Positioning Theory in Applied Linguistics: Research Design and Applications

214 Pages·2019·2.521 MB·English

by  Hayriye Kayı-Aydar

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Positioning
Theory
Applied
in
Linguistics
Research Design
& Applications
Positioning Theory in Applied Linguistics
“This book is one of the first to focus upon how to link Positioning Theory
to empirical research. As such, it is very much welcomed source-book to the
growing community of scholars and practitioners that aim to use Positioning
Theory as a theoretical framework for the analysis of different professional
practices and societal problems. At the same time Kayı-Aydar’s book also con-
tributes to the refinement of the discursive basis of Positioning Theory.”
—Luk Van Langenhove, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
“This book offers a coherent, informative account of positioning theory and its
applications in applied linguistics. It brings together for the first time multiple
disciplinary strands in a way that makes positioning theory evidently relevant
and important for applied linguistics research. The book is very well-written,
well-constructed, and immensely readable.”
—Gary Barkhuizen, University of Auckland, New Zealand
“This is the first book to offer a comprehensive discussion of the theoretical
and analytical relevance of positioning theory for applied linguistic scholarship.
Kayı-Aydar has produced an accessible overview of the key components of the
theory and offers practical guidance for applying it to one’s research with lan-
guage learners and teachers. As such, it will be a highly sought after text by
both new and seasoned scholars in our field.”
—Elizabeth R. Miller, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA, and
author of The Language of Adult Immigrants: Agency in the Making (2014)
“This innovative, clear, very well organized book demonstrates the applied
power of positioning theory in the educational setting. Hayriye Kayı-Aydar has
added in exciting ways to the fast-expanding literature on positioning theory
by demonstrating how positioning processes underlie changes in identity as
second-language teaching and learning takes place. I strongly recommend this
book to both teachers and students interested in second language learning, as
well as positioning and identity.”
—Fathali M. Moghaddam, Georgetown University, USA, and author
of Mutual Radicalization: How Groups and Nations Drive Each Other to
Extremes (2018)
“Kayı-Aydar’s conceptualization and application of positioning as both
theory and method provides useful insights into investigating classroom dis-
course and narrative texts. This book is an excellent resource for applied lin-
guists and teacher educators who are committed to understanding how power
dynamics play out in second/foreign language learning and teaching.”
—Peter De Costa, Michigan State University, USA
Hayriye Kayı-Aydar
Positioning Theory
in Applied Linguistics
Research Design and Applications
Hayriye Kayı-Aydar
Department of English
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ, USA
ISBN 978-3-319-97336-4 ISBN 978-3-319-97337-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97337-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018950054
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Preface
This book is about positioning theory (Davies & Harré, 1990) and its
application to applied linguistics and second/foreign language teacher
education research. I became interested in positioning theory when I
was a doctoral student at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin. As a
graduate student, I had a strong interest in the topic of identity. This
interest began and grew after I read Bonny Norton’s book, Identity and
Language Learning: Gender, Ethnicity and Educational Change, which is
about five immigrant women’s experience in English language learning
and use in diverse social contexts. As an immigrant in the United States
and a non-native speaker of English myself, some of the anecdotes in
Norton’s book strongly resonated with me. Her work helped me real-
ize that learning a second language was beyond learning its grammar,
vocabulary, or pronunciation. Learning a second or foreign language
not only reflects who we are, but also shapes us.
I was heavily under the influence of Norton’s work when I started
thinking about what my dissertation topic would be. I wanted to study
“identity,” but I was not sure how to approach it differently. In a socio-
linguistics class I took with Dr. Beth Maloch, I was introduced to posi-
tioning theory. I fell in love with it. I was fascinated by the complexity
v
vi Preface
and richness of the theory. To my surprise, I found that there were
only a few applied linguists who had used positioning theory. I read
with strong admiration the classroom-based studies by Patricia (Patsy)
Duff, Julia Menard-Warwick, and Jennifer Miller that used positioning
theory. Menard-Warwick’s work guided me extensively at that time as
I drafted a plan for my dissertation research. I observed an academic,
college English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom for over an aca-
demic semester and analyzed positioning in classroom discourse. I pub-
lished the findings of my dissertation research in various journals, such
as TESOL Quarterly, Classroom Discourse, and the ELT Journal. I have
used positioning theory in a variety of studies since then—this book is
the culmination of the work I have been doing over the years.
My goal in this book is to provide a critical overview of positioning
theory and illustrate how one can use it both as a theoretical frame-
work and as a methodological tool in investigating various concepts in
applied linguistics and L2 (second language) teacher education. The
rich analyses, examples, and tips provided throughout the book offer an
in-depth exploration of the possibilities of positioning theory in applied
linguistics research. Through positioning analyses of different types of
narrative and discourse data, I aim to show how such topics as second
language learner identity, teacher agency, or classroom participation can
be better understood. The work I present in this book will hopefully
contribute to the theoretical area in applied linguistics. The implications
I offer are meant to contribute to the growing body of multidiscipli-
nary work in the areas of L2 teacher education and classroom learning.
Despite the strong attention the theory is currently receiving in aca-
demic literature in applied linguistics, there is no book or edited volume
on positioning theory that is specifically written for applied linguists.
Hence, this book is the first to provide an in-depth exploration of how
positioning theory works in applied linguistics and L2 teacher educa-
tion research.
Positioning theory studies conversations and narratives in order to
understand self, by making a contribution to the cognitive psychol-
ogy of social action (Harré Moghaddam, Cairnie, Rothbart, & Sabat,
2009). The theory is based on the principle that “not everyone involved
in a social episode has equal access to rights and duties to perform
Preface vii
particular kinds of meaningful actions at that moment and with those
people” (Harré, 2012, p. 4). An essential aim of the theory is to “high-
light practices that inhibit certain groups of people from performing
certain sorts of acts” (Harré, 2012, p. 5). In other words, “positioning
theory looks at what a person may do and may not do” (Harré et al.,
2009, p. 9) in a particular context or situation. Given the crucial role
of social interaction for second/foreign language learning and use, it is
important to understand how power, rights, duties, and obligations are
distributed in moment-to-moment interactions in the language class-
room. Understanding how students and teachers position themselves
and each other also enables us to see what kinds of identities students
and teachers construct, and how those identities and power relations
allow them to use language, exercise agency, and accomplish things in
certain ways. Positioning, therefore, has important consequences for
second language socialization, pedagogical choices, interactional organi-
zation of classroom talk, enactment of self-systems, and thereby second/
foreign language learning and teaching.
Tucson, USA Hayriye Kayı-Aydar
Acknowledgements
There are numerous individuals without whom this book would not
have been possible. I am deeply indebted to the learners and teachers
who participated in various research projects that I have carried out over
the years. Those projects, along with my interactions with those teach-
ers and students, have not only contributed to my own professional
growth, but also increased my interest in positioning theory and the
related literature. Without the participation, contributions, and enthu-
siasm of those teachers and students, I could not have written this book.
I do hope that this work gives them the voice they desire to have in
their language learning/teaching contexts and diverse communities.
So many scholars, in my field of applied linguistics and other areas
of education, have contributed in so many unique ways to my knowl-
edge, curiosity, and strong interest in identity work. Their brilliant and
fascinating work has inspired my own scholarship on positioning, iden-
tity, and agency. This, in turn, helped me think in different and critical
ways and shaped my professional identity. In particular, I am grateful
to Aneta Pavlenko, Anna De Fina, Betsy Rymes, Bonny Norton, Brian
Morgan, Catherine Riessman, Courtney Cazden, Deborah Tannen,
Elizabeth R. Miller, David Block, Frederick Erickson, Gary Barkhuizen,
ix
x Acknowledgements
Gergana Vitanova, Gloria Park, Kate Anderson, Jean Clandinin, Jenelle
Reeves, Jochen Kleres, John Trent, Julia Menard-Warwick, Karen Johnson,
Manka Varghese, Nihat Polat, Peter De Costa, Jean Clandinin, Jennifer
Miller, Laura Schiller, Lesley Rex, Patricia (Patsy) Duff, Richard Young,
Stephanie Vandrick, Suhanthie Motha, Teun A. van Dijk, Yasko Kanno,
and Xuesong (Andy) Gao.
I am forever grateful to Beth Maloch, who introduced me to posi-
tioning theory in graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin. A
number of scholars have written extensively on positioning theory; their
influential work is the inspiration and source for this book. Among
them, I am most indebted to Rom Harré, who initially developed posi-
tioning theory. Other amazing scholars whose work has strongly shaped
this book are Arnulf Deppermann, Bronwyn Davies, David Wagner,
Fathali Moghaddam, Luk Van Langenhove, Michael Bamberg, and
Neill Korobov. Their work has contributed to the growth and develop-
ment of positioning theory and helped me and others better understand
interactions within and outside of the classroom.
My colleagues at the University of Arizona—have contributed to my
work in various ways, for which I extend my warmest appreciation. The
conversations I have had with my graduate students in the English Applied
Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition and Teaching programs
have allowed me to think about the topics and issues relevant to position-
ing and identity from different angles. I would like to thank my graduate
research assistant, Curtis Green-Eneix, who did a diligent job as he identi-
fied areas that needed additional work and carefully copy-edited this book.
The Palgrave Macmillan team has helped me pull it all together.
In particular, I would like to thank Cathy Scott and Beth Farrow for
believing in this project and communicating with me throughout the
process. The comments and constructive feedback from anonymous
reviewers have certainly helped improve the content of the book.
Finally, I am most grateful to my husband Gökhan Aydar, who sup-
ported me in countless ways as I completed this extensive project, and
Hakan Aydar, my almost-4-year-old son, who has been my source of
energy and motivation throughout the project. My parents and brother
have immensely supported me with their love and prayers from thou-
sands of miles away, for which I am forever grateful.