“Even Though I Am Married, I Have a Dream”: Constructing L2 Gendered Identities Through Narratives of Departure and Arrival

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of a multiple case study to show how 3 women constructed meaning around the processes of L2 learning and migration and (re)constructed identities through their participation in new communities of practice (CoPs). Data sources include formal classroom observations, in-depth interviews, and the participants’ self-designed photo narratives, which were presented orally, then digitally recorded and transcribed for analysis. The findings that emerged across these women’s cases illustrate how gendered identities are constructed and (re)negotiated as learners discursively interact with a range of socially and culturally embedded narratives. The author aims to show how, through multimodal L2 narratives, the women engaged in an interpretive practice that allowed them to construct empowered L2 identities and understand the disruptions and conflicts they encountered as spaces for positive change.

Key words:

• Second language learning
• identity
• English for academic purposes
• multimodal narratives
• language use and identity
• gendered identities

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Professor Diane Schallert, as well as two anonymous reviewers, for their valuable feedback and suggestions on previous drafts of this manuscript.