Browsing by Subject "identity construction"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Discourses of language acquisition and identity in the life histories of four white South African men, fluent in isiXhosa
    (2012) Botha, Elizabeth Katherine; McKinney, Carolyn
    A post-structuralist framework (Foucault, 1976; Weedon, 1997) is used to explore language acquisition and identity construction in the life histories of four multilingual white South African men, who became fluent in the African language of isiXhosa in the racially-divided world of Apartheid South Africa, at a time when law and policy made fluency in an African language unusual for whites. Theories used within the 'social turn' in Second Language Acquisition (Block, 2003; Norton, 2000), as well as the social learning theory of Lave and Wenger (1991), support an exploration of how the men acquired this language on the farms in the Eastern Cape where they spent their early years. The identity implications of the men's multilingualism are examined using post-colonial studies of race, 'whiteness' and hybridity (Bhabha, 1994; Frankenberg, 1993; Hall, 1992a). The study was undertaken using Life History methodology (Hatch & Wisniewsky, 1995) and biographic interviewing methods developed within the Social Sciences (Wengraf, 2001). Poststructuralist discourse analysis (Wetherell & Potter, 1992), together with aspects of narrative analysis (Brockmeier, 2000), were used to analyse the data. The study contributes to research into naturalistic language acquisition, using theories from the 'social turn', and analysing a bilingual context in which language, power, race and identity interact in unique ways. The findings endorse the importance of a post-structuralist framing for the Communities of Practice model (Wenger, 1998), and show that participation in target-language communities requires investment by learners in identities which ameliorate the inequities of power relations. The study shows that isiXhosa can become linguistic capital (Bourdieu, 1991) for white South Africans, depending on context and the isiXhosa register they use. It demonstrates that Apartheid discourse ascribes to the men an identity which is indisputably white, but that early experiences shared with isiXhosa-speakers shape their lives and form a potentially antihegemonic facet of their identities.
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    Living with hearing loss: exploring the lived experience of identity construction among adolescents and young adults
    (2022) Sekoto, Lieketseng; Hlayisi, Vera-Genevey; Petersen, Lucretia
    Background: Identity construction is the predominant developmental task in adolescence and young adulthood. Disabling hearing loss (HL) exacerbates the psychosocial challenges faced by adolescents and young adults (AYA) in their identity construction. The primary goal of this research study was to describe how AYA with disabling HL feel about and perceive their identity. Further, to understand the aspects underlying identity construction, with a focus on self-perception, navigating disability, social roles and relations, and community assimilation. Methodology: A qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach was adopted. Participants were a purposive sample of 5 Deaf and Hard-of-hearing AYA, aged 15 to 19 years. All participants were enrolled in schools for the deaf in the Western Cape and partook in semi-structured phenomenological conversations, where they narrated detailed accounts of their lived experiences with identity construction. Results: Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to formulate themes. The superordinate themes of creating a self-concept, belonging, stress and being deaf emerged from participants' narratives. Identity construction occurs concurrently at several levels. At the personal level, deaf AYA create self-conceived ideals of who they are (Creating a self-concept), at relational level identity is nurtured through person-to-person and person-to-group interactions (Belonging). At societal level deaf AYA ascertain their position as individuals within the larger society (Being deaf). Protective factors, enabling factors and barriers that threaten positive identity construction, audiological health, and the psychosocial wellbeing of deaf AYA were identified. Overall, findings from this study indicate that the experience of identity construction for AYA with HL is layered and laden with challenges. Identity formation, albeit portrayed as a process of differentiation, is a balancing act. Identity is self-defined and equally exists in a collective identity with others. Identity construction also subjected participants to stress arising from the emotional burdens of HL, stigmatisation, and resultant psychological effects. Amid unique challenges, deaf AYA consciously developed coping mechanisms, some constructive and others detrimental to their audiological health, all while negotiating their position in the larger society. Conclusion: Study findings appeal to individuals in the caring professions such as audiologists, teachers, educational psychologists, and social workers to understand the nuances of identity construction for the successful transitional care of deaf adolescents moving into adulthood. Counselling needs to be responsive to the needs of deaf AYA, identity domains should be upheld in the provision of person-centered care and possible trajectories for identity crisis should be evaluated when considering school placement. Benefits of group counselling and peer support groups should be explored. There is a need for interventions that curb negative audiological health behaviours through assertiveness training and self-advocacy. The micro implementation of employment equity policies and legislation is critical to ensure the realisation of AYA's prospective identities in the South African workforce. Findings call for the reorientation of audiological rehabilitation and strengthening of interdisciplinary collaboration to meet the psychosocial needs of AYA with disabling HL.
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    Writing your World Week 1 - Giving feedback on definitions
    (2019-06-01) Hunma, Aditi; Nomdo, Gideon
    This video focuses on providing feedback on the student writers' definitions of identity. The video discusses how Ada's definition showed an understanding of Woodward's argument. It then focuses on how Ziggy's definition presents the stock definition that is commonly held about identity. Lastly, Joe's definition is also analysed. The analysis of the students' definitions are also followed by suggestions on how to improve their writing. This is video 9/9 in week 1 of the Writing your World course.
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    Writing Your World Week 2 Video 6 - Applying Reading Strategies: Blommaert's Chapter
    (2019-06-01) Hunma, Aditi; Nomdo, Gideon
    This video focuses on the application of the reading strategies on Blommaert's chapter. The video provides the source of the reading and a summary on the book that the academic text comes from. The word 'discourse' is then defined and discussed with a focus on how words change over time and context. The video goes through a preview of the academic text. it then analyses the heading. During the overview sections, the video analyses the highlighted quotes from the reading. The inview of the article provides an in depth analysis of the words written within the academic text. The video provides questions to ask whilst reading through the text. It then touches on the relevance of the article based on the question asked during the initial phase of analysing the academic text. This is video 6/10 in week 2 of the Writing your World course.
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    Writing Your World Week 3 Video 12 - Giving feedback on Joey's paragraphs
    (2019-06-01) Nomdo, Gideon; Hunma, Aditi
    This video focuses on Joey's paragraph construction. The video describes how Joey makes use of topic sentences in the first paragraph. It then goes on to discuss how Joey could have improved the first paragraph. It also touches on the various themes included in Joey's paragraphs. His use of readings is also analysed and built upon. The video then discusses his use of specific readings in the second paragraph and then points the strength in Joey's writing. This is video 12/12 in week 3 of the Writing your World course.
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    Writing Your World Week 3 Video 4 - Round table discussion on culture
    (2019-06-01) Nomdo, Gideon; Hunma, Aditi
    This video focuses on the roundtable discussion on identity with Moeain, Aditi & Gideon. The participant touch on Woodward's description of identity and how it applies to their own life. The video also touches on how people construct their own identity. It also touches on how there are structures in place that dictate the availability of cultural resources. The roundtable participants then discuss cultural resources and how they enact on the identity of people. The video then touches on how apartheid illustrates the effects of availability of cultural resources on identity. It also touches on how borders and boundaries affect what people perceive as outsiders and insiders. The video then touches on how context helps construct reality. This is explored using the example of the student community. The participants then discuss how people could negotiate the boundaries and resources available. This is video 4/12 in week 3 of the Writing your World course.
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    Writing Your World Week 4 Video 2 - Reset your deadline to unlock the assignments. Round table discussion: Reflection on the readings
    (2019-06-01) Nomdo, Gideon; Hunma, Aditi
    This video focuses on the discussion of the four authors whose work has been used throughout the course. The initial discussion is on Woodward's writing on sameness. The video covers the dynamic relationship between sameness and otherness whilst providing examples. The video then moves on to Thornton's work. The focus is on the ideas around the act of categorising people. The video touches on the negative effects of the classification process, providing examples from the South African context. It then moves on to the discussion on how people are socialised to use people's region of origin as identity markers. There is also a comparison between Thornton's and Woodward's work. Moeian then discusses the issue of boundaries with regards to Thornton's work by also making using of Sichone's work. This is video 2/7 in week 4 of the Writing your World course.
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    Writing Your World Week 4 Video 6 - Giving feedback on Joey's draft
    (2019-06-01) Nomdo, Gideon; Hunma, Aditi
    This video focuses on analysing Joey's essay. It starts off by analysing Joey's introduction and how it has improved from the original drafts. The video shows how Joey is able to reinforcing the position he has taken by linking multiple themes. The video then focuses on the paragraphs and conclusion. It critiques the length of the conclusion and some of the weaknesses in the conclusion. The video then looks at how he has managed the resources using in-text referencing and the reference list. This is video 6/7 in week 4 of the Writing your World course.