The Journey Toward English Reading Literacy for Professional Purposes: Life Stories of Middle-Aged Adults in Taiwan

Autor:	Beryl Chinghwa Lee, 李菁華
Druh dokumentu:	學位論文 ; thesis
Popis:	97 ENGLISH ABSTRACT Considering that many people in Taiwan need to read English at reasonably high levels of proficiency so as to survive and thrive in their profession, the researcher aims to investigate EFL readers who are involved in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Admittedly, we now learn much more about reading than 30 years ago. However, reading research has been criticized for missing the forests for the trees. For instance, little has been understood about how one develops into a competent reader. In recent years, calls have been made for more reading research to view readers as socially, historically, and culturally situated actors and to view reading as a long-term developmental process. To respond to the call, this study first drew on Gee’s (2001) sociocognitive perspective on reading as a lens. Viewing reading as a social practice, the model emphasizes that language in use is heavily involved with identity and practice in Discourses (with a big D). To examine ESP readers’identity transformation, the researcher then borrowed Wenger’s (1998) social ecology of identity to understand how a learner becomes an experienced ESP reader in the EFL context in Taiwan. To shed light on the complexities of ESP reading literacy of the middle-aged adults, three research questions were raised: (1) Prior to ESP reading, what language learning experiences do the learners have? (2) How is the learners’ESP reading literacy situated in their working and living experiences (3) How do the learners perceive their ESP reading literacy? The main data collection tool was a life story interview protocol developed on the ground of Belcher & Connor (2001), Ivanic (1998), McAdams (1993), Lu (2005), and the results of two pilot studies conducted respectively in the spring and summer of 2007. The core parts of the instrument included (1) A Self Description, (2)Landscapes of English Learning, (3) Landscapes of English Reading, (4) A Profile of a Professional, (5) Landscapes of English Reading for Professional Purposes, and (6)Themes of the Life Stories. Via purposeful sampling, the researcher recruited six experienced Taiwanese ESP readers in their middle adulthood, which was defined as from thirty to old age in accordance with Erickson’s psychosocial theory (Bee & Boyd, 2002). The six participants received three to four Mandarin-based oral life-history interviews, one apart from another about one month, each lasting about two hours. A total of 21 interviews later were transcribed into verbatim, which mounted up to 723 pages in single space. To answer the first two research questions, the unit of analysis was determined to be the whole narrative. The life stories were analyzed mainly by the chronological development, i.e., the temporal dimension of the Discourse as indicated by the move from primary Discourse to secondary Discourse. To answer the third question, I isolated and analyzed the metaphorical expressions that the participants used to describe themselves as ESP readers or to describe their experiences of ESP reading. The results first indicated that in the participants’early language learning experiences, reading assumes a central role in both the Chinese and English Discourses. In the Chinese Discourse, the culture of examination enhanced the significance of reading (du shu) by forging a bond between literacy practices and material rewards. As a result, the significance of reading accrued due to corollary investments from individuals, parents, and the society. Generally speaking, Chinese learning was peripheral, probably because in the L1 learning context, participation was readily accessible for the participants, which in turn rendered participation and reification in a good mix in one way or another. On the other hand, reading also took a central place in the participants’early English learning experiences, but for a different reason. Like many EFL learners in China, some participants of the study lived the experiences of “deaf-and-dumb”(Tsui, 2007) due to the uneven distribution of reification and participation in the difficult learning situations of the EFL context. Given that the participants’non-participation experiences of English listening and speaking were usually inconsequential, the role of English reading was magnified to a great extent. In terms of the participants’ESP reading literacy in relation to their working and living experiences, three important themes recurred. First of all, the participants’ initial ESP reading experienced in the boundary was characterized by tremendous challenges and hardships. However, most of their boundary experiences of ESP reading were peripheral. The successful boundary crossing could be attributed to the readers’investments due to imagination and agency. Secondly, ESP reading of the participants in the workplace was not personal choices. Rather, it was situated in their negotiation of identities, which was implicated in the tension between identification and negotiability. In addition to the internal structural issue, the negotiation of identities also involved external structural issues. As a result, the identities of local residents of a Discourse fluctuated as greatly as those who had experiences of long stay in foreign countries. Thirdly, ESP reading proficiency was seamlessly interwoven with competent membership. It was fully shown in the narratives that whereas an old timer could demonstrate his/her great ESP reading proficiency, the lack of competent membership created discontinuities of ESP reading. As for the participants’perceptions, investigation of the metaphorical expressions revealed that the ESP readers had positive attitudes toward ESP reading in general. It was also shown that the participants perceived ESP reading as a process of moving toward the core of a given Discourse from its boundary, in which ESP readers could exercise agency and anticipate transformation of learning pains and difficulties beyond the boundary via imagination. Based on the findings, it is advocated to put identity on the agenda in ESP reading research. First of all, a more comprehensive social reading model should be proposed to theorize fluidity, plurality, and hybridity of ESP readers’identities. In addition, due attention should be paid to the identity work of local ESP readers and teachers. Only with more understanding of the issues of identities can we gain greater insights into the myriad challenges and possibility of ESP reading in the new millennium. In terms of pedagogical impactions, it is suggested that teachers should provide ESP readers with good classroom opportunities to facilitate the learners’ mutual engagement and the negotiation of identities. The teachers should also integrate ESP reading with the other three language literacies and raise the readers’ awareness of their positions and orientation in their own journeys of ESP reading.
Databáze:	Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations
Externí odkaz:	http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/9vtef2 Zobrazit plný text záznamu