Second Language Education Research, the Construction of Gendered Identity and Becoming

• In Event: Language, Identity, and Diversity

Abstract

This paper experiments with the concept of becoming woman, a controversial concept from Deleuzian philosophy. This concept, which has had a contentious history within continental philosophy, holds important explanatory power of benefit to our field.

Previous work using the data under study revealed that there were significant gaps between the experiences of my respondents and how national assessment documents depicted ESL learners. This paper reexamines this data within this new conceptual framework.

The women in this study conceptualized immigrating to a new country in ways that were significantly qualitative. They pointed to what they regarded as positive changes in their lives regarding work, family responsibilities, clothing, marriage, childbearing and access to public space. The men experienced immigration quite differently.

Author

• Douglas James Fleming, Ottawa University