English Acquisition, Identity Reconstruction, Liberation: Leadership Development among Pakistan's Subaltern English Learners in a Digitized Reality.

• In Event: Educator and leadership perspectives in South Asia

Proposal

Purpose of Study
The purpose of this qualitative study concerns Pakistanis who achieved English fluency and developed leadership ability despite not hailing from Pakistan’s elite English-speaking classes. The twelve participants hailed from purely non-English speaking backgrounds—their parents could not speak English—and their schooling had taken place at public or non-elite private institutions where the medium of instruction was vernacular and no digital/online resources were available. Such schools generally have one period of English a few times a week and it is not unusual that the teachers of the subject of English cannot converse in it. The sample was fairly balanced in terms of age, gender, and geographical location within Pakistan. The participants were interviewed to explore their lived experiences in relation to: motivation to learn English, identity reconstruction, and leadership development. Findings show that these subalterns, or non-elites, were motivated to learn English as it made them feel confident as well as embraced and respected by society. Their changing identity included a sense of learnedness which received recognition and welcome. Knowledge of English provided opportunities for leadership enactment. Their beliefs about their leadership and traits as leaders were linked to speaking English. Ability in English also facilitated their access to and and usage of online resources which further impacted their motivation, identity and leadership. This study suggests that the role of English in the identity construction and leadership development of marginalized learners in non-English speaking developing societies such as Pakistan warrants further investigation.

Literature Review
Pakistan failed to meet any targets of the MGDs (Attaullah & Malik, 2015) and ranks 150th on the UNDP HDI (2019). It has 23 million out-of-school children (Naviwala, 2016) and yet is a net exporter of professionals. The 12,500 doctors of Pakistani origin in America (Young, Chaudhry, Pei, Arnhart, Dugan, & Snyder, 2017) mostly come from Pakistan’s elite English-speaking class (Hussein, 1999). English remains a passport for entry to high social positions (Mahboob, 2002) but is only available through expensive private schools that are out of reach of most people (Mustafa, 2011). Public schools where children are taught in Urdu have high dropout rates and most students never matriculate (Coleman, 2010). Thus “being educated” and “English” are closely linked in Pakistan.

To explore learning English, I used the literature on motivation to learn a second language (Dörnyei, 1990) which can be integrative or instrumental (Gardner & Lambert, 1972). “Integrative” implies motivation to learn English to integrate into the community of speakers and “Instrumental” implies motivation to learn the language to improve one’s prospects. Pierce’s (1995) motivational concept of investment suggests that learners invest resources in English to access a wider range of rewards, both tangible and intangible.

To understand how participants’ identities change, I used the literature on identity and second language acquisition (Block, 2007; Côté & Levine, 2002; Vignoles et al., 2006). Issues of identity are central to language education (Norton, 2000), and the research shows that second-language acquisition creates a complex interplay of many constructs where social roles, relationships, power relations, and identities are constantly reconstituted (Lee, 2003). English learners are able to redefine their relationship with society as they “claim more powerful identities from which to speak” (Norton, 2016, p. 2).

The construct of leadership and how it intersects with English language learning does not appear much discussed in the literature. To understand how participants changed their views of themselves as leaders, we use the literature on leadership cognition (Mumford & collaborators, 2000, 2007, 2015). To understand how they changed their behaviors, we use the literature on leadership practices and traits (Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1991; Stogdill, 1948, 1974).

I was motivated to conduct this study by my experiences as an English language teacher to underprivileged children where I saw the positive impact learning English had on their confidence and behaviors. My experience working with such students also made me aware that English not only opens the doors to knowledge in a developing postcolonial society like Pakistan, but it also makes students develop leadership consciousness and traits.

Perspectives or Conceptual Framework
My research questions are:
1. What is the motivation to learn English of subaltern or non-elite Pakistanis?
2. What role has the acquisition of English played in the reconstruction of their identities?
3. How has fluency in English helped non-elites develop leadership and as leaders?

Mode of Inquiry
I employ a qualitative research design to capture the lived experiences of participants using semi-structured interviews (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The design allows us to uncover the essences of their journeys as they learned English and reconstructed their identities (Moustakas, 1994).

Data Sources
I collected data from twelve participants who ranged between the ages of 20 and 70. All completed their schooling at public or non-elite private institutions. None had parents who speak English. All achieved fluency through personal effort, and had a strong command, and idiomatic understanding, of English. Half were females and the other half males. They were all in positions of educational leadership with half of them employed in the public sector at the school or tertiary level. The other half were working in the private sector or self-employed. Participants were interviewed for approximately 45 to 60 minutes which were then transcribed.

Scientific or Scholarly Significance of the Study or Work
With regards to first research question, I found evidence of both instrumental and integrative (Gardner & Lambert, 1972) motivations. With regards to the second research question, the participants were emphatic in expressing the positive role of English on their self-concept and how it had imbued their identity with confidence and dignity. With regards to the third research question, the participants felt that English had provided them numerous opportunities for leadership enactment. They also felt that without the knowledge of English they could not have accessed the vast resources, information and knowledge that is freely available on the internet and which impacted them positively in countless ways.

Author

• Aamir Hasan, Western Michigan University