(Re) Constructing Identities: South African Domestic Workers, English Language Learning, and Power A Dissertation SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Anna Kaiper IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Dr. Joan DeJaeghere, Advisor May 2018 © Anna Kaiper 2018 i Acknowledgements To the women in my study: • It is because of you that this dissertation is in existence. Thank you and your families for everything you have given me and taught me. By sharing the stories of your lives, you have changed my own. To the most important people in my life: • My Mommy PP, who has provided me with the most incredible love, support, wisdom, and inspiration throughout my life. I love you forever times 2 ½ + 1. Love, Anna PB • My Daddy Bruce- although your life has been anything but easy, your incredible creativity, intelligence, and passion for life keeps me inspired every day. I love you Dad. • My love, Ian- having you as a partner makes me feel loved and thankful every single day. I couldn’t have finished this without you (and our sweet family: Thandi, Annie, and Snoopy). I love you Nini, forever. • My Best Fwend, Steph, whose incredible friendship and sisterhood has sustained me for decades and ALWAYS makes me happy. Your love for human beings motivates me daily. • Ray Ray- Your continual ability to care and love while you fight for what is right and just makes me feel proud to call you one of my best and longest friends! (and love to Errol and sweet Hazel too) To my incredible mentors: • My advisor, Dr. Joan DeJaeghere, whose mentorship and willingness to listen to my thoughts, fears, and excitement has taught me an incredible amount about learning and about teaching. Thank you for everything! • Dr. Kendall King, who has made me believe in my skills and knowledge. Thank you for providing me with incredible guidance and warmth throughout this entire journey. ii • Dr. Frances Vavrus, who taught me what academic writing was and has continued to inspire me and all her students. Your dedication to mentorship has impacted my own life greatly. • Dr. Rosemary Park- Your scholarship and dedication to adult education continues to inspire my own work and that of many scholars. To my fellow friends and scholars: • The wonderful friends I have made at the University of Minnesota- Jenny and Ryan; Elly, Arkady, and Ava; Orkideh, Bailon, and Aiden; Anna and Josh; Kristeen and Tuli; Sok Kong; Joanna, Dean, Maria, and Michael Paul; Simone; Theresa; Maurice; Ferdinand; Mel, Jenna, and Jen; Holly, Charles, Ali, and Scout; Rachel and Peter; Mongkol; Colleen; Emily, Lucia, and Rafael; Sammy; Michelle; Amy, Tea, and Owen; Sara K.; Jenni; Daniel; Maria and Valentina; Laura; Sara M.; Alexandra; Amina; Justin and Nick; and the many amazing people who have shaped my time while at the university. (Also, a big thanks to Common Roots Cafe and Vicinity Coffee, who provided me with enough hot tea and sustenance to keep me motivated to write daily!) • The incredible scholars who have impacted my life and my work: Dr. Meg Sisk; Dr. Tim Lensmire; Dr. Muhammad Khalifa; Dr. Michael Reder; Dr. Birgit Brock- Utne; Dr. Hilary Janks; Dr. Leketi Makalela; Dr. Gerry Fry; Dr. Roozbeh Shirazi; Mr. Stephen Roche; Dr. Jessica Tierney; Dr. Jim Bequette; Dr. David Kirkland; Dr. Sonia Nieto - Thank you for supporting me and influencing my work and my understandings of the world. To the amazing friends I have made from my time in South Africa: • Ben; Lara; Matt; Edgar, Emily, and your incredible family; Ma Ntombi, Max and your beautiful daughters and grandsons; Karin; Sbu; Zofia; Emmanuely; Thebe; Lindiwe; Mkhipeni; Lucky (RIP) - I love each of you immensely. To my dear friends and family who, no matter how far apart we are, continue to shape and sustain me: • Mama Do, Papa Tony, Sara, Enrique, and my sweet Jo Jo; Randy; Julia, Felipe, and your four beautiful children; Gabby and Marcelo; Sharlene; Caroline; Cousin Jay; Laila, Guichi, and Maya; Paul, Lorena, Kian, and Thiago; Uncle Rick and iii Aunt Kate; Uncle Parviz and Auntie Anne; Celo; Katie; The Platt Family including Mama Platt, Bart James, Ali, Jen, Elliot, and sweet Anya - I love you all, so much. To the National Academy of Education/ Spencer Foundation: • It is because of your financial and professional support that I was able to complete this dissertation. I feel incredibly grateful to have been awarded this fellowship. To these people and every single person who I have met and learned from. Thank you. Truly. iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the incredible working women around the world, and particularly to the working women throughout South Africa. Thank you for your stories; thank you for your strength. v Abstract Domestic workers have played an essential role in the history of South Africa; and yet, current research neither explores the educational experiences of these women nor examines the ways in which national discourses surrounding English language learning influence their educational motivations. This dissertation aims to ameliorate this dearth of research while simultaneously broadening global conceptions of adult language learners by focusing on the English language learning of older, Black, female, South African domestic workers. Utilizing Critical Ethnographic Narrative Analysis (CENA), in which I draw from the histories, narratives, and HERstories of 28 female domestic workers over three-year span, I explore the complex reasons and motivations for South African domestic workers to learn English in a multilingual linguascape. Framed in poststructural theories of language, identity, and power in connection with postcolonial theories of English language learning, I make three main arguments. First, I contend that the terms “education” and “literacy” have become metonyms for “English language education” and “English literacy” that undeniably affect these women’s educational and linguistic motivations. Second, I find that these women are living in a three-fold state of domination in which they incur symbolic violence from the neo-colonial importance placed on English leading to their linguistic vulnerability. Third, I find that despite metonymic discourses purporting the essential nature of English in post-apartheid South Africa, and notwithstanding the numerous forms of violence enacted upon these women in their past and present lives, South African domestic workers live within interstices in which they are showcasing aspects of agency and autonomy in their work, home, and vi educational spaces while concurrently remaining within the boundaries of metonymic discourse that binds them to these spaces. vii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................ I DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................................... IV ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................................V LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................... X LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................................... XI CHAPTER 1: THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION, ADULT LANGUAGE LITERACY, AND DOMESTIC WORK IN SOUTH AFRICA .................................................................................................... 1 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................................................... 4 THE HERSTORY OF THIS STUDY .......................................................................................................................... 5 Locating Space/Locating Participants .................................................................................................... 5 My Own Narrative .................................................................................................................................. 8 DEFINING “ENGLISH”...................................................................................................................................... 11 THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA ....................................................................... 13 Pre-Apartheid South African Education ............................................................................................... 13 South African Education During Apartheid .......................................................................................... 17 Post-Apartheid South African Education .............................................................................................. 20 ADULT BASIC EDUCATION AND LANGUAGE LEARNING IN SOUTH AFRICA .................................................................. 22 DOMESTIC WORK IN SOUTH AFRICA .................................................................................................................. 28 Domestic Workers and Adult Education .............................................................................................. 34 CONCLUDING CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................ 35 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS FOR ADULT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING