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Understanding classroom participation and identity negotiation: An undergraduate student’s L2 learning experiences in an English-medium university in Hong Kong

  • Chit Cheung Matthew Sung

    Chit Cheung Matthew Sung is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Lingnan University, Hong Kong. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from Lancaster University, UK. His current research focuses on the sociolinguistics of global Englishes, language ideology and identity, and second language learning. His recent publications include journal articles in English Today, ELT Journal, System, Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, Linguistics and Education, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Journal of Gender Studies, and Language, Culture and Curriculum.

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Published/Copyright: January 6, 2017

Abstract

This paper reports on a narrative inquiry of a Hong Kong female undergraduate student’s second language (L2) learning experiences in an English-medium university in Hong Kong, with a focus on her participation in classroom oral activities and identity negotiation. Using ideas from situated learning theory and Norton’s (2000) notions of identity and investment, the paper analyzes how the student negotiated her classroom participation and identities over the course of her studies in the university. Findings suggest that the student’s classroom participation in the English-medium university appeared to be a complex and dynamic process which involved ongoing negotiations of identities, competence and membership in the classroom in response to the challenges she faced. It was found that the student’s participation and identity (re)construction in the classroom were mediated by the contextual complexities in specific classroom communities and were contingent upon the agentive choices made by the student in investing in different classroom activities. Findings also indicate that the student’s participation evolved over time alongside a changing sense of competence and showed signs of gradual yet non-linear progression from peripheral to full participation in the classroom.

About the author

Chit Cheung Matthew Sung

Chit Cheung Matthew Sung is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Lingnan University, Hong Kong. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from Lancaster University, UK. His current research focuses on the sociolinguistics of global Englishes, language ideology and identity, and second language learning. His recent publications include journal articles in English Today, ELT Journal, System, Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, Linguistics and Education, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Journal of Gender Studies, and Language, Culture and Curriculum.

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of the paper was presented in an invited special colloquium at the 9th International Conference of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF9) held in Lleida, Spain, in June 2016. I would like to acknowledge the support of a research grant awarded by Lingnan University, Hong Kong (101835). I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their useful comments which greatly improved the paper.

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Published Online: 2017-1-6
Published in Print: 2017-11-27

© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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