a 25-year old boy who is from Jilin province and has been living in Beijing for more than 10 years. He is very easy-going and works with girls in a training school. “I never feel that I am a man and my colleagues are women. I just know that I am one of them. So， I feel very comfortable to deal with my colleagues and my classmates， and I am very sure that I am one of the top students in my class.” Since he identified himself as one of his colleagues and classmates， he feels very comfortable when he cooperates with females and he is doing very well both in work and study which leads to high achievements.7. DiscussionBoth students A and D have very strong motivation in learning a second language， which results in a big success in their learning. However， student D is completely assimilated by the modern society while student A still clings to her religion and her culture. Students B and C all have problems with their academic proficiency because of the religion and lack social experience. Student E and F identify themselves as males and get great discomfort when cooping with females. Student G is open-minded and never thinks he is a man and is in any way different from female associates. He integrates himself into his colleagues and classmate which results in great performance and achievement.8. ConclusionThis study has shown： “ones identity has a major influence on language learning” （Smith， et al.， 1999）， in other words， some of the cultural baggage （such as religion， tradition and customs） tend to have negative influence on second language acquisition and even hinders learners learning process， especially when facing a new environment. The best way in dealing with the changes is to take “convergent” action and integrate into the new society. As an old saying goes， “When in Rome， do as the Romans do.”By and large this paper has indicated the significance of this study， that is， when learners move from small village or little town to a big modern city， they need to do a lot of adjustment， and the relationship between language acquisition and learners cultural Identity among domestic students are also worth to be studied.
The issues of gender， religion and level of educational and economic development have been taken into consideration as focal points for this， and further research.【References】[1] Liu， Shuang. Serching for a sense of place： Identity negotiation of Chinese immigrants[M]. Interational journal Relations， -35.[2] Nornyei， Zoltan. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics Quantitative， Qualitative， and Mixed Methodologies[D]. Oxford Universty Press， 2007.[3] Norton， B. Identity and language learning[M]. London： Longman， 2000.
2016年20期
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