The ideal multilingual self of individuals in conflict-affected situations

ABSTRACT

Little research has explored individuals’ multilingual selves when learning a language other than English (LOTE) in conflict-affected situations. Therefore, this qualitative study sought to understand the motivation and ultimate vision of a group of internally displaced Syrians learning Turkish as an L3 or L4 in Afrin on the Syrian-Turkish border. The data were collected from the participants’ written narratives and two subsequent rounds of individual online semi-structured interviews. The data suggest that the participants’ desire to learn Turkish ranged from the need to secure a job in Afrin to reasons associated with achieving their ideal selves by imagining themselves working/studying at a Turkish university and being integrated into the Turkish community in future. The participants were proactive agents, recognising that attending Turkish private tutoring courses with under-qualified tutors was not sufficient to improve their language proficiency. They capitalised on the availability of technology-mediated learning artefacts and the support of some informal actors. This qualitative study has pedagogical implications and provides further evidence of the need for SLA research to serve all multilingual people, not just the privileged, by conducing empirical studies in non-affluent geographies.

KEYWORDS:

• Learner agency
• learning a language other than English (LOTE)
• ideal multilingual self
• internally displaced Syrians

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This project is supported by the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education [347/07122020 (Faculty Grant)].

Notes on contributors

Anas Hajar

Anas Hajar is a graduate of Warwick University holding a PhD in Language Education. He won the Giving to Warwick Prize for his PhD thesis. He worked as a Postdoctoral Research and Teaching Fellow at Warwick, Coventry, and Christ Church Universities in the UK and as an Assistant Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong SAR. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Multilingual Education and PhD Programme Director at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. He is particularly interested in motivational issues in language learning and intercultural engagement. He also works in the areas of internationalization and education abroad, language learning strategies and shadow education.