Tracing Knowledge through ‘Student-Generated Funds’ and ‘Positionings’ in Adult ESL Contexts

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Three
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT068 (Friday)

Abstract

The paper presents findings of a multiple case study that identified the generation of knowledge/s of three adult English as a Second Language (ESL) learners at a university and how they were positioned to draw on and develop their knowledge(s). Three research instruments were used in the study, including observations, interviews, and artifacts. An example of the preliminary findings is how a participant generated self-knowledge through a reflective engagement of her experiences as an immigrant and someone with anxiety, which helped her position herself more confidently in social settings. Such findings are expected to contest deficit views associated with adult ESL learners by tracing their knowledge/s and how they are positioned in relation to knowledge/s in their academic/social settings.

Author

• Thilina Indrajie Wickramaarachchi, University of Wyoming