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Journal of Language, Identity & Education Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hlie20
Teaching English as an international language: Identity, resistance and negotiation, by Ha, P. L. Paolo Nino M. Valdez a
a
De La Salle University Manila
Available online: 17 Nov 2011
To cite this article: Paolo Nino M. Valdez (2011): Teaching English as an international language: Identity, resistance and negotiation, by Ha, P. L., Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 10:5, 364-367 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2011.614550
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REFERENCES Extra, G., & Ya˘gmur, K. (Eds.). (2004). Urban multilingualism in Europe. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Fortune, T. W., & Tedick, D. J. (2008). Evolving perspectives on immersion education. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. García, O. (2009). Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. García, O., Skutnabb-Kangas, T., & Torres-Guzmán, M. (Eds.). (2006). Imagining multilingual schools. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Hornberger, N., & McKay, S. L. (Eds.). (2010). Sociolinguistics and language education. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Lasagabaster, D., & Huguet, A. (2007). Multilingualism in European bilingual contexts. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Ha, P. L. (2008). Teaching English as an international language: Identity, resistance and negotiation. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters, 204 pp. $44.95 (paperback). Reviewed by Paolo Nino M. Valdez De La Salle University Manila
[email protected] With the emergence of globalization and critical theory in different fields of study, there has been a steady growth of publications dealing with challenging definitions of constructs in the social sciences (such as identity construction, knowledge construction, and ideology). In English language teaching (ELT) for example, the rise of writers integrating the influence of sociopolitical dimensions in the field has shaped our views from a seemingly objective, apolitical, and neutral profession to a politically charged and conflict ridden area in education (Pennycook, 1994; Philippson, 1992). Phan Le Ha’s volume is one of those publications that deals with aspects of the profession integrating personal and professional experiences in the context of social forces that create tensions in the practice of English language teaching. Chapter 1 opens with establishing the need to redefine essential concepts such as teacher identity, epistemology, and auto-ethnography in the context of language teaching. The chapter introduces theoretical gaps cited in previous literature on the construction of teacher identity. Largely an emerging and understudied concept in ELT studies, the writer mentions different facets of her own identity as a native of Vietnam, English language teacher, graduate student, and mother. As seen in this chapter, Ha introduces herself as a representative of Vietnamese teachers of English. She also points out the primacy of Vietnamese notions of morality such as caring, loving, and nurturing in the context of her profession (pp. 5–9). This, therefore, helps readers realize the importance of personal meanings shaped by one’s culture (religious beliefs for example) and their impact on practice and eventually one’s identity formation. The discussion on different aspects of identity proceeds with the author’s orientation on developing a model of teacher identity through epistemology and auto-ethnography-essential constructs, which eventually sets the tone for the succeeding chapters of the book.
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In expounding the concept of identity, Chapter 2 examines the contrast between Western and Vietnamese views of identity. Moreover, the writer identifies essential dimensions of identity by establishing the factors that shape such concept. For example, Ha explores the links between identity, language, and culture as an amorphous system that is never constant and is continuously shaped by economic, social, and political forces. Interestingly, Ha’s discussion on Vietnamese and Western concepts of identity has similarities and differences. For instance, the author points out that both perspectives believe that identity is shaped through meaning-making experiences. However, she believes that the Vietnamese construct of identity possesses a “core” that can be peeled like different layers, as people’s experiences are influenced by a myriad of factors. Factors such as globalization, migration, and nationalism all have an impact on one’s sense of belonging. Perhaps an interesting point made by the author is the complexity of identity construction as linked to languages. Ha points out that “the more languages you speak, the more identities you have; or the more ‘independent,’ the more liberated and complicated your identity becomes” (p. 63). I believe that such assertion highlights the salient difference between Western views of identity as something that is changing while the Vietnamese notions of identity places emphasis on one’s belonging to a particular community because of values inherent among people of a nation/culture. This chapter is noteworthy due to the writer’s application of resistance and appropriation in discourse in her context. Resistance and appropriation are concepts that can be traced to the periphery’s emerging relevance in critical scholarship (Canagarajah, 1999). Specifically, Ha exemplifies these concepts through her experiences of making sense of theories learned related to language learning and teaching as a student and eventually applying these in her writing and teaching. She believes that appropriation was manifested through the introduction of communicative language teaching (CLT) in different nonnative speaking regions. She emphasizes that, similar to other Asian contexts, Vietnam initially saw merits of CLT as it needed to progress in terms of global competitiveness. However, resistance is observed as she narrated experiences as regards the difficulties educators faced in implementing the approach in the Vietnamese context. In particular, values such as respect for authority (elders and teachers), which most Asian cultures uphold, have been apparently disregarded as CLT effectively promoted a more Western mode of practice in communication. These strategies employed by scholars struggling to challenge the existing dominance of Western thought are capably integrated in Ha’s view of the unique relationship between language, culture, and identity. Chapter 3, on the other hand, problematizes the current politics in English language teaching. To systematically trace the ideological positions constraining the profession, Ha gives an adequate discussion on the colonial influence in the field. For example, the promotion of TESOL programs by centre nations among members of the periphery to be educational leaders of their own locales led to problems in terms of ethnocentrism, and even a sense of inferiority among nonnative-speaker teachers of English who are tasked to teach native speakers of the language. Also, as documented in the book, Western dominance was mainly achieved through the promotion of standard Englishes from the centre and the marginalization of varieties from the periphery, advocacy of teaching methods espoused by the West, and the continuous preference for native speakers as experts in educational settings. Among all the chapters, this part of the volume is crucial in understanding the author’s orientation in developing a model of teacher identity given the (inter)national scope of influence of globalizing forces on the profession.
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The fourth and fifth chapters represent the author’s capacity to make sense of what has been previously said in the literature and what she has gathered through extensive documentation of her experiences and of others in the field. An important contribution of these chapters is the process of negotiating teacher identity amidst different influences. She highlights the notion of struggle as teachers make sense of their value systems of their own culture and that of the target language culture. Two cases in point are noteworthy for readers. First, Ha’s description of teachers’ stigmatization whenever they come back from studies abroad may be similar to other situations in the Periphery. Based on her accounts, it is claimed that teachers who have been granted scholarships abroad are subjected to high expectations by their peers and are often times frustrated when they discover that what they have learned may be inapplicable in their local setting. Leading to the second point, Ha’s respondents in the study were subjected to social judgments by peers, as they are viewed as “superior” in terms of knowledge, yet distant as they are perceived as individuals who have abandoned the values/beliefs of their culture. Furthermore, the integration of the role of teachers as moral guides and gatekeepers of knowledge of the targetlanguage culture is insightful, as this not only sparks conflict among practitioners but will create more space for scholarly investigations in the years to come. With regard to Chapter 6, the author contextualizes all the inputs of her model in describing how one participant in Ha’s study established his own identity. As a result of rich ethnographic descriptions of the participants’ teaching situation, relationship with students and colleagues, and perceptions of the profession, this chapter weaves several stories of the participant’s construction of identity. To sum up the volume, Ha’s theory of identity formation as a struggle of the self and the other in the context of national and global concerns in the profession is particularly powerful since it can account for unique experiences from those in the periphery. From the reader’s point of view, Chapter 7 is a fitting conclusion to the author’s grand narrative of how identity is shaped by experience of the self when subjected to the forces of the profession, nation, and the world. This volume’s novel contribution is in its expansion of three relevant concepts in the field: Identity, Epistemology, and Auto-ethnography. Phan Le Ha’s work forwards a fluid model of teacher identity as it is influenced by a multitude of factors. Also, she was able to link notions of identity to the governing politics of ELT due to the conflict between the foreign influence of centre states and local norms of periphery communities. Likewise, it is noteworthy to point out that her take on identity had adequately accounted for the tension between personal and professional spheres of existence that contribute to a teacher’s perception of identity. Interestingly, the book has capably grappled with the existing notions of epistemology in the previous literature while making sense of the author’s own experiences in the classroom. Her discussion on epistemology as a driving force in developing modes of resistance both in her local setting and the wider context of the profession will surely be a lasting contribution to the complex processes that underlie the development of knowledge in the field for years to come. Most importantly, the application of auto-ethnography, which appears to be an underdeveloped method for research in English language teaching, makes this a welcome addition to the growing literature on the application of indigenous methods of investigation in the field. Since the expansion of hazy concepts such as epistemology and identity are adequately addressed in this book using the author’s own documented experiences, the use of auto-ethnography has the
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potential to draw similar/conflicting experiences among professionals across different cultures and settings. Overall, this book has come at a right time since this contributes to the emerging critical mass of writers coming from the periphery that have engaged in a skeptical stance in challenging the dominating view of scholarship in ELT. Due to the author’s blending of personal insights and the existing literature in different fields, this book has symbolically unleashed previously silenced voices in the field. In turn, this volume will encourage other writers and scholars to explore underdeveloped methodologies in exploring the political and hidden assumptions that underlie current practice in the profession.
REFERENCES Canagarajah, S. (1999). Resisting linguistic imperialism in English teaching. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Pennycook, A. (1994). The cultural politics of English as an international language. Harlow, UK: Longman. Philippson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
