The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts ACCESS TO LANGUAGE LEARNING DURING STUDY ABROAD: THE ROLES OF IDENTITY AND SUBJECT POSITIONING A Thesis in French by Kathleen Farrell Whitworth © 2006 Kathleen Farrell Whitworth Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2006 The thesis of Kathleen Farrell Whitworth was reviewed and approved* by the following: Celeste Kinginger Associate Professor of French and Applied Linguistics Thesis Adviser Chair of Committee Jeannette D. Bragger Professor Emerita of French Meredith C. Doran Assistant Professor of French and Applied Linguistics James P. Lantolf Greer Professor of Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics Director of the Center for Language Acquisition Co-Director of CALPER (Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research) Thomas A. Hale Liberal Arts Professor of African, French and Comparative Literature Head of the Department of French and Francophone Studies *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT Study abroad is generally thought to offer access to interaction with native speakers in a wide variety of settings, bringing students into close contact with the cultural practices of the host country, and resulting in dramatic increases in language proficiency, cultural awareness and intercultural communicative competence. However, recent literature in the field of applied linguistics shows that access to language learning opportunities in the field is anything but unproblematic. The data collection for the present study began in the fall of 2002 and continued through the fall of 2003. The data collection instruments used in this project allow for a qualitative report, supported by quantitative data, on the language learning experience of four American study abroad students during the spring of 2003 in France. I examine how the students positioned themselves and were positioned while abroad, and I analyze the effects that this positioning had on the participants’ access to social networks, language learning opportunities, and their overall public identity in France. The quantitative data reported herein are used to support the qualitative and narrative data. For analysis purposes, a Poststructuralist view of language socialization during study abroad is taken in this dissertation. It allows us to conceptualize language as a site of struggle in which meanings and the identities of the speaker are negotiated and renegotiated with each utterance and experience in a speaker’s life, and which may or may not involve development of second language competence. A Poststructuralist view of language socialization during study abroad is a new way of dealing with context as part of a dialectic relationship that also involves the learners’ identities. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………………….vii List of Tables …………………………………………………………………………………..viii Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………………..ix Chapter One: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………1 1.1. Issues in Study Abroad ………………………………………………………………………1 1.2. Purpose of the Study ………………………………………………………………................3 1.3. Theoretical Framework ……………………………………………………………................5 1.4. Background of the project…...………………………………………………………………..7 1.5. Research Questions………... ……………………………………………………………….11 1.6. Overview of the Dissertation………………………………………………………………..12 Chapter Two: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ………………………………….............14 2.1. The Notion of Context in Study Abroad ……………………………………………………14 2.2. Context in Diary Studies ……………………………………………………………………19 2.2.1. Introduction to the Schumann’s Diary Studies …………………………………...19 2.2.2. The Schumann Studies ……………………………………………………………20 2.3. Introduction to SLA/Study Abroad Studies ...………………………….…………………...23 2.4. Context in Hybrid Studies …………………………………………………………………..35 2.4.1. Introduction to Hybrid Studies …………………………………………...............35 2.5. Context in Ethnographic Studies …………………………………………………………...43 2.5.1. Introduction to ethnographic studies ….………………………………………….43 2.6. Language Socialization ……………………………………………………………………..49 2.6.1. Poststructuralism and Language Socialization……………………………………53 2.6.2. Identity, Subject Positioning and Access…………………………………………55 2.6.3. A Poststructuralist View of Language Socialization During Study Abroad……...57 2.7. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………….63 Chapter Three: METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………………..67 3.1. The Approach to and Goals of the Study …………………………………………………...67 3.2. Research Questions………………………………………………………………………….68 3.3. My Position as a Researcher………………………………………………………………...68 3.4. Theoretical Approach….…………………………………………………………………….71 3.5. Data Collection Procedures and Analysis…………………………………………………...72 3.5.1. Description of Data Collection Instruments and Methods of Analysis …..….....72 3.5.2. Phases of the Study……………………………………….. …………………....83 3.5.3. Transcription Conventions……………………………… ……………………...86 3.6. The Setting…………….. …………………………………………………………………...87 3.6.1. The Montpellier Program………… ……………………………………………....88 3.6.2. The Dijon Program……… ……………………………………………………….98 3.6.3. The Paris Program ……………………………………………………………….104 3.7. The Students……………. …………………………………………………………………108 3.7. 1. Their Backgrounds ……………………………………………………………..108 v 3.7.2. Reasons for Choosing These Particular Students………………………………..111 3.8. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………...113 Chapter Four: CASE STUDIES & DATA ANALYSIS…………………………………….115 4.1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………..115 4.2. Case Studies………………………………………………………………………………..116 4.2.1. Benjamin ………………………………………………………………………...116 4.2.1.1. Benjamin’s background………………………………………………..116 4.2.1.2. Benjamin’s positioning during study abroad ………………………….117 4.2.1.3. Access and agency ………………………………………...…………..129 4.2.1.4. Transformation of motives, goals and subject positions ………………131 4.2.1.5. Summary……………………………………………………………….132 4.2.2. Bill……………………………………………………………………………….133 4.2.2.1. Bill’s background………………………………………………………133 4.2.2.2. Bill’s positioning during study abroad…………………………………140 4.2.2.3. Access and agency…………………………………………...………...151 4.2.2.4. Transformation of motives, goals and subject positions……………….153 4.2.2.5. Summary……………………………………………………………….154 4.2.3. Deirdre…………………………………………………………………………...155 4.2.3.1. Deirdre’s background………………………………………………….155 4.2.3.2. Deirdre’s positioning during study abroad…………………………….160 4.2.3.3. Access and agency ………………………………………..…………...174 4.2.3.4. Transformation of motives, goals and subject positions……………….175 4.2.3.5. Summary……………………………………………………………….176 4.2.4. Jada………………………………………………………………………………177 4.2.4.1. Jada’s background……………………………………………………...177 4.2.4.2. Jada’s positioning during study abroad………………………………...183 4.2.4.3. Access and agency ………………………………………......………...202 4.2.4.4. Transformation of motives, goals and subject positions…………….....202 4.2.4.6. Summary……………………………………………………………….207 4.3. The Language Data ………………………………………………………………………..208 4.3.1. The Test de Français International Scores……………………………………….208 4.3.2. The TU/VOUS Data……………………………………………………………..211 4.3.3. The Colloquial Words Data……………………………………………………...214 4.3.4. The Logbook Data………………………………………………………………216 4.4. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………...219 Chapter Five: CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………….223 5.1. Research questions revisited ………………………………………………………225 5.2. Advantages and limitations ………………………………………………………..232 5.3. Directions of future research ………………………………………………………237 5.4. Concluding remarks ……………………………………………………………….240 References ……………………………………………………………………………………..242 Appendix A: Participants’ Test Results ……………………………………………………….250 vi Appendix B: Participant Logbook Data ……………………………………………………….258 Appendix C: Language Awareness Interview/Test …………………………………………...270 Appendix D: Project Description ……………………………………………………………...274 Appendix E: Form B for Behavioral Research Study and Informed Consent ………………...276 Appendix F: Project Timetable ………………………………………………………………..284 Appendix G: Personal / Language History Interview Question guidelines …………………...287 Appendix H: Explanation of the Journal and Logbook Task …………………………………288 Appendix I: Mid-term interview guidelines …………………………………………………..290 Appendix J: End of experience guidelines ……………………………………………………291 Appendix K: Role Play Situations …………………………………………………………….293 Appendix L: Components of the Entire CALPER Project…………………………………….295 vii FIGURES FIGURE 1: Montpellier is the capital of Languedoc-Rousillon region of France. The city is located in the south on the Mediterranean Sea, just to the northwest of Marseille. (Page 83) FIGURE 2: Dijon is located in northeast France, in the heart of the Burgundy region. (Page 98) FIGURE 3: Paris, the capital of France, is located in the heart of the Ile de France region. (Page 104) FIGURE 4: Paris has 20 arrondissements, or neighborhoods. The arrondissements were established from the middle outward to form a concentric circle. The 1st arrondissement starts in the center of Paris, and the 20th is found on the eastern-most edge of Paris. (Page 101) viii TABLES Table 1-1: Participant Information (Page 10) Table 3-1: Data Collection Instruments Used, Completed at What Stage, Where (Page 114) Table 3-2: Colloquial Words List (Page 76) ix Acknowledgements There are many people who made this dissertation happen. First and foremost I would like to thank Celeste Kinginger, my director and mentor. Throughout the various phases of the project Celeste showed me her incredible patience,