Gendered Identities and Immigrant Language Learning

By (author) Assist. Prof. Julia Menard-Warwick

Publication date:

29 October 2009

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

210x148mm
6x8"

ISBN-13: 9781847692146

Based on participant observation in a California English as a Second Language family literacy program, this ethnographic study examines how the complexly gendered life histories of immigrant adults shaped their participation in both the English language classroom and the education of their children, within the contemporary sociohistorical context of increasing Latin American immigration to the United States. Through outlining the connections between (gendered) identity work and language learning, this study builds theoretical and empirical justification for teachers to negotiate classroom practice with each community of learners, responding to students’ individual goals, histories, and lives outside the classroom.

Chapter One: The Social Context of Immigrant Language Learning

Chapter Two: Second Language Learning as Gendered Practice

Chapter Three: Gendered Narratives of Immigrant Language Learners

Chapter Four: The Sociohistorical Construction of Parental Involvement in Education

Chapter Five: Gendered Positioning in ESL Classroom Activities

Chapter Six: Changing Gender Ideologies in Local Communities

Chapter Seven: Gendered Identities and Language Learning: Continuing the Dialogue

References

Appendix A: Discourse transcription conventions

Appendix B: Focal participants’ demographics

Appendix C: Data collected on participants

Humorous and irreverent, embarrassed and frustrated, angry and grateful, the participants in Menard-Warwick’s study emerge as real people on the pages of this engaging and compassionate book that privileges immigrants’ voices and experiences. Investigating the complex interplay between gender, class, ethnicity, and immigration status, Menard-Warwick revitalizes the inquiry into the relationship between gender, power, and second language and literacy learning and makes important connections between sociolinguistic theory and adult ESL teaching practice.