Description
Exploring emotional identification in ELF: Grad students in Brussels.ABSTRACT. In the English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) literature, there is some debate as to whether ELF is a culture-free variety used for communicative purposes or whether it can be used for emotional identification and identity marking. This study aims to contribute to this debate by examining the perceptions and practices of multilingual graduate students in Brussels with a long history of formal and informal English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning. Seven participants (ages 24-32) with a range of self-identified L1s, all enrolled in an English-medium master’s program, were first asked to complete a language portrait (Busch, 2018), a type of visual representation of the modes of communication that they use in their lives. They mapped, labeled, and colored in their various languages onto a body silhouette, allowing them to reflect on their language practices as embodied and to give visual expression to experiences that might otherwise be difficult to verbalize. Each participant then took part in a semi-structured interview to reflect upon their portrait, using it as a springboard for uncovering their perceptions about, past experiences with, and future aspirations for all the languages mapped onto the body. The data indicate that English is experienced as an intricate, crucial part of their linguistic repertoires, and that it is foregrounded for its communicative purposes and efficiency. It however also serves as a conduit for emotional expression and is clearly associated with a professed multicultural/-lingual identity and sense of belonging. Interestingly, two participants actually described English as a vehicle that enables emotional expression, explicitly allowing them to overcome the (perceived) limitations of their native languages and cultures in this respect. The study thus challenges the notion that languages of communication and languages of identification are mutually exclusive, and that the lived experiences of ELF-users and EFL-learners can easily be disentangled.
| Period | 17 May 2024 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Psychology in Language Learning Conference |
| Event type | Conference |
| Conference number | 5 |
| Location | Madrid, SpainShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |