Great that you're back on line Kelly!
I've been struggling with the issue of "identity" and L2 learning, too...
Rolfe suggested me to look at Social Identity Theory... I guess I can
get some insights there... but I know what my supervisor would say about
"identity" :-) he would typically say, "Well, what does it look like in
interactional terms..." well, I'll have to try to answer that!
Yes, I like Bonny Peirce's work too... seems like she's starting
something quite revolutionary in our field (L2/ESL/EFL)...
More later...
Cheers,
Angel
On Wed, 13 Dec 1995, Kelleen Toohey wrote:
> >Thank you Angel and others for interest in my paper. I recently broke my
> >kneecap iceskating and have trouble sitting at the computer. It was a treat
> >today to come on line and see these messages.
>
> To take on one of the points made: Angel was right in noting that I was
> arguing that any simple attribution of personality characteristics
> independent of context isn't helpful. Much SLA research does just this--we
> have studies telling us the characteristics of good and bad language
> learners--and sociability and motivation to talk to native speakers are
> usually seen as the most telling and important characteristics in this
> regard. With my kindergartners, I see that both are negotiated and thus are
> subject to change over time and context. And they are importantly linked
> to access to practices and resources in the classroom. Bonny Peirce's 1993
> OISE thesis is very helpful with regard to a critique of motivation as
> "between the eyes and behind the ears".
>
> I think identity is problematic in my paper as well, Angel, and wondered
> what you made of that.
>
> Kelleen Toohey
> k_toohey who-is-at sfu.ca
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