Agency, identity and ideology in L2 writing
Insights from the EAP classroom
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.26864Keywords:
Agency, Identity, Ideology, L2 WritingAbstract
This study reports on how agency, identity and ideology played out in an L2 writing classroom. It investigated 31 L2 writers’ agency, identity and ideology as they accomplished their writing assignments in a required first-year composition class at a large North American university. The data for the study were collected from four different sources: (a) interviews with each participant; (b) process logs kept by each participant for the entire duration of the assignment; (c) class materials; and (d) classroom observation notes. Findings suggest that L2 writers’ portrayal of selves is not static and that it evolves during the course of the writing assignment. L2 writers’ agency leads them to use various writing strategies; perceive different writing activities to be difficult or easy; and adopt various lived experiences in composing. Their identity and ideology, on the other hand, help writers align with the writing tasks; influence their task perceptions; and mediate writing choices that are both rewarding and self-incriminating. Various implications for pedagogy and research are discussed.
References
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Atkinson, D., and Ramanathan, V. (1995). Cultures of writing: An ethnographic comparison of L1 and L2 university writing/language programs. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 539–568. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3588074
Benesch, S. (1993). ESL, ideology, and the politics of pragmatism. TESOL Quarterly, 27, 705–717. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3587403
Block, D. (2015). Structure, agency, individualization and the critical realist challenge. In P. Deters, X. Gao, E. R. Miller, and G. Vitanova (Eds), Theorizing and analyzing agency in second language learning: Interdisciplinary approaches (pp. 17–36). Toronto, ON: Multilingual Matters.
Brice, C. (2005). Coding data in qualitative research on L2 writing: Issues and implications. In P. K. Matsuda and T. Silva (Eds), Second language writing research: Perspectives on the process of knowledge construction (pp. 159–175). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Bucholtz, M., and Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7, 585–614. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/ 1461445605054407
Casanave, C. P. (1995). Local interactions: Constructing contexts for composing in a graduate sociology program. In D. Belcher and G. Braine (Eds), Academic writing in a second language: Essays on research and pedagogy (pp. 83–110). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Casanave, C. P. (2003). Looking ahead to more sociopolitically-oriented case study research in L2 writing scholarship (But should it be called ‘postprocess’?). Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 85–102. http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/S1060-3743(03)00002-X
Costino, K. A., and Hyun, S. (2007). ‘A class for students like me’: Reconsidering relationships among identity labels, residency status, and students’ preferences for mainstream or multilingual composition. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16, 68–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.04.001
De Costa, P. I. (2011). Using language ideology and positioning to broaden the SLA learner beliefs landscape: The case of an ESL learner from China. System, 39, 347–358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.07.007
Diab, R. L. (2006). University students’ beliefs about learning English and French in Lebanon. System, 34, 80–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2005.06.014
Dörnyei, Z., and Ushioda, E. (Eds), (2009). Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Duff, P. (2012). Identity, agency, and SLA. In A. Mackey and S. Gass (Eds), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 410–426). London: Routledge.
Engeström, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engeström, R. Miettinen and R. L. Punamäki (Eds), Perspectives on activity theory (pp. 19–38). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1017/CBO9780511812774.003
Giroir, S. (2014). Narratives of participation, identity, and positionality: Two cases of Saudi Learners of English in the United States. TESOL Quarterly, 48, 34–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tesq.95
Hirvela, A., and Belcher, D. (2001). Coming back to voice: The multiple voices and identities of mature multilingual writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10, 83–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(00)00038-2
Horowitz, D. (1986a). Essay examination prompts and the teaching of academic writing. English for Specific Purposes, 5, 107–120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ 0889-4906(86)90017-7
Horowitz, D. (1986b). Process, not product: Less than meets the eye. TESOL Quarterly, 20, 141–144. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3586397
Ivani?, R. (1998). Writing and identity: The discoursal construction of identity in academic writing. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1075/swll.5
Ivani?, R., and Camps, D. (2001). I am how I sound: Voice as self-representation in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10, 3–33. http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/S1060-3743(01)00034-0
Jaffe, A. (2009). The production and reproduction of language ideologies in practice. In N. Coupland and A. Jaworski (Eds), The new sociolinguistics reader (pp. 390-404). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
James, M. A. (2012). An investigation of motivation to transfer second language learning. The Modern Language Journal, 96, 51–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ j.1540-4781.2012.01281.x
Kubota, R. (2003). New approaches to gender, class, and race in second language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 31–47. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/S1060-3743(02)00125-X
Kubota, R., and Lehner, A. (2004). Toward critical contrastive rhetoric. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13, 7–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2004.04.003
Lantolf, J. P., and Pavlenko, A. (2001). (S)econd (L)anguage (A)ctivity theory: Understanding language learners as people. In M. P. Breen (Ed.), Learner contributions to language learning: New directions in research (pp. 141–158). Harlow: Pearson Education.
Layder, D. (1997). Modern social theory. London: UCL Press.
Lei, X. (2008). Exploring a sociocultural approach to writing strategy research: Mediated actions in writing activities. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17, 217–236. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2008.04.001
Leki, I., and Carson, J. (1997). ‘Completely different worlds’: EAP and the writing experiences of ESL students in university courses. TESOL Quarterly, 31, 39–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3587974
Liu, P. H., and Tannacito, D. (2013). Resistance by L2 writers: The role of racial and language ideology in imagined community and identity investment. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22, 355–373. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jslw.2013.05.001
Manchón, R. (2011). Writing to learn the language: Issues in theory and research. In R. Manchón (Ed.), Learning-to-write and writing-to-learn in an additional language (pp. 61–84). Amsterdam and Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lllt.31.07man
Morita, N. (2004). Negotiating participation and identity in second language academic community. TESOL Quarterly, 38, 573–603. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2307/3588281
Miles, M. B., and Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Miller, E. R. (2009). Orienting to ‘being ordinary’: The (re)construction of hegemonic ideologies in interactions among adult immigrant learners of English. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 6, 315–344. http://dx.doi. org/10.1080/15427580903337446
Morita, N. (2004). Negotiating participation and identity in second language academic community. TESOL Quarterly, 38, 573–603. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/ 3588281
Motha, S. (2006). Racializing ESOL teacher identities in US K-12 public schools. TESOL Quarterly, 40, 495–518. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/40264541
Muramatsu, C. (2013). Portraits of second language learners: Agency, identities, and second language learning. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Norton, B. (1997). Language, identity, and the ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 31, 409–429. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3587831
Norton, B. (2000). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change. Harlow: Longman/Pearson.
Norton, B., and Toohey, K. (2011). Identity, language learning, and social change. Language Teaching, 44, 412–446. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0261444811000309
Olivo, W. (2003). ‘Quit talking and learn English!’: Conflicting language ideologies in an ESL classroom. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 34, 50–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/aeq.2003.34.1.50
Ortmeier-Hooper, C. (2008). English may be my first language, but I’m not ‘ESL’. College Composition and Communication, 59, 389–419.
Prior, P., and Shipka, J. (2003). Chronotopic lamination: Tracing the contours of literate activity. In C. Bazerman and D. R. Russell (Eds), Writing selves/writing society: Research from activity perspectives (pp. 331–362). Retrieved 15 February 2010, from http://wac.colostate.edu/books/selves_societies/selves_ societies.pdf.
Ricento, T. (2005). Considerations of identity in L2 learning. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 895–911). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Russell, D. R. (1997). Rethinking genre in school and society: An activity theory analysis. Written Communication, 14, 504–554. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/ 0741088397014004004
Russell, D. R., and Ya?ez, A. (2003). Big picture people rarely become historians: Genre systems and the contradictions of general education. In C. Bazerman and D. R. Russell (Eds), Writing selves/writing society: Research from activity perspectives (pp. 331–362). Retrieved 15 February 2010, from http://wac. colostate.edu/books/selves_societies/selves_societies.pdf.
Santos, T. (1992). Ideology in composition: L1 and ESL. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1, 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/1060-3743(92)90017-J
Starfield, S. (2002). ‘I’m a second-language English speaker’: Negotiating writer identity and authority in sociology one. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 1, 121–140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327701JLIE0102_02
Tang, R., and John, S. (1999). The ‘I’ in identity: Exploring writer identity in student academic writing through the first person pronoun. English for Academic Purposes, 18, S23–S39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0889-4906(99)00009-5
Tesch, R. (1990). Qualitative research: Analysis types and software tools. New York: The Falmer Press.
Van Lier, L. (2008). Agency in the classroom. In J. P. Lantolf and M. E. Poehner (Eds), Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages (pp. 163–186). London: Equinox.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wang, J., Spencer, K., and Xing, M. (2009). Metacognitive beliefs and strategies in learning Chinese as a foreign language. System, 37, 46–56. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.system.2008.05.001
Wertsch, J. V. (1998). Mind as action. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Amuzie, G. L., and Winke, P. (2009). Changes in language learning beliefs as a result of study abroad. System, 37, 366–379. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.system.2009.02.011
Atkinson, D. (2003). L2 writing in the post-process era: Introduction. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 3–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S1060-3743(02)00123-6
Atkinson, D., and Ramanathan, V. (1995). Cultures of writing: An ethnographic comparison of L1 and L2 university writing/language programs. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 539–568. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3588074
Benesch, S. (1993). ESL, ideology, and the politics of pragmatism. TESOL Quarterly, 27, 705–717. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3587403
Block, D. (2015). Structure, agency, individualization and the critical realist challenge. In P. Deters, X. Gao, E. R. Miller, and G. Vitanova (Eds), Theorizing and analyzing agency in second language learning: Interdisciplinary approaches (pp. 17–36). Toronto, ON: Multilingual Matters.
Brice, C. (2005). Coding data in qualitative research on L2 writing: Issues and implications. In P. K. Matsuda and T. Silva (Eds), Second language writing research: Perspectives on the process of knowledge construction (pp. 159–175). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Bucholtz, M., and Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7, 585–614. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/ 1461445605054407
Casanave, C. P. (1995). Local interactions: Constructing contexts for composing in a graduate sociology program. In D. Belcher and G. Braine (Eds), Academic writing in a second language: Essays on research and pedagogy (pp. 83–110). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Casanave, C. P. (2003). Looking ahead to more sociopolitically-oriented case study research in L2 writing scholarship (But should it be called ‘postprocess’?). Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 85–102. http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/S1060-3743(03)00002-X
Costino, K. A., and Hyun, S. (2007). ‘A class for students like me’: Reconsidering relationships among identity labels, residency status, and students’ preferences for mainstream or multilingual composition. Journal of Second Language Writing, 16, 68–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2007.04.001
De Costa, P. I. (2011). Using language ideology and positioning to broaden the SLA learner beliefs landscape: The case of an ESL learner from China. System, 39, 347–358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.07.007
Diab, R. L. (2006). University students’ beliefs about learning English and French in Lebanon. System, 34, 80–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2005.06.014
Dörnyei, Z., and Ushioda, E. (Eds), (2009). Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Duff, P. (2012). Identity, agency, and SLA. In A. Mackey and S. Gass (Eds), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 410–426). London: Routledge.
Engeström, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engeström, R. Miettinen and R. L. Punamäki (Eds), Perspectives on activity theory (pp. 19–38). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1017/CBO9780511812774.003
Giroir, S. (2014). Narratives of participation, identity, and positionality: Two cases of Saudi Learners of English in the United States. TESOL Quarterly, 48, 34–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/tesq.95
Hirvela, A., and Belcher, D. (2001). Coming back to voice: The multiple voices and identities of mature multilingual writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10, 83–106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1060-3743(00)00038-2
Horowitz, D. (1986a). Essay examination prompts and the teaching of academic writing. English for Specific Purposes, 5, 107–120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ 0889-4906(86)90017-7
Horowitz, D. (1986b). Process, not product: Less than meets the eye. TESOL Quarterly, 20, 141–144. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3586397
Ivani?, R. (1998). Writing and identity: The discoursal construction of identity in academic writing. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1075/swll.5
Ivani?, R., and Camps, D. (2001). I am how I sound: Voice as self-representation in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 10, 3–33. http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/S1060-3743(01)00034-0
Jaffe, A. (2009). The production and reproduction of language ideologies in practice. In N. Coupland and A. Jaworski (Eds), The new sociolinguistics reader (pp. 390-404). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
James, M. A. (2012). An investigation of motivation to transfer second language learning. The Modern Language Journal, 96, 51–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ j.1540-4781.2012.01281.x
Kubota, R. (2003). New approaches to gender, class, and race in second language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12, 31–47. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/S1060-3743(02)00125-X
Kubota, R., and Lehner, A. (2004). Toward critical contrastive rhetoric. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13, 7–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2004.04.003
Lantolf, J. P., and Pavlenko, A. (2001). (S)econd (L)anguage (A)ctivity theory: Understanding language learners as people. In M. P. Breen (Ed.), Learner contributions to language learning: New directions in research (pp. 141–158). Harlow: Pearson Education.
Layder, D. (1997). Modern social theory. London: UCL Press.
Lei, X. (2008). Exploring a sociocultural approach to writing strategy research: Mediated actions in writing activities. Journal of Second Language Writing, 17, 217–236. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2008.04.001
Leki, I., and Carson, J. (1997). ‘Completely different worlds’: EAP and the writing experiences of ESL students in university courses. TESOL Quarterly, 31, 39–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3587974
Liu, P. H., and Tannacito, D. (2013). Resistance by L2 writers: The role of racial and language ideology in imagined community and identity investment. Journal of Second Language Writing, 22, 355–373. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jslw.2013.05.001
Manchón, R. (2011). Writing to learn the language: Issues in theory and research. In R. Manchón (Ed.), Learning-to-write and writing-to-learn in an additional language (pp. 61–84). Amsterdam and Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/lllt.31.07man
Morita, N. (2004). Negotiating participation and identity in second language academic community. TESOL Quarterly, 38, 573–603. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.2307/3588281
Miles, M. B., and Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Miller, E. R. (2009). Orienting to ‘being ordinary’: The (re)construction of hegemonic ideologies in interactions among adult immigrant learners of English. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 6, 315–344. http://dx.doi. org/10.1080/15427580903337446
Morita, N. (2004). Negotiating participation and identity in second language academic community. TESOL Quarterly, 38, 573–603. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/ 3588281
Motha, S. (2006). Racializing ESOL teacher identities in US K-12 public schools. TESOL Quarterly, 40, 495–518. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/40264541
Muramatsu, C. (2013). Portraits of second language learners: Agency, identities, and second language learning. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Norton, B. (1997). Language, identity, and the ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 31, 409–429. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3587831
Norton, B. (2000). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change. Harlow: Longman/Pearson.
Norton, B., and Toohey, K. (2011). Identity, language learning, and social change. Language Teaching, 44, 412–446. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0261444811000309
Olivo, W. (2003). ‘Quit talking and learn English!’: Conflicting language ideologies in an ESL classroom. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 34, 50–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/aeq.2003.34.1.50
Ortmeier-Hooper, C. (2008). English may be my first language, but I’m not ‘ESL’. College Composition and Communication, 59, 389–419.
Prior, P., and Shipka, J. (2003). Chronotopic lamination: Tracing the contours of literate activity. In C. Bazerman and D. R. Russell (Eds), Writing selves/writing society: Research from activity perspectives (pp. 331–362). Retrieved 15 February 2010, from http://wac.colostate.edu/books/selves_societies/selves_ societies.pdf.
Ricento, T. (2005). Considerations of identity in L2 learning. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 895–911). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Russell, D. R. (1997). Rethinking genre in school and society: An activity theory analysis. Written Communication, 14, 504–554. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/ 0741088397014004004
Russell, D. R., and Ya?ez, A. (2003). Big picture people rarely become historians: Genre systems and the contradictions of general education. In C. Bazerman and D. R. Russell (Eds), Writing selves/writing society: Research from activity perspectives (pp. 331–362). Retrieved 15 February 2010, from http://wac. colostate.edu/books/selves_societies/selves_societies.pdf.
Santos, T. (1992). Ideology in composition: L1 and ESL. Journal of Second Language Writing, 1, 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/1060-3743(92)90017-J
Starfield, S. (2002). ‘I’m a second-language English speaker’: Negotiating writer identity and authority in sociology one. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 1, 121–140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327701JLIE0102_02
Tang, R., and John, S. (1999). The ‘I’ in identity: Exploring writer identity in student academic writing through the first person pronoun. English for Academic Purposes, 18, S23–S39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0889-4906(99)00009-5
Tesch, R. (1990). Qualitative research: Analysis types and software tools. New York: The Falmer Press.
Van Lier, L. (2008). Agency in the classroom. In J. P. Lantolf and M. E. Poehner (Eds), Sociocultural theory and the teaching of second languages (pp. 163–186). London: Equinox.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wang, J., Spencer, K., and Xing, M. (2009). Metacognitive beliefs and strategies in learning Chinese as a foreign language. System, 37, 46–56. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.system.2008.05.001
Wertsch, J. V. (1998). Mind as action. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Published
2016-11-14
Issue
Section
Research Matters
How to Cite
Bhowmik, S. K. (2016). Agency, identity and ideology in L2 writing: Insights from the EAP classroom. Writing and Pedagogy, 8(2), 275-308. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.26864
