In this essay, I draw from Williams’ “Heroes, Rebels, and Victims: Student Identities in Literacy Narratives” and David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day to argue that the identities of the teachers perceived by the students directly correlates to the positive or negative impact that the teacher has in the learning environment, which is evident through the use of motivation or intimidation in the classroom.
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In Paris Zhou’s personal literacy narrative, she recounts the positive learning experience of finally understanding English through conversational encounters with her English teacher, Michael, and how this experience motivates her to conquer the language barrier between her native language and the English language.
Click here to access Paris Zhou's literacy narrative.
Click here to access Paris Zhou's literacy narrative.
I use Zhou’s and Sedaris’ literacy narratives as examples of Williams’ use of identities in literacy narratives. I argue that by identifying the identity of both the teacher and student in the classroom, one can determine the how the learning environment affects student in learning a new language. I also argue that Sedaris’ teacher serves as the villain in his narrative and that Sedaris portrays himself initially as the victim and then as the hero. In Paris’ narrative, she assumes the identity of a hero, while her teacher, Michael, is constructed the identity of both a nurturer and as a hero. In my essay, I advocate that the villainous identity of the teacher results in negative motivation in the learning environment, resulting in fear from intimidation and discouragement from learning a new language.
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Sources utilized in Identity in Multilingualism (Click on photos to learn more)
Interested in learning more, click on the photo to access Identity in Multilingualism.
Sources utilized in Identity in Multilingualism (Click on photos to learn more)