How experience shapes individual differences among second language learners: A biographical study of Hong Kong learners in five age groups

How experience shapes individual differences among second language learners: A biographical study of Hong Kong learners in five age groups

• Chik, Alice Hsia Hui

2008

• A Human Growth & Development
  • AD Individual Differences
• G Curriculum, Teaching & Learning: Specific Disciplines
  • GB English Language

Language Arts Bilingual Education

• Hong Kong

• 1997.7 onwards

• Primary Education
• Secondary Education
• Post-Secondary Education

The study of Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition has long been an established research area. However, researchers have often worked in separate areas, for example, motivation, anxiety and learning strategies. Their studies have enriched our knowledge of the mechanisms in shaping Individual Differences, yet, very little is known about their developmental nature. In another area of Second Language Acquisition research, studies focusing mainly on learners in target-language communities, indicate that learners voice their individual differences through the construction of second language identities. These studies primarily focused on adult language learners in target language communities and yet little is known about pre-tertiary level learners studying a second language in the regions in which they have grown up.
This study was designed to explore the development of individual differences of Hong Kong English learners. Adopting a qualitative research method, ten learners from age 8 to 18 (5 females and 5 males) were interviewed three times over a two-year period. The interviews were scheduled to match the learners' transitions across key learning stages, for instance, from primary to secondary school, and from secondary school to tertiary institution. The data were analyzed in a two-tier system: narrative analysis and the analysis of narrative. The findings were presented through the ten language learners’ stories and a thematic analysis on domains of learning: home, school and out-of-class.
Findings show that Hong Kong English learners emphasized different realms of learning during different stages of their learning. Second, as learners matured, their communities of comparative others expanded and their conceptualizations of being different from their comparative others were refined. Third, the learners processed their learning experiences into future language learning orientation. Finally, participants developed their individual differences following diverse trajectories in relation to their engagement in out-of-class activities during stages of their English learning careers.
The study shows that learners' representations of English learning experiences constituted a strong component in their framing of individual differences. First, the learners demonstrated the development of their individual differences through different sites of learning and learning experiences. This understanding differs from current research directions in Individual Differences studies, which emphasizes the exploration of individual factors in shaping individual differences. Second, the learners constructed their individual differences as an outward expansion of their learning communities, both immediate and imaginary. This insight expands the understanding on construction of individual differences among young second language learners. Third, the participants' experience of progressing through different key learning stages in Hong Kong highlighted their reaction and adaptation to changes in learning contexts. This understanding enriches current understanding of the learning experiences of Hong Kong English learners.

PhD

University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

• English

Dissertation Theses

https://bibliography.lib.eduhk.hk/bibs/79f9ec22

2010-12-16