Introduction
It is difficult to predict or generalize second language acquisition because it is not an isolated activity; this is a culture-specific and identity-bound concept.
A second language user is often introduced into a fresh world that may be radically different from what he or she was accustomed to. One must therefore reconstruct or renegotiate one’s identity in accordance with these new experiences.
Impact of second language use on identity
Ethnic confusion is something that second language learners in certain communities and generations can struggle with. If a parent migrated from another part of the world such as the Middle East, and moved to Australia, it is likely that the parent would learn English in order to communicate.
After that parent has stayed on in Australia, and has had children in the country, it is likely that these children may not be very fluent in Arabic. Communication difficulties would arise between the two parties. Such parents may decide to take their children to Arabic language schools in order to prevent the loss of their linguistic heritage (Sugita, 2000).
These second language learners would face unique identity challenges, because they would be learning a language (Arabic) that is assumed to be natural to members of their ethnic group. They have the choice of merely focusing on the language without embracing the cultural component of the Arabic world; which would imply totally abandoning the Middle Eastern part of themselves.
Alternatively, they may choose to forge a bilingual identity where they can take on components of both cultures. Several youths often choose the former option than the latter, and they usually end up going back and forth concerning these decisions. They may ask themselves whether they are Australians of Australia, or whether they are Arabs from the Middle East.
It can be argued that the most comfortable position would be to think of themselves as Australians of Arabic descent. However, this middle-ground status still has its own challenges. The individuals may find it tricky to fit into either culture as other people may not relate to them.
Sometimes some second language speakers may think of their newly formed status as a gateway for getting into a higher social class. Identities are often predetermined by the nature of social groups that one belongs to. One’s family, choice of school, place of work, and residential area can define one’s identity.
These groups are rarely chosen voluntarily as most people are simply born into them. Society will differentiate these groups by categorizing them as non privileged or privileged. The non privileged normally have fewer life chances, and may strive to alter their fate. One of the avenues that they may consider is learning another language (Shwartz, 2004).
Some languages such as English are regarded as a bridge to a better life. Second language learners often think of this process as an investment. They may assume that doing so will lead to better material resources. In certain scenarios, these changes may even be more symbolic than materialistic.
Whatever the case may be it is probable that second language learners wish to heighten their value in their social spheres. In other instances, the process of second language acquisition may reinforce one’s social status instead of improving it. The affordability of a foreign language can sometimes hamper certain people that may be interested in advancing their social class.
Indeed, members of the privileged classes tend to have more language options than their financially constrained peers. One’s social location does, in fact, determine one’s ability to access the linguistic opportunities.
Lier (2000) explains that language opportunities can be platforms for constraining and enabling others; they invite and reject others; they also offer opportunities and limit others.
In this regard, it can be stated that the process of second language acquisition is a platform for either improving one’s identity (on the basis class) or reinforcing one’s identity as a member of the privileged class.
As one learns a second language, one moves from an area of proficiency (in one’s first language) to a place of unfamiliarity.
This may necessitate reframing one’s identity based on the opinions of the people who are teaching the learner the second language, or the opinions of members of the new culture that the person is getting involved in. The beginner may be given a new set of attributes that may not be welcome.
Teachers may not necessarily appreciate the student’s other areas of expertise. Members of the new communities may also judge the individuals’ accent or his grammatical errors. It takes a lot of enthusiasm to keep trying regardless of these negativities and judgments.
One must shed off one’s identity as an authority in one culture (with regard to language) and embrace another identity as a newcomer. This may sometimes lead to exclusion or even alienation.
The person may be considered as an outsider and may be deprived from interacting with the very people he or she needs to mingle with in order to learn the new language (Kramsch, 2010).
As a second language learner continues to become more proficient in the second language, he or she may end up being comfortable with people from the new culture. For instance, a Korean student who has moved into the United States may start spending more time with American students after gaining fluency in English.
This may also involve dedicating less time to Americans of Korean descent, and hence creation of a new peer group identity (Potowski, 2007). However, not everyone will do this; some people have to deal with pressures from their friends to stay close to their native ethno linguistic communities.
Embracing the lifelong learning identity in the second language may come at the cost of losing companionship with the student’s first language community.
Conclusion
Second language acquisition is a platform for reconstructing one’s identity because it can cause confusion about one’s ethnicity if one is not fluent in one’s native tongue, and is trying to learn it. It can also be considered as a mechanism for social advancement or social class enforcement.
In other scenarios, it may lead to isolation from members of the second language community. Lastly, it can elicit pressure from peers who may want the learner to limit his or her association with the people from the new community. These are all scenarios in which identity has to be renegotiated.
References
Kramsch, C. (2010). The multilingual subject. Oxford: OUP.
Lier, L. (2000). From input to affordance: social interactive learning from an ecological perspective. In J. Lantolf (Ed.). Sociocultural theory and second language learning. Oxford, OUP.
Potowski, K. (2007). Language and identity in a dual immersion school. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual matter.
Shwartz, M. (2004). The role of identity in second language acquisition. New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press.
Sugita, M. (2000). Identity and second language learning: local Japanese learning Japanese in Hawaii. Web.