Entrapment or empowerment: ESL profiles
This paper will discuss some of the findings of a doctoral research study on how the acquisition of the English language impacted the cultural identities of a group of Malaysian ESL speakers. The participants shared that learning English was an empowering and positive experience. English possesse...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM
2003
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/3102/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/3102/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/3102/1/1.pdf |
| Summary: | This paper will discuss some of the findings of a doctoral research study on how the acquisition
of the English language impacted the cultural identities of a group of Malaysian ESL speakers.
The participants shared that learning English was an empowering and positive experience.
English possessed a quality of directness and neutrality which allowed expression of their
innermost feelings. In multicultural societies, where certain values are attached to the use of the
vernacular languages, resorting to English provided a freedom of expression because of it is "free
of any ethnicity" within localized contexts. The findings also revealed that participants
experienced identity conflicts and that the sociocultural context in which English is acquired,
particularly in postcolonial societies, is loaded with complex cultural and political issues. |
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