Abstract
Over the last two decades, New Zealand has become one of a small number of culturally and linguistically superdiverse nations in the world (Spoonley and Bedford, Welcome to our world: Immigration and the reshaping of New Zealand. Auckland: Dunmore Publishing, 2012), and yet the teaching of migrant heritage languages in New Zealand receives little governmental support, leaving the maintenance of these languages largely in the hands of self-funded ethnic community groups, which seldom possess the resources to implement effective language teaching initiatives. Based on a study of the self-reported experiences of heritage language learners of Italian in New Zealand, this chapter provides a microperspective on the learning journeys of five New Zealanders of migrant background who set out to learn their heritage language through courses of Italian as a foreign language. Designed as a longitudinal exploration of language learning motivation through a series of in-depth narrative interviews and detailed classroom observations, the study’s main inquiry focuses on the significance of the learners’ own constructions of their Italian identity (or Italianità) for the development of their motivational trajectories throughout 18 months of learning. By explaining the learners’ motivation as the result of their own processing and reactions to key factors, relationships, and events both inside and outside the language classroom, the study illustrates the deeply personal and identity-dependent nature of the motivational processes observed, supporting a conceptualization of HL learning motivation that is in line with modern SLA theorizations of second language learning motivation as a dynamic, identity-related and socially constructed process.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beaglehole, A. (2007). Immigration regulation. Te Ara-The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. [Internet]. 2007 [updated 2012 Nov 9; cited 2016 May 20]. Available from: http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/immigration-regulation
Berardi-Wiltshire, A. (2009). Italian identity and heritage language motivation: Five stories of heritage language learning in traditional foreign language courses in Wellington, New Zealand. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Massey University, Palmerston North.
Bettoni, C. (1985). Tra lingua dialetto e Inglese. Sydney: Filef Publications.
Block, D. (2003). The social turn in second language acquisition. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Charmaz, K. (2003). Grounded theory: Objectivist and constructivist methods. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Strategies of qualitative inquiry. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Crawshaw, R., Callen, B., & Tusting, K. (2001). Attesting the self: Narration and identity change during periods of residence abroad. Language and Intercultural Communication, 1(2), 101–119.
Davies, B. (1990). Agency as a form of discursive practice. A classroom scene observed. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 11(3), 341–361.
De Bres, J. (2015). The hierarchy of minority languages in New Zealand. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 36(7), 677–693.
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Glaser, B. G. (1998). Doing grounded theory: Issues and discussions. Mill Valley: Sociology Press.
Harvey, S. (2013). Revisiting the idea of a national languages policy for New Zealand: How relevant are the issues today. The TESOLANZ Journal, 21, 1–3.
He, A. W. (2006). Toward an identity theory of the development of Chinese as a heritage language. Heritage Language Journal, 4(1), 1–28.
He, A. W. (2010). The heart of heritage: Sociocultural dimensions of heritage language learning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 30, 66–82.
Hill, S. P. (2011). Italiani agli antipodi: Italian Immigrants in New Zealand. In G. Parati & A. Tamburry (Eds.), The cultures of Italian migration. Madison (NJ): Fairleigh Dickinson University Press (pp. 127–139).
Holmes, J., Roberts, M., & Verivaki, M. (1993). Language maintenance and shift in three New Zealand speech communities. Applied Linguistics, 14(1), 1–24.
Kanno, Y., & Norton, B. (2003). Imagined communities and educational possibilities: Introduction. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 2(4), 241–249.
Kaplan, R. B. (1994). Language policy and planning in New Zealand. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 14, 156–176.
Lacorte, M., & Canabal, E. (2003). Interaction with heritage learners in foreign language classrooms. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Lantolf, J., & Pavlenko, A. (2001). (S)econd (L)anguage (A)ctivity theory: Understanding second language learners as people. In M. P. Breen (Ed.), Learners contributions to language learning. Harlow/New York: Longman.
Leeman, J. (2015). Heritage language education and identity in the United States. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 100–119.
Narayan, S. (2012). The CL in CLESOL: The other side of the coin. Keynote address presented at CLESOL conference. Palmerston North: IPC Tertiary Institute.
New Zealand Human Rights Commission. (2008). Statement on language policy. [Internet]. 2008 [cited 2016 May 20]. Available from: https://www.hrc.co.nz/files/8314/2388/3768/21-May-2009_15-42-34_Statementonlanguagepolicy.html
Norton, B. (2000). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change. Harlow: Pearson Education/Longman.
OECD. (2013). Foreign-born population (indicator). [Internet]. 2013 [cited 2016 May 24]. Available from: https://data.oecd.org/migration/foreign-born-population.htm#indicator-chart
Pavlenko, A. (2003). “I never knew I was a bilingual”: Reimagining teacher identities in TESOL. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 2(4), 251–268.
Pavlenko, A., & Blackledge, A. (2003). New theoretical approaches to the study of negotiation of identities in multilingual contexts. In A. Pavlenko & A. Blackledge (Eds.), Negotiating identities in multilingual. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Pavlenko, A., & Lantolf, J. P. (2000). Second language learning as participation and the (re)construction of selves. In J. P. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Peddie, R. A. (1991). Coming–ready or not? Language policy development in New Zealand. Language Problems & Language Planning, 15(1), 25–42.
Plimmer, C. (1994). Language maintenance and shift in the Italian community in Wellington. Wellington Working Papers in Linguistics, 6, 83–105.
Spoonley, P., & Bedford, R. (2012). Welcome to our world: Immigration and the reshaping of New Zealand. Auckland: Dunmore Publishing.
Statistics New Zealand. (2013). QuickStats about national highlights. [Internet]. 2013 [updated 2013 Dec 3; cited 2016 May 20]. Available from: http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census/profile-and-summary-reports/quickstats-about-national-highlights.aspx
Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
The Royal Society of New Zealand. (2013). Languages in Aotearoa New Zealand. [Internet]. 2013 [updated 2013 Mar 3; cited 2016 May 20]. Available from: http://www.royalsociety.org.nz/expert-advice/papers/yr2013/languages-in-aotearoa-new-zealand/
Tosi, A. (1991). L’ italiano d’ oltremare: la lingua delle comunità italiane nei paesi anglofoni. Firenze: Giunti.
Ushioda, E. (2003). Motivation as a socially mediated process. In D. Little, J. Ridley, & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Learner autonomy in the foreign language classroom: Teacher, learner, curriculum and assessment. Dublin: Authentik.
Ushioda, E. (2009). A person-in-context relational view of emergent motivation, self and identity. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Ushioda, E., & Dörnyei, Z. (2009). A theoretical overview. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Waite, J. (1992). Aoteareo: Speaking for ourselves. Wellington: Learning Media, Ministry of Education.
Ward, C., & Liu, J. H. (2012). Ethno-cultural conflict in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Balancing indigenous rights and multicultural responsibilities. In D. Landis & R. D. Albert (Eds.), Handbook of ethnic conflict. Dordrecht/New York: Springer.
Williams, F., & Burden, R. (1997). Psychology for language teachers: A social constructivist approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wong, K. F., & Xiao, Y. (2010). Diversity and difference: Identity issues of Chinese heritage language learners from dialect backgrounds. Heritage Language Journal, 7(2), 153–187.
Wu, M.-H., Lee, K., & Leung, G. (2014). Heritage language education and investment among Asian American middle schoolers: Insights from a charter school. Language and Education, 28(1), 19–33.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Berardi-Wiltshire, A. (2016). Identity and motivation among heritage language learners of Italian in New Zealand: A social constructivist perspective. In: Trifonas, P., Aravossitas, T. (eds) Handbook of Research and Practice in Heritage Language Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38893-9_6-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38893-9_6-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-38893-9
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education
Publish with us
Chapter history
-
Latest
Identity and Motivation Among Heritage Language Learners of Italian in New Zealand: A Social Constructivist Perspective- Published:
- 06 March 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38893-9_6-2
-
Original
Identity and motivation among heritage language learners of Italian in New Zealand: A social constructivist perspective- Published:
- 13 December 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38893-9_6-1