Towards a gendered model of second language investment: insights from language learning narratives

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the relationship between gender and second language (L2) learning through a narrative case study. Drawing on the construct of investment in understanding language learning, the present study investigates the role of gender ideologies and gendered identities in a female L2 learner’s English learning experiences in an English-medium university in Hong Kong. Findings reveal that multiple gender ideologies mediated the learner’s access to L2 use opportunities and her participation in in-class and out-of-class contexts in complex yet contradictory ways. In particular, gendered expectations influenced the learner’s agency in investing in L2 practices in specific contexts and accumulating particular forms of (gendered) capital. Her L2 investments were also shaped by her negotiation of gendered identities and her pursuit of imagined identities related to her professional aspirations. Based on the findings, a gendered model of L2 investment is proposed. It illustrates the complex interplay between gendered capital, gender ideologies and gendered identities in shaping L2 investments and foregrounds the role of gendered agency in mediating the impact of gender ideologies and gendered identities on L2 investments. The study also suggests the need for contextualized and personalized approaches in understanding the gendered nature of L2 learning in future research.

KEYWORDS:

• gender ideology
• gendered identity
• second language learning
• agency
• language investment

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. English medium instruction involves ‘the use of the English language to teach academic subjects (other than English itself) in countries or jurisdictions where the first language of the majority of the population is not English’ (Macaro, Curle, Pun, An, & Dearden, 2018, p. 37).

2. Hong Kong, a cosmopolitan city in Asia, is an interesting context for investigating gender issues. While Hong Kong has been reported to have ‘attained a desirable level of sex equality, especially when compared to other Asian countries’ (Lai, 2007, p. 102), the public consensus that gender discrimination is not an issue has resulted in a general lack of awareness of gender issues in Hong Kong (Schnurr & Mak, 2011). As such, there is a need for more gender research in the Hong Kong context.

3. Given the difficulties to separate gender from other aspects of language learners’ identities, it would be useful to distinguish gendered identities (identities inflected by gender) from gender identities (identities defined solely by gender) (see Menard-Warwick, 2009).

4. Hong Kong is characterized by the co-presence of Cantonese (the dominant community language), Putonghua (the national language of China), and English (the former colonial language and one of the current co-official languages). While being the L2 of the majority of the population in Hong Kong, English plays an important role in different sectors of society, including higher education, the government, the mass media, and the professional workplace (Kirkpatrick, 2014; Sung, 2018). As a prestige language in Hong Kong, English is regarded as an important asset for career development (Evans, 2017).

5. Note that the narrative data collected should be seen as partial versions of reality as told by a particular individual at a particular point in time and space, rather than as factual accounts of experiences (Pavlenko, 2007).

6. Preliminary analyses were sent to the focal learner via a member checking procedure.

7. Agency is subsumed under the construct of identity in Darvin and Norton's (2015) model of investment.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Committee, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, under the Faculty Research Grant [project number 101835].

Notes on contributors

Chit Cheung Matthew Sung

Chit Cheung Matthew Sung is Assistant Professor in the Department of English at City University of Hong Kong. He holds a PhD from Lancaster University and previously taught at the University of Hong Kong and later at Lingnan University. His current research focuses on the interplay between language, identity and ideology. His recent publications have appeared in international journals, including English Today, Lingua, Compare, Applied Linguistics Review, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Journal of Gender Studies, Language, Culture and Curriculum, Linguistics and Education, and Journal of Language, Identity and Education.