Part III: New World. New Life
Chapter 6 Conclusion
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Chapter 6 Conclusion The End of the Research Journey
A Revisit to Erin’s Exercise of Learner Agency
Erin’s story provides a vivid picture of how a Taiwanese EFL learner agentively exerted her learner agency in various learning contexts. Under formal education, English is typically considered merely a subject to study. Not seeing the value of daily memorization of many vocabulary words and tests, Erin decisively rejected English learning. When she broke away from the formal educational system in the U.K. and at work, the role of English changed—English became a medium to understand
American culture, particularly through such media as TV shows and songs. Erin actively indulged herself in the world of American TV shows, which helped her pick up the actual usage and enhance her confidence in English. While Erin was studying abroad, the role of English changed again—it became a medium to study her
profession. English was no longer a subject to study but the medium that helped her to study. She was actually using the language to understand a new world.
The insight gained from the research was that each individual learner needs to be viewed as an active agent who has great control of his or her own learning process, whether to accept or reject English learning. Engaged in different sociocultural contexts, the learner’s exercise of agency may vary to a large extent. Learners in Taiwan do have access to immerse themselves in foreign language contexts, i.e.
English TV shows or songs; however, what TESOL practitioners can do to involve
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learners in the contexts and whether they are willing to invest a large amount of time and effort on these resources are the real challenges.
Pedagogical Implications
Erin’s story implies how a Taiwanese learner conceptualizes English learning in 3 different levels: learn the language, use the language, and use the language to learn.
Situated in the test-oriented educational context, Erin conceptualized English learning only for taking tests. She resisted learning the language because she could not see the value. Working as a TA, however, Erin was using the language to achieve the purpose of communication, where she started to realize the practical value of learning the language. Studying abroad, Erin was using the language as a medium to develop her expertise, and she no longer considered herself “learning the language.”
Erin’s experiences remind TESOL practitioners that giving learners real
purposes to learn and creating opportunities for learners to use the language are vital to enhance learner agency. If learners have a chance to use the language they learned to achieve communicative purposes or to accomplish real tasks, their willingness to learn is likely to be promoted since they can see the value of learning the language.
Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research Limitations
The present research was limited by two aspects: the lack of observation while Erin was studying in the U.K. and the intimate relationship the researcher has with the
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participant. For the first limitation, apart from the first and the final interview, most interviews were conducted while Erin was studying abroad. The interviews targeted at both Erin’s past and current experiences as an international student. Since I grew up with Erin, I could picture the struggles she had while studying in the middle school. I also witnessed her improvement and the changing relationship she had with English in college. Therefore, it is not that difficult for me to grasp her emotions when she recalled her past learning experiences and discussed her struggles or conflict deeply.
However, for her study abroad experiences, I could only have interviews with her; it was not possible to conduct observations. It would be better if I had a chance to follow her for some time in the U.K. so that I could better understand her life there.
Fortunately, with the widespread use of Facebook, Erin’s postings of pictures helped me to picture the event she participated in or the interaction she had with her
international friends.
The second limitation is regarding the relationship I have with the participant.
Erin and I are good friends. With such a good rapport, I had her trust. She felt comfortable to talk to me, and the trustworthiness of the data gathered during the interview was enhanced as well. However, on the other hand, I was likely to be blinded in some aspects, which is the limitation that I cannot avoid in the present study.
Suggestions for future research
It is a fruitful research effort to track a language learner’s learning experiences in various contexts in a long run. The present study reveals the changing relationship a
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language learner has with English, delineating the struggles and accomplishments while the learner interacts with the language in different contexts. It is suggested that researchers can further explore language learners’ long-term learning experiences to gain a deeper understanding about how they exercise their agency when dealing with challenges or scenarios in different contexts.
Another suggestion for researchers who are interested in the topic of study abroad is to use Facebook postings as a way for data collection. As mentioned earlier, one of the limitations of the present study is that I could not shadow my informant while she was studying in the U.K., so sometimes it is difficult for me to picture the event she described. Erin’s Facebook postings help me to picture the scenes and understand her emotions at the moment more precisely, which allows further discussions in the upcoming interviews.
Final Remark
I would like to use Meskill’s (2013) comments on sociocultural perspective of learning to conclude this research journey:
The [sociocultural] perspective is in direct contrast to views of human motivations and learning that are strictly cognitivist, or in the head. Rather, sociocultural perspectives see development as in the world phenomena and thus attempt to account for larger historical, contextual elements that shape our mediations with the world and with others. (p 2., emphasis in original)
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Meskill’s words remind us that learning is a complex process that a large number of elements are required to take into consideration. From Erin’s story, we saw a long and struggling process of English learning and a complicated relationship a learner might have with English, the language. I feel resonated a lot with her story since we share similar challenges and experiences, while I also reflect on my own teaching
experiences as a TESOL practitioner in the process of this study. Although time has changed, there are still many learners struggling with test grades, memorizing
vocabulary and grammatical rules that they seldom have a chance to put into practice.
How to create a learning-conducive environment for learners to ignite their agency to learn English is a critical issue for TESOL practitioners to consider. I hope that this study provides at least some food for thought.
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First Narrative Interview on Erin’s English Learning Process
R: 今天是八月二十五號晚上九點，第一次的訪談。現在我們要請 Erin 說說看她
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二，所以那個英文其實是很簡單的，對，就什麼How are you、What’s your name?之類的。然後遇到一個高中的學生是他也很討厭英文，所以他也不喜歡啊，然後
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E：就是要考試這件事。然後因為我從小都沒有離開過家，所以我、而且我真的 非常想要出去看一看，所以我覺得其實我現在的想法就是去那邊可能就是培養自 己獨立生活的能力。然後可能去看看除了台北之外的世界，對。所以我也沒有特 別多想什麼。
R：所以主要就是想要過一個不一樣的生活
E：之類的
R：然後對、那你對英國這個國家的想法是什麼？在還沒有去之前？
E：現在嗎？
R：你沒有去過嘛對不對？
E：沒有
R：那你對於它的想法是什麼？因為你剛剛提到的影集好像比較都是
E：美國的
R：美國的，好像也不是英國的
E：因為其實我覺得他們兩個好像也差不多啊，因為美國人不是都從英國去的嗎 哈哈哈，對啊。然後、然後因為就是我們那時候學校有派代表來，就是幫我們那 個pre-departure event，然後去，然後他們就
R：哪一個學校派代表來？
E：就是愛丁堡，對然後就去，然後就拍說ㄟ他們的城堡啊很漂亮啊，他們的校 園很漂亮啊（笑）就照片什麼的，就是然後就是一個氣候怡人，因為今年台灣實 在是太熱了，然後他們就說他們的氣候涼爽啊什麼的，對啊就覺得，恩。然後就 是走在那個石板路上，就覺得哇特別的棒什麼的哈哈哈，我不知道，對啊
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R：就是有一個憧憬就對了，那樣子的校園
E：之類的，嗯嗯嗯，對啊，就是一個還滿漂亮的地方
R：所以你最後選擇英國而不選擇美國有很大一部分是因為
E：托福
R：托福
E：對
R：覺得 IELS 比較好考？
E：嗯…也不是，那時候四月嘛，剛剛說我是三月中才決定就是可還是想要出國，
但是因為美國的學校他們大概十一、二月就已經截止報名，就是、當然還是有一 些別的學校啊，可是就是一些野雞大學才會到這麼後面還在收學生
R：恩哼
E：所以我覺得雖然說現在學界好像對於英國的學歷並不是那麼的推崇，因為可 能覺得美國兩年，碩士兩年，可能跟台灣比較像，然後可能也是比較嚴謹的吧，
我不知道，因為可能覺得ㄟ英國碩士一年很快就回來啦，可能你也學不到什麼東 西，對。但是我會覺得如果是這樣的狀況下我寧願選擇一個英國比較好的學校而 不要去美國的野雞大學，對。
R：恩哼…嗯好像差不多了
E：嗯
R：講完了嗎？
E：你想想看有什麼問題要問我。
Possible Interview Questions for the Next Time
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Topic domain: High School English Learning Experience
a. 你提到你高中的時候非常恨英文，有沒有發生什麼特別印象深刻的事情讓
Topic domain: Learning English with TV series
a. 你提到升大學以後開始看影集，這件事情對於你的英文學習有很大的影響，
Topic domain: Working Experience in an English-only Language School
a. 你提到大學曾到全英文的補習班當外師助教，這樣的經驗讓你有機會訓練 口說，可不可以請你多談談這是一個怎麼樣的過程？
b. 當助教的時後，你和外師的互動情況通常都是？
c. 當助教的經驗對於你整體的英文學習之影響是？
Short Conclusion for the Interview
a. 老師在受訪者的英文學習經驗中似乎扮演相當重要的角色，而受訪者對於