This book is largely about second language learning and identity
construction. It is based on a unique hybrid design of case study
and autoethnography. In addition, diary study plays an important
role in allowing the participants to express themselves in a
self-reflective way. The author examines and discusses with the
participants of her research, the everyday struggles of Japanese
women in Canada who are trying to learn English. Of particular
interest to this study was the role of metaphor in language which
constructs our conceptual framework in a manner consistent with
sociocultural theory and critical theory. Also, Foucault's
discourse theory plays a prominent role, particularly with regards
to diary, interviews and group meetings, in that it sees identity
and discourse as being profoundly interrelated and inseparable.
Thus, by examining discourse we can become more aware of changes in
identity. With regards to the context of this study with respect to
other research, the author believes that there is a significant
connection to Bonny Norton's notion of investment rather than
motivation with regards to how invested a second language learner
feels in his or her studies. Also, Hongyu Wang, who writes
extensively in the style of autoethnography, has helped me come to
understand my journey that generates feelings of exclusion,
repression, and alienation. Bakhtin's notion of multiple voices was
also very important to the author as she discussed identity as
constantly shifting, layered voices in multiple contexts. In
second-language learning research, there is very little attention
paid to the perspective of the learner with regards to how they
feel, and their identity. Most other research in this area looks at
particular linguistic functions such as syntax, morphology, etc.
This research is also a documentation of the author's personal
journey as she was a participant in her own research. The
importance of narratives is also something that the author found
was largely ignored in second-language research. For this reason,
the author ensured that it was central to her work. When the author
first began this research, her aim was to help Japanese women who
were studying English understand the changes in identity that they
were experiencing. However, as her research progressed, she saw
that this research would benefit all students pursuing a second
language, all teachers of second languages, as well as researchers
in SLA and curriculum theorists. The use of haiku throughout the
thesis is a particularly unique reflection of poetic discourse.
Autoethnography has also recently grown in popularity in terms of
its use in research, and is used extensively throughout this work.
The use of the liminal space, doubling space, in-between space,
Third Space notion in the exploration of identity and its
transformation in this work is also quite interesting. Through this
research, the author has uncovered a profound connection between
language and identity. For Japanese women, learning English is both
liberating and unsettling. This beautifully written work will be an
important book for all involved in second-language learning,
curriculum theorists, as well as researchers concerned with
connections between language and identity, poetic inquiry and
discourse, narrative theory, and autoethnography.
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