Multiple Identities in a Multicultural World: A Malaysian Perspective |
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| Abstract: | Recent research in second-language acquisition has revealed that the language learning process is a complex interplay of many variables in which social roles, relationships, power relations, and identities are constantly reconstituted. Most research studies on language and identity have been conducted in predominantly English-language native-speaker settings (McKay & Wong, 1996; Peirce, 1995). This article presents the findings of my doctoral research study on the relation between language and sociocultural identities of English as a second language (ESL) learners in a multicultural society in Southeast Asia. Using a qualitative research approach, 14 Malaysian participants were interviewed using critical ethnography research methods (Carspecken, 1996). They also had to write a personal narrative and complete a questionnaire. The findings reveal that in a multicultural, postcolonial society such as Malaysia, identity issues are far more complex and multilayered. Identity shifts take place frequently in strategic and nonstrategic ways as the participants find their way in society in search of acceptance and belonging. |
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