Facing the Juggernaut: Living Multilingual Lives by Dr. Lee Su Kim School of Language Studies & Linguistics Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Malaysia

Facing the Juggernaut: Living Multilingual Lives Jugger-what ? Theories in second language acquisition Multilingual speakers in Outer Circle contexts Research on Language and Identity Towards a sensitive EIL pedagogy

Juggernaut Juggernaut - used to describe a force regarded as unstoppable, that will crush all in its path. Derived from the Sanskrit JagannāthaJagannātha (‘Lord of the universe’ ) one of the many names of Krishna from the ancient Vedic scriptures of India. The Jagannath Temple in Puri, Orissa has an annual procession of chariots carrying the statues of Krishna.

Global English - The Juggernaut No of L1 speakers of English – 337 million No of L2 speakers million No of EFL speakers - 1 billion Crystal, David billion people will be learning English. Thereafter, the number of ‘learners’ will decline rapidly, falling to 500–600 million by 2050 – or fewer if enthusiasm for English wanes. Graddol, David ‘English Next’ ( London: British Council )

FOCUS ON FORM FOCUS ON PROCESS FOCUS ON THE LEARNER AS A SOCIAL BEING Gardner and Lambert (1972) Instrumental motivation & Integrative motivation Krashen (1981 ) The affective filter Schumann (1978) Congruence for successful acculturation Theories in Second Language Acquisition ( SLA)

Revisiting Motivation (Norton Peirce, 1995; Norton, 2000) INVESTMENT Assumes - complex identity - changing across time and space -reproduced in social interaction MOTIVATION Assumes - unitary - coherent - ahistorical language learner

Multilingual Speakers in Outer Circle contexts Problems of using a Native Speaker Model in research Much of SLA theory not relevant: 1. Assumptions - developed in Inner Circle contexts, with little input from other countries. - all speakers of English are targeting for native speaker competence.

Multilingual Speakers in Outer Circle contexts Problems of using a Native Speaker Model in rese arch 2. Sociocultural contexts are very different between Inner and Outer Circle contexts. 3. Most users of English in Outer Circle contexts have a repertoire of languages. They use English alongside the other languages and draw on their rich linguistic repertoire to signal role relationships.

Differences between the Inner Circle and Outer Circle contexts Norton Peirce (1995) Inner Circle contexts Investment in the TL is investment in one’s social identity Investment in TL - expectation of rewards - “range of symbolic resources”. Returns will increase their “cultural capital” Lee Su Kim ( 2003 ) Outer Circle contexts Highly dependent on the localised contexts Has to be masked sometimes depending on contexts Language – used to include and exclude Does not always brings outright rewards Despite dissonance, still brings dividends and positive returns.

Work on impact of English Language on Identity of Bi/Multilingual Speakers Previous research Lee Su Kim, A Qualitative Study of the Impact of English on the Identity Constructions of Malaysian ESL speakers Lee, Su Kim. (2003) Multiple Identities in a Multicultural World: A Malaysian perspective. Journal of Language, Identity and Education, Vol. 2, No. 3, UKM GUP research project on Language & Identity Lee Su Kim ( Team Leader ) Lee King Siong Wong Fook Fei Azizah Ya’acob

Research on Language and Identity Multilingualism - Adept bilingual/multilingual speakers -Owners of a repertoire of languages, with English as a dominant language -No longer a ‘mother tongue’ but a number of tongues. -English used in all domains - family, friendship, academic, social, cyberspace. -Not necessarily nativelike competence of English. Varying degrees of competence

Call for new ways of looking at Multilingualism -A reassessment needed of some of the frameworks and theories Bilingualism, multilingualism, language planning, identity construction, SLA, interference. - Has to be approached in terms of the interrelatability of the languages in these contexts, and NOT on the basis of how the earlier European based theories represent them outside these contexts.

Multilingualism – generational differences English – viewed as a pragmatic useful language. Not regarded as a threat to cultural identity. The ‘What’s the big deal?’ factor. A tool that allows access to different world views. A language of empowerment. Musa : You’re not going to develop yourself whether, uhm, economically, or, you know, individually if you don’t speak English right now. Because I think it’s a tool for us.

Towards an appropriate methodology for EIL - No one best method -“A sense of plausibility” (Prabhu, 1990) “Teacher’s subjective understanding of the teaching they do” -A pedagogy of appropriation -Methodology should not be linked to just one cultural mode or paradigm -Sensitivity to the local cultural context -Be aware of the cultures of learning -Global thinking, local teaching