Martin Lamb: Can I, should I, destabilize my students’ sense of self?

The basic premise in Martin’s talk was that all successful EFL/ESL learning is not only about acquiring the target linguistic code, but also (and very much so!) about developing an L2 identity:

 “Learning an L2 involves a struggle to forge a new identity that is true to the self” (van Lier, 2007)

The development of this L2-mediated identity, therefore, involves struggle, destabilization and ambivalence, i.e. “feeling a part and feeling apart” (Block, 2007).

Research seems to indicate that students sometimes do feel like different people when they use different languages (Pavlenko, 2005). Martin offered evidence from his 6-year research into diary entries of Indonesian learners of English that L2 identity development does happen in EFL contexts, too, not only in ESL settings. A potentially emotional tone of a learner diary entry, for instance, mirrored in the use of punctuation, may be seen as evidence of an L2-self in progress.

If this is the case, what can (or rather: what should) the teachers’ role be in fomenting the students’ English-mediated identities? Teaching English as a means of communication, not only a school subject can be one way of supporting the development of the learners’ L2 self.

Another is by encouraging the students to use English themselves or by immersing them in ‘edgy’ activities (i.e. such that will take the learners to the edge of their comfort zones, thus targeting the boundary between their current selves and their future possible selves; examples include writing a prayer in English, using role-play, etc.).

Yet another way to help students develop their L2 identity is by creating an autonomous learning environment, where learners are themselves and ‘speak as themselves’, not as learners (producing potentially artificial language – e.g. course book scripts).

Martin finished his talk warning us about the potential resistance to work on their L2 identities on the part of both learners (Thornbury, 2005) and teachers (Richards, 2006). 

In summary, a very inspiring talk, opening up many research horizons.