TRANSLINGUALISM AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: LANGUAGE IDEOLOGIES OF GAELIC MEDIUM EDUCATION TEACHERS IN A LINGUISTICALLY LIMINAL SETTING by John Knipe A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Education Committee: ___________________________________________ Chair ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Program Director ___________________________________________ Dean, College of Education and Human Development Date: _____________________________________ Summer Semester 2017 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Translingualism and Second Language Acquisition: Language Ideologies of Gaelic Medium Education Teachers in a Linguistically Liminal Setting A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at George Mason University by John Knipe Master of Arts Middlebury College, 2016 Master of Education Covenant College, 2010 Bachelor of Arts Bob Jones University, 2002 Director: Rebecca Fox, Professor College of Education and Human Development Summer Semester 2017 George Mason University Fairfax, VA THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION-NODERIVS 3.0 UNPORTED LICENSE ii Dedication To my parents whose love, encouragement, and work ethic led me to keep pressing on. My father spent hours laboring in factories, volunteering at his church, and caring for us children. His self-sacrifice was a model to me that true education and reform come about not by word but by deed. I hope that this work serves as a first step in humanizing love for those who have been marginalized. During my time as a doctoral student my father’s life was taken by Mesothelioma, a cancer that was a direct result of his hard work and service both in the U.S. Navy and a number of factories. Nevertheless, he continued to express his pride for my accomplishments. I owe him all the praise. My mother, who left all of the comforts, love, and familiarity of her native Scotland, has not only equally encouraged me, but she has read every page of this dissertation more times than I can count. Her life has also been lived for me and my siblings and her actions have always been undoubtedly selfless. I cannot thank her enough for keeping me on track and pushing me to do my best. iii Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my family. Throughout my childhood my siblings encouraged me to pursue my goals and engage my curiosity. I am thankful to have had the support of Marion and Cliff, Danine and Mike, Bill and Sue, and Nancy and Kurt. I am likewise thankful for my nieces and nephews – Chris and Jason, Daneen and Ted, Jake, Sean, Jonathan, Anna, Joel, Matthew, Cierra, Jenna, Cameron, Allie, Hayden, Hayley, Maree, and Jake. Thank you for providing love and levity and reminding me that family is everything. I would also like to thank Dr. Rebecca Fox who took an interest in my research from the first time I visited campus. Thank you for your guidance and encouragement. I am grateful for your service as my dissertation chair as well as your mentorship throughout the PhD program. I would next like to thank the many professors who helped stretch me. Thank you, Dr. Beverly Shaklee, Dr. Earle Reybold, and Dr. Mattix Foster for all of your support and guidance. I would like to thank the many friends in the program. To Kelly who helped with coding, proofreading, editing, thinking, processing, and eating of macarons at The Bakeshop in Arlington. You have been a great friend, colleague, and travel partner. I do not know if I would have been able to finish this program without your friendship and advice. From our Arnold Schwartzenegger impersonations in the car somewhere in between Germany and the Czech Republic to our antics on a rickshaw in San Diego, you have helped me keep my sanity. To Sarah who opened my eyes to many opportunities, collaborated with me on a number of projects both domestically and abroad, and helped me learn to “slow my roll” when I was in states of panic. Whether you were adopting a squirrel for me, secretly sharing candy with me in a classroom in Guatemala, or hunting down Beaver Tails in Toronto, you did more to calm my spirit than you’ll ever know. I’m so thankful for your friendship. iv Thanks to Brenda, my first friend in the program, who weathered many scholastic and literal storms with me. We have worked through papers in Introduction to International Education and actual tornadoes in Shirlington. Thank you for your help and support. To my many other colleagues and friends like Heather, Tami, Ishrath, Karen, Anthony, and Sean I am grateful for your patience, advice, and friendship. To the many friends outside of my PhD program who have been with me when I struggled. You have demonstrated great love, kindness, and patience. Thank you to Jennie, Liz, Coart, Lori, Blake, Holly, Aunt Tina, Uncle Billy, Aunt Sharon, Uncle Jim, Aunt Nancy, Jacob, Tim, Lena, Gunnar, Haukur, Eggert, and the countless others who took phone calls, read papers, and spent time helping me realize that humanity involves more than writing papers and reading books. To my friends at New Covenant. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach and making my time there not feel like work. To Joey, Debbie, and the many other friends and families who made my job enjoyable. To the wonderful friends that I made at Bailteil School. Thank you for making my research worthwhile and making me feel like one of you. I am forever grateful. Finally, I want to thank Ms. Laura Mosca, my sixth-grade teacher who taught me to love learning. I began learning Spanish in her class and my passion for languages and linguistics has not died since. With every chapter written in my academic career, her influence was in the back of my mind. v Table of Contents Page List of Tables ............................................................................................................... viiviii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... x Abstract .............................................................................................................................. xi Chapter One ........................................................................................................................ 1 Rationales for Research ................................................................................................... 4 Statement of Problem ...................................................................................................... 8 Purpose of Study ........................................................................................................... 10 Reasearch Questions ..................................................................................................... 11 Significance ................................................................................................................... 12 Language Terminology and Definitions ....................................................................... 12 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 17 Chapter Two ...................................................................................................................... 19 Language Shift .............................................................................................................. 20 Reversing Language Shift ............................................................................................. 23 Linguistic Landscape of Scotland ................................................................................. 24 Educational Linguistics ................................................................................................. 34 Frameworks of Language .............................................................................................. 41 Frameworks of Teachers’ Language Ideologies ........................................................... 48 Synthesis of Relevant Research .................................................................................... 50 Need for Further Research ............................................................................................ 59 Language Policy ............................................................................................................ 60 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 60 Chapter Three .................................................................................................................... 62 Researcher Identity ........................................................................................................ 63 Research Design ............................................................................................................ 65 vi Pre-pilot Study .............................................................................................................. 67 Pilot Study ..................................................................................................................... 69 Site Selection ................................................................................................................