EMERGENT IDENTITIES AND REPRESENTATIONS IN ELT IN MINORITY LANGUAGE CONTEXTS IN NORTHERN MEXICO MARÍA REBECA GUTIÉRREZ ESTRADA A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN EDUCATION YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO August 2015 © María Rebeca Gutiérrez Estrada, 2015 ABSTRACT In the early 2000s, Mexico experienced a series of changes modeled after UNESCO’s guidelines for intercultural education, which necessitated the establishment of the General Office of Intercultural Bilingual Education. This institution aims to provide indigenous students with education that acknowledges their cultural identity, language, knowledge, and attitudes. Another parallel change occurring in Mexico stemmed from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and the United States. NAFTA impacted Mexican educational policy by incorporating the teaching of English at the state and national levels beginning in public elementary schools. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this dissertation explores the role of English Language Teaching (ELT) in a community in northwestern Mexico where a minority language – Mayo – was taught alongside English. The research also seeks to unfold the discourse(s) embodied in the representation of minority students and languages in Mexico through the analysis of policy documents used in Intercultural Bilingual Education (IBE) programs, as well as in the attitudes of the teachers and stakeholders involved in them. I also look at representations of indigenous people in two texts designed by IBE for the Mayo community. This dissertation incorporates an ethnographic study that uses participant observations in Mayo and English language classes and semi-structured interviews with teachers and stakeholders attached to a rural school in northwestern Mexico as primary data collection strategies. Policy documents and curricular materials are analyzed using the tools of Critical Discourse Analysis. Through qualitative data analysis, we discover how the nation-state instantiates a particular Mexican identity and perpetuates stereotypes of indigenous minorities through policy ii documents and curricular texts. At the same time, the data obtained through ethnographic fieldwork indicate that teacher agency was a powerful tool in linguistic and cultural maintenance and in transforming language policy and planning at the local level, such that Mayo and English were positioned equally in the curriculum. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to five amazing and courageous women who overcame incredible obstacles in their lives and who have left an indelible mark on my life. First and foremost, to Zarina, my mother, who has been both my parent and my friend. She has taught me the importance of living ethically and responsibly, and of being a compassionate and caring woman. Thanks to her I was always exposed to the world of our indigenous peoples and their struggles. To my great-grandmother Carmen, who in a tiny town lived a life no one dared to live – a single mother of seven children who worked and supported them despite troubled times and while overcoming a disability. To Ramona (Moncha), my Sandinista grandma, who raised her kids through war and illness, also on her own. To my dear friend Pilar, a survivor. Thanks to her incredible worldiness, she opened my eyes beyond my surroundings and encouraged me (inadvertently) to work with indigenous communities. To María Cuevas (deceased), for her kindness and for allowing me to stay with her during my visits to the site. She lost her battle with cancer in November 2009. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The work of this long journey would not have been possible without funding and support from a combination of sources: the University of Sonora, CONACYT, and York University. A special thanks goes to Eliazar Ayala at the Department of Academic Development at the University of Sonora for his thoughtfulness and help throughout the years. To Dr. Sandra R. Schecter, who has gone beyond the call of duty and has been not only a mentor but also an inspiration. Thank you for your endless support and intellectual generosity. To Dr. Warren Crichlow, for his support, mentorship, and guidance. To Dr. Roopa Desai Trilokekar, for her thoughtful comments and advice. During the five years I spent at York I have met the most impressive group of scholars, and by being their student I have had my eyes opened to a wealth of knowledge. Thanks to John Ippolito, Don Dippo, the late Patrick Solomon, Daniel Yon, and Nombuso Dlamini. There are many people in the faculty that I would thank for their support and encouragement, especially Elizabete Petersons, Laura Crane, Marcela Duran, and Tove Fynbo. I am also grateful for the generosity and support of Dr. Patricia M. Raymond during the first year of my doctoral program. I am much indebted to Juan and his students, who allowed me into their lives, and to the principal, vice-principal, and other teachers at Benito Juárez Intercultural School. To the Director of the PIP for supporting my research, and in particular to my friend M. N. (Rosa) who was coordinating the PIP at the time that this research project took place. It was in our conversations over coffee that the preliminary thinking for this work began back in 2003. v To P. P. (Laura), who helped me with linguistic aspects of the Mayo language and accompanied me on some of my visits to the school. To my supportive “Yorkie” peers – friendships I hope to maintain through the years: Naomi Nichols, Natalia Ronda-Sinitskaya, Kimberly Tavares, and Fernanda Carra-Salsberg at the Faculty of Education, and elsewhere at York my soul sister Johanna Reynolds, Alejandro Campos García, and Christian Oquendo. To my friends around Brewster, Ottawa, Corvallis, and Toronto: Marina Mendoza, Luz Alison Molina, Adam Schwartz, Ming Li, Mike Wilcox, and Louise Gormley. Love you all very much! And to my incredible Canadian family who have been always cheering me on, for their incredible generosity and love, Kendra, Lorraine, and George Langill. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………………ii Dedication ………………………………………………………………………………………iv Acknowledgments ………………………………………………………………………………v Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………….vii List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………………………x List of Illustrations ……………………………………………………………………………...xi Chapter One: The Role of English Language Teaching in Minority Language Contexts in Northwestern Mexico …………………………………………………………..1 Situating the Research …………………………………………………………………..1 The Mayo Community and Its Language ……………………………………………….4 Who Are the Mayo? …………………………………………………………….4 Population ………………………………………………………………………5 Linguistic Aspects and Language Use of Mayo ………………………………..6 Geographic Canvas ……………………………………………………………..6 Infrastructural Context for Language and Educational Policies in Mexico: Programa de Inglés en Primaria, Programa Nacional de Inglés en Educación Básica, and Coordinación General de Educación Intercultural y Bilingüe ………………………………………………....7 The Impact of Globalization and ELT: The Case of Sonora ……………………………9 A Pilot Study ……………………………………………………………………………13 Summary and Dissertation Outline ……………………………………………………..17 Chapter Two: Research on Identity and Identity Representation in Postcolonial Contexts ……………………………………………………………………………………..19 Theorizing Identity ……………………………………………………………………...19 Identity and Issues of Representation in Postcolonial Mexico ………………………….26 Reducciones and Encomiendas : Developing Colonial Identities ……………………….28 The Construction of Mexico: Lingering in a Dichotomy ……………………………….30 Looking at Representational Practices and Stereotypes ………………………………...35 Summary ………………………………………………………………………………...40 Chapter Three: Methodology ……………………………………………………………………41 Research Questions ……………………………………………………………………...41 Choosing a Qualitative Research Approach …………………………………………….42 Why Ethnography? ……………………………………………………………...43 Why Critical Discourse Analysis? ………………………………………………47 Procedures and Instrumentation ………………………………………………………...50 Research Site ……………………………………………………………………50 Sampling and Participants ………………………………………………………51 Data Collection ………………………………………………………………….52 Data Analysis ……………………………………………………………………59 Researcher’s Positionality …………………………………………………………….....61 vii Chapter Four: Findings: Linguistic Canvas for the Instruction and Maintenance of Minority Languages In Mexico ………………………………………………………….63 Linguistic Canvas for Minority Languages in Mexico ………………………………....63 Teacher Agency in Language Policy and Planning in Minority Language Contexts ………………………………………………………………... 72 Summary ………………………………………………………………………………..80 Chapter Five: Findings: Ethnographic Journey …………………………………………………81 Fieldwork Plans and Practicalities ………………………………………………………81 The Town of Seagulls …………………………………………………………...81 Adjusting the Plan ……………………………………………………………….82 About Juan ………………………………………………………………………87 Ethnographic Findings …………………………………………………………………..89 Stakeholders’ Perspectives on and Attitudes Towards Minority Language Maintenance and the Learning of English ……………………….89 Participant Observation in Juan’s Classroom …………………………………...94 Results From Responses to Student and Parent Questionnaires ……………….103 Teacher Agency in Micro Language Planning: Strategic Negotiation and Reappropriation ………………………………………………………..107 Summary ……………………………………………………………………………….115 Chapter Six: Findings: Representational Identities in IBE Textbooks ………………………...117 A Critical Discourse Analysis