Investing in Foreign-Language Writing: A Study of Two Multicultural Learners

要旨

Through interpretive case studies, I report how, in an advanced Japanese literacy course, two Canadian university students from different enthnolinguistic backgrounds engaged in composing in Japanese quite different ways. The multiple sources of data, including the viewpoints they expressed in interviews and questionnaires, were examined qualitatively to create a comprehensive profile of each student. Using a theoretical and interpretive framework that builds on the constructs of community of practice, identity, and investment (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Norton, 2000; Wenger, 1998), I argue the following: (a) that learning a foreign language, including writing in a foreign language, is inextricably intertwined with students' life histories with respect to the target language, their changing identities, and their agency; and (b) that, in the more transient community of the classroom, students' differential modes of task engagement can be explained in terms of their movement between communities of practice, past and future.

主題