(Re)Constructing “Local” as Language Model: Raciolinguistic Ideologies and Learner Investment in an Online Adult ESL Class

• In Event: Thursday Roundtable Session 10:50 am
  In Roundtable Session: Toward an Inclusive Future: Unpacking Racial and Anti-Semitic Narratives via Film, Linguistic Identity, and Professional Development (Table 1)

Abstract

This study examines the impact of raciolinguistic ideologies on learners' investment in English learning within the context of second language acquisition (SLA). By employing critical discourse analysis and semi-structured interviews, we aim to investigate how learners' raciolinguistic ideologies influence their investment in English. Additionally, we will examine the potential of reconstructing the local as language model in an online adult ESL class to reshape learners' raciolinguistic ideologies. Findings reveal that learners with such ideologies tend to invest more in White English through material selection, accent imitation, and an emphasis on correctness. To counter this, we develop strategies promoting L1 usage, local English varieties, pragmatic differences, and translanguaging practices to alter learners' ideologies and investment in English learning.

Author

• Gengqi Xiao, University of Wisconsin-Madison