TY  - UNPB
N2  - This thesis investigates the social construction of age in the context of English
foreign language learning in Mexico. Specifically, it looks at how adults of
different ages experience learning a new language and how they enact their age
identities as language learners. By approaching the topic from a social
constructionist perspective and in light of recent work in sociolinguistics and
cultural studies, this study broadens the current second language acquisition
(SLA) focus on age as a fixed biological or chronological variable to encompass
its social dimensions. What emerges is a more complex and nuanced
understanding of age as it intersects with language learning in a way that links it
fundamentally to other social phenomena, such as gender, ethnicity and social
class.
The research design, a multiple case study, uses a combination of narrative
inquiry, semi-structured interviews, audio-taped narrative accounts, and classroom
observations to explore the construction of age by a group of adults studying
English at a Mexican university. The analysis of the data reveals that (1) the
enactment of age and the construction of a language learner identity, whether in
the classroom or outside it, have greater salience in particular moments or
interactions than in others, (2) the experience of learning a language varies
according to each person's position in the lifespan and involves both linguistic
and non-linguistic dimensions, and (3) the age identity of foreign language
learners is closely interwoven with their other subject positions. The findings
suggest that, while narratives of age in contemporary Mexican culture are drawn
from the prevalent age discourses of Western society in the main, some important
differences exist in the construction of adulthood in present-day urban Mexico.
As a conclusion, the thesis reflects on the repercussions that taking a social view
of age has for classroom teaching practices as well as for research in the area of
second language acquisition.
A1  - Andrew, Patricia Jean
PB  - Institute of Education, University of London
Y1  - 2010///
M1  - Doctoral
ID  - discovery10006510
N1  - Leaves 284-304 are appendices.
EP  - 334
AV  - public
UR  - http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.525520
TI  - The social construction of age in adult Mexican English language learners : an exploratory study
ER  -