JFL LEARNERS IN THE U.S.: IDENTITY, JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE, AND LANGUAGE LEARNING by NATSUKI FUKUNAGA ANDERSON (Under the Direction of Betsy Rymes) ABSTRACT This is a qualitative study of a small subset of Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL) students who are interested in Japanese popular culture and language, focusing on language-in- use. The purpose of this study is to understand the multiple ways contemporary Japanese culture is experienced by JFL college students who are also secret fans of anime and Japanese popular culture. In particular, this study is interested in the critical aspect of the relationship between JFL learners’ experiences and its impact on their individual identities in everyday life. Informed by discourse and identity theories, this study will investigate aspects of contemporary Japanese popular culture that JFL students are attracted to and engaged in, and explore Japanese learners’ social identities through multiple media and in different contexts: 1) photographs taken by participants, 2) individual photo-elicited interviews, and 3) a series of group discussions of Japanese popular culture texts. The central questions guiding the study are as follows: 1) How do JFL students narrate their identities as Japanese popular culture fans in diverse social situations? 2) How do JFL students narrate their critical stance on both Japanese and U.S. societies? By understanding how learners of Japanese construct their own identities using individual agency, and how the process is mediated by both Japanese language and popular culture texts, this study will contribute to new and dynamic understandings of Japanese culture and JFL learning as experienced by Japanese learners in the U.S. INDEX WORDS: Japanese as a foreign language, socio-cultural perspective in language learning, identity, agency, popular culture, discourse analysis, gender, social norms, critical stance JFL LEARNERS IN THE U.S.: IDENTITY, JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE, AND LANGUAGE LEARNING by NATSUKI FUKUNAGA ANDERSON Bachelor of Arts, Nihon University, Japan, 1999 Master of Education, University of Georgia, 2001 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2005 © 2005 Natsuki Fukunaga Anderson All Rights Reserved JFL LEARNERS IN THE U.S.: IDENTITY, JAPANESE POPULAR CULTURE, AND LANGUAGE LEARNING by NATSUKI FUKUNAGA ANDERSON Major Professor: Betsy Rymes Committee: Donna Alvermann Linda Harklau Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2005 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Betsy Rymes, for her long- term support, patience, and encouragement throughout my graduate studies. Her valuable advice was essential to the completion of this dissertation and has taught me insights on the workings of academic research in general. I am also grateful to other committee members; Dr. Linda Harklau who has also been taking time to provide helpful comments on my on-going research throughout my graduate studies; and Dr. Donna Alvermann who agreed to be on my committee and gave me opportunities to think about my identity and popular culture research critically with her literacy scholar’s perspectives. It was a privilege to work with all the students who participated in this study. Their volunteer spirits and willingness to share their opinions are much appreciated. I am grateful to Dr. Dezso Benedek and Dr. Masaki Mori for letting me teach Japanese as a teaching assistant. I learned so much from observing and interacting with my students in Japanese Program. I also thank the Kagoshima Prefecture Ikuei Zaidan for providing a scholarship to study abroad at a graduate school in a first place. I wish to acknowledge my colleagues, Dr. Karen Braxley for being a wonderful proofreader, and Dr. Masataka Yamaguchi for stimulating theoretical discussion. Finally, I would like to thank all my family members and friends for their support in making the completion possible. A special thank you goes to my husband Tom for his understanding and unconditional love. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Personal Background ................................................................................................2 Background of the Problem ......................................................................................3 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................8 Purpose of the Study ...............................................................................................10 Significant of the Study ..........................................................................................10 Overview ................................................................................................................11 2 REVIEW OF RELATED THEORY AND LITERATURE .......................................13 Discourse.................................................................................................................13 Discourse and Identity Theories .............................................................................16 Socio-cultural Perspectives Relevant to Language Learning..................................20 Japanese Popular Culture and JFL Learning ..........................................................25 3 METHODS ..................................................................................................................33 Background of the Study ........................................................................................33 Design of the Study ................................................................................................34 vi Research Participants .............................................................................................36 Methodology ..........................................................................................................43 Procedures of Data Collection ................................................................................47 Content of Discussion Group Meetings .................................................................50 Procedures of Data Analysis ..................................................................................56 4 DISPLAYING STANCES IN “BEING DIFFERENT” STORIES.............................58 Background ............................................................................................................58 “Being different, being weird” ................................................................................60 The Linguistic Indexing of Affective Stance .........................................................61 Indexical Pronouns .................................................................................................63 Discussion ..............................................................................................................71 5 DIVERSITY OF GENDER REPRESENTATION .....................................................74 Background ............................................................................................................75 Findings ..................................................................................................................81 Discussion ..............................................................................................................93 6 NEGOTIATING IDENTITIES: THE CASE OF A SUCCESSFUL JFL LEARNER98 Background ............................................................................................................98 Narrative Pattern ...................................................................................................104 Beth’s “Otaku” Narrative .....................................................................................105 Beth’s “Third Gender” Narrative .........................................................................112 Discussion and Implication ..................................................................................117 7 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS ................................................................122 Summary of the Findings .....................................................................................122 vii Theoretical Discussion .........................................................................................124 Educational Implications ......................................................................................127 Implications for Further Study .............................................................................130 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................133 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................138 viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Students’ background