What do you mean 'you don't eat no meat'?!

What we say as a representation of who we are.  What we do represents how we want to be seen.  Some people say that actions speak louder than words.  It may also be true that we have a chance to think before we act, whereas words spill out before we have a chance to filter them.

But what of a second language?  How do we express ourselves, and can we even be the same people, in a language that we have not mastered?
In the case of the post title, what if our self representations don't match with a language-culture into which we are assimilating?  (Thinking that we all speak English, but Greek-American, Jewish-American, African-American, French-American... everyone has their own individual cultural vernacular and expectations)

So what happens when we don't fit in to what others expect of us?
Shame.

Borrowed from Pike (2012) - aka me two semesters ago:

            The relationship between the L2 learner and the L2 society and culture is more complicated than a dichotomy of learner and learner environment would suggest.  As each person’s L1 social identity does not include the L2 contexts, s/he must constantly acquire both language and social context to form his/her schemata.  Furthermore, the relationship between the learner and the environment is constantly being manipulated by “power.” This plays a role in guiding the circumstances under which L2 learners will accept and resist conforming to L2 aspects. 

            The author discusses Krashen’s concepts of low affective filter combined with comprehensible input and scaffolding as a means of acquiring a second language.  When anxiety mounts, as could be the case in the first anecdote presented regarding an ELL and a native speaker surrounding the well-known character Bart Simpson in which the ELL was made to feel unacceptably ignorant for not knowing this television persona, a second language learner’s motivation may come second to their emotions and s/he may cut off from the language and cultural interactions.  In such a situation, the native speaker demonstrated a sort of pop-cultural power over her counterpart, the ELL, which became a cause of anxiety rather than a learning moment.  The author, Bonny Norton Peirce, remarks that “the relationship between the language learner and the social world is problematic” (12).  It is for this reason that Peirce proposes that motivation and social context combine forming a student’s “investment”.  She expresses that due to the power of native interlocuters to guide interaction and the power of the L2 cultural context to guide emotions and norms, the L2 learner’s motivation can at no point be viewed as a separate controlling factor and must be taken into consideration with the language learning context.

            The challenges posed to adult immigrants regarding this power struggle involve the adult’s sense of control and dignity.  When faced with the notion that s/he is viewed as lesser or under the control of another adult in a situation, the adult learner’s anxiety and affective filter will rise.  Where children are used to being told how to complete tasks and view events in their environment, adults feel they are past that point in life and need the respect of those surrounding them, otherwise they react negatively.  This negative reaction studied in Peirce’s article is the refusal to use the L2: English.

            L2 learners, including those in this study, are “not only exchanging information with target language speakers but they are constantly organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world” (18).  This means that when Eva, from the anecdote, feels that another woman is acting negatively towards her, she will in turn feel negatively towards the social world in which she finds herself.  If Eva believes that she is perceived as ‘ignorant’ or ‘lacking’ within her social context, her motivation to practice English will be outweighed by her investment which reduces her desire to speak.  Her investment keeps her in the social context as a learner, but reduces the opportunities that she will be viewed as the lesser power in social relationships, as she avoids producing speech that might be criticized by native English-speaking peers.

            On the other hand, Martina’s story presents another form of investment.  The struggle she faced meant that she could not choose silence in the face of adversity; she had to voice concerns and continue to develop her language skills as a mother, a worker, and a wife to a family which relied on her income and determination.  “Her courage to resist marginalization” (22) meant that Martina’s challenging social context only lead her to further succeed and allowed her to reframe the power relationships in her head.  Rather than seeing herself as an outcast in society, as a powerless adult in dealings with native speakers, she saw herself as a parent who was responsible for her family and her children.  She was the supporter and leader of her household and would not allow herself to be seen as less.  In doing so, she “claimed the right to speak” (23).

I am currently looking at a lot of wedding materials (being a bridesmaid in two upcoming weddings).  Norton (2010) discusses five ways in which the language classroom must come to better terms with all students in regards to identity.

It almost seems as if teachers must be behind the times if articles such as this are only recently being published and read in academic settings (can we say that the average language teacher, over the age of 25 and in an established classroom has read this research?), while mass marketing in the holy and coveted world of the sacred union which is marriage (can you sense my hint of sarcasm through the computer screen?) seems to have picked up on the money to be made in the LGBT world and is catering to more communities than language textbooks!!!

In many ways this is very upsetting: does it need to be about money for the varying identities of the world to be treated as equals?  Or is it just that greed makes this process move more quickly?