Emerging Self-Identities and Emotion in Foreign Language Learning

Reviews / Votes

Miyahara's detailed and illuminating narrative study of university students in Japan offers new insights into the role of experience and emotion in language learning in an EFL context. This book brings to life both current theories surrounding identity and motivation in language learning and complex methodological issues that arise in the research of these important concepts. -- Alison Stewart, Gakushuin University, Tokyo, Japan This book uniquely incorporates Dewey's work on experience to the development of an understanding of situated learning, imagined communities and the L2 ideal self. Miyahara links social and psychological factors in an effective and innovative way, making for a complex model of L2 identity which she applies masterfully to the English language learning narratives of Japanese university students. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in L2 identities, either from a theoretical or practical perspective.



-- David Block, ICREA/Universitat de Lleida, Spain This is a bold study that brings together psychological and sociological perspectives on the motivation to learn English of six young Japanese. Informed both by wide reading and an intimate knowledge of context, Miyahara uses a narrative approach to demonstrate convincingly how the learners' experiences with English in childhood and adolescence colour their attitudes and motivation to learn during their first year at college. -- Martin Lamb, University of Leeds, UK Miyahara's monograph contributes to identity research by constructing a theoretical framework combining both post-structuralist and psychological theories of identity (...) The explored EFL learners' identities strengthen the field by shedding more light on the diverse ways in which English learners in EFL (as opposed to ESL) contexts construct their identities as English users in the globalized world. Furthermore, the detailed discussion of narrative analysis provides methodological insights for interested researchers to further develop the approach. -- Hui-Jung Tang, University of Rochester, USA * Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 16:4 * I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I found it a thought-provoking and stimulating read for those interested in identities, the self, and emotions, and their interplay with foreign language learning. Additionally, anyone with an interest in

conducting research using learner narratives may use it as an informative guide to the process and be alert to challenges that this type of research might pose. -- Christina Gkonou, University of Essex, UK * ELT Journal, Volume 71, Issue 3 *