從英語使用的自我認可及多語應用的創意談起: 台灣非都市型國中學生的英語學習社會化過程

Abstract

隨著英語不斷擴展到世界各地，處於英語學習外擴圈的台灣 (Kachru, 1992)，亦受到全球化英語的影響。數十年來，台灣推動許多教育政策來縮短英語教學資源的城鄉落差。然而，大多數鄉鎮及偏遠地區的英語教學現況仍顯示出，學生缺乏使用英語溝通的意願及不足的英語溝通能力。因此，本研究旨在探究台灣非都市區的八年級國中學生其英語學習社會化過程，紀錄他們從膽怯、缺乏信心的英語使用者逐漸成為自我認可的英語口說者，在此過程中，亦展現了多語應用的創意。據此，本研究分析學生英語使用的自我認可 (Bourdieu, 1977a) 及多語應用的創意 (Bakhtin, 1986)，一探學生在實踐社群 (Lave & Wenger, 1991) 的學習環境中，提升英語溝通意願 (MacIntyre et al., 1998)的蛻變歷程。

本研究以語言社會化為主要之分析架構，採民族誌田野調查、言談分析的詮釋性研究方法。共一百一十一位國中學生參與本研究。本研究歷時一年，資料來源為課堂中、課堂後的參與觀察、課堂中錄影、錄音檔案、田野筆記及分析備忘錄、三份問卷、學生作品等資料。

研究發現，提供學生大量的課堂發言參與機會，幫助學生自我覺察其為有能力、具潛力的英語口說者，是促進學生英語溝通意願的重要第一步；具備使用英語溝通意願的動機，學生因而在日常生活中自發性地使用英語與他人溝通，展現創意的多語應用表現。本研究初期，學生認為開口說英文乃是都會區學生、以英語為母語的外國人之專利，然而，藉由一年的語言社會化過程，這些非都市區的學生透過取得英語使用的正當性，逐漸在課堂中、甚至課堂外，積極開口說英語。

本研究提出以下貢獻：目前關於第二外語學習者語言社會化過程之研究，大多集中於以英語為第二外語背景下之大學學術實踐社群，較少研究著重在以英語為外語環境中，經歷早期英語教育階段學習者的語言社會化過程。因此，本研究試圖探究第二外語初學者從膽怯、邊緣參與者蛻變至自信、自我肯定的口說者之歷程。此外，雖然過往有許多關於增進學生使用英語溝通動機的研究，本研究指出賦予學生充足的表達機會以增進其自我認可，乃是促進學生使用英語溝通動機的首要關鍵。最後，關於在英語為外語環境背景下英語初學者的語言創意，本研究對偏少的相關研究亦提供進一步的瞭解。

研究結果希冀提供教育者有關增進在英語為非母語環境裡學生的英語學習動機之洞見，在語言學習的社會化過程中，幫助學生成為自我肯定的英語口說者及創意的多語應用者。期能藉本研究，提供台灣非都會區英語教育之參考。

As belonging to the “expanding circle” of English (Kachru, 1992), Taiwan has been impacted by the global spread of English. In recent decades, many national educational policies have attempted to balance urban and rural English education resources. However, in most rural English educational settings, students’ lack of willingness and capability of using and communicating in English persists. Thus, in order to foster students’ willingness to communicate (MacIntyre et al., 1998) in English, this study aims to explore how 8th graders in a rural community in Taiwan are gradually socialized from timid, illegitimate English users to legitimate English speakers (Bourdieu, 1977a) and creative language players in the community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) over two semesters.

Informed by language socialization as the main theoretical framework, the research is ethnographic, longitudinal, and discourse-analytic in approach. A total of 111 students participated in the study. The period of data collection is one year. Data sources include: participant observation in and out of classroom, in-class video and audio recordings, field notes and analytic memos, three questionnaires as well as analysis of students’ artifacts.

It is found that it is important to cultivate students’ awareness of the right to speak. After students gain and claim their legitimacy to speak English, the increase of their willingness to communicate and speak English in daily lives becomes possible. From the legitimate peripheral participation to full/mastery participation, students also demonstrate spontaneous and creative language play. The rural students change from associating speaking English with urban students and foreigners (native speakers) to taking the ownership of English and freely and creatively use English in and out of class.

This current study also provides some theoretical contributions. First, although a growing number of studies have shed some light on L2 learners’ language socialization in academic communities in ESL university settings, there has been relatively little empirical research conducted on the language socialization of younger L2 learners in EFL contexts. Therefore, this study contributes to exploring students’ transformational trajectories of becoming from timid, peripheral L2 novices to confident and legitimate L2 speakers. Next, it suggests that L2 learners’ legitimacy of the right to speak is the key to the development of L2 learners’ WTC. Finally, this study bridges the gap in the limited research on EFL learners’ language play and offers a more complete picture of younger L2 learners’ language play in EFL contexts.

It is hoped that the findings of the study could provide insights for educational practitioners to cultivate L2 novices’ motivations of learning English in EFL contexts, in which students are socialized into feeling legitimate as English speakers and displaying creativity as multilingual users. It is also hoped that it contributes some pedagogical implications to English language education in rural areas in Taiwan.