Theory and Methodology Section Birdie Han

1. Ground self- perception of English Language Competence (ELC) on Grounded Theory (GT) and Discourse Analysis (DA) Theory and Methodology Section Birdie Han

2. What do I believe… • English learning is more than to learn linguistic skills; English learning is a struggle for social participation (Pavlenko and Lantolf, 2000) • Learning doesn’t only occur inside classroom but outside school; • Some of the international students can improve their ELC promptly , some can not; • the image of the ELC are depicted by both self -perceived ELC and others- occasional or international judgment on ELC in terms of communication effectiveness and appropriateness. *Therefore, I design a pilot study to examine how Chinese international students perceive their ELC after coming to Canada. What I also believe… • Spoken language serves to support the performance of social activities and social identities, to support human affiliation with cultures, social groups, and institutions(Gee, 1999). Therefore. Good CLC may serve to involve in social activities, to foster positive social identities, and to facilitate building up social networks within shared culture and institutions. • Language-in-use reflects and constructs the situation in which it is used. (Gee, 2005). Therefore, spoken language is closely contextualized in different communication situations. • Personally, living and studying abroad is a turning point, some of personal incidents or events influenced my self- perception of ELC profoundly after coming to Canada. *Therefore, I will ground my pilot study on grounded theory (GT) and Discourse Analysis (DA).

3. Reasons of choosing GT as research theory • GT aims to conceptualize what’s going on by using empirical data. Therefore, GT emphasizes generation of theory from data in the process of conducting research. ( Martin and Turner, 1986) • the goal of GT is to go from the general to the specific without losing sight of what makes the subject of a study unique. (http://www.essortment.com/all/groundedtheory_rmnf.htm) • The characteristics of GT is: data collection and analysis are consciously combined, and initial data analysis is used to shape continuing data collection. http://www.essortment.com/all/groundedtheory_rmnf.htm • In GT, the unit of analysis is the incident (Glaster and Strauss, 1967) • The main strength of GT is that it focuses on analyzing processes and studying social justice issues. (Charmaz, 2005, p. 508). The process emphasis in GT analyze relationships between human agency (L2 learners as problem-solver [Ellis, 2000]) and social structure (inside or outside school structure in terms of English learning and practices). * Therefore, my small-scale study will star from…

4. My starting point is from a question of Spolsky’s (1989) five claims in terms of natural language learning (NLL) • In NLL, the target language is used for authentic communications and not for contrived, classroom purposes. • The learners are surrounded by fluent speakers of English in NLL. • The outside world is open and stimulating, where there is a multitude of context clues for understanding language in use. • In NLL, language use is free and normal, rather than carefully controlled and simplified. • In natural learning situations, attention is on the meaning of communication, ‘the [native] speakers make an effort to see that language is comprehensible’. (p. 173)

5. Discourse Analysis as research methodology/ methods on the basis of GT In data collection: Data will be collected with a 4-week study through interviewing ( with tape record) and observing two subjects at a Canadian private college (attached to a Canadian public university) a around 20 years of age, who have graduated from Grade12 in China and have been in Canada for one year. In Initial data collection, I will conduct two semi-structured interviews respectively with the two subjects. the central question is: Do their ELC really go backwards after coming to Canada? If yes, what factors may hinder their English improvement in daily study and life? If no, why do they evaluate their English negatively or unconfidently? I will conduct the following two further interviews with more specified questions based on the initial data collection and analysis. In data analysis: I will sketch the subjects’ perception of self ELC based on their personal incidents or events after coming to Canada through discourse analysis and my fieldnotes during observation.

6. Reference • Charmz, K. (2005). Grounded theory in the 21st century. SAGE Handbook. • Charmz, K. (2000). Constructivist and objectivist grounded theory. In N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln (Ed.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed.) p. 509-535. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage • Charmz, K. and Mitchell, R. (2001). Grounded theory in ethnology. In P. Atlinson, A. Coffey,S. Delamount, J. Lofland, and L.H Lofland (Ed.). P. 160-174. Handbook of ethnography. London: Sage. • Gee, J. P. (1999). An Introduction to Discourse analysis: theory and method. Routledge • Glaser, B. G. (2002). Constructivist grounded theory? Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative social research, 3 (3). • Spolsky, B. (1989). Conditions for Second Language Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press. • Lantolf, J. P. and Pavlenko, A. (2001). Second language learning as participation and the (re)construction of selves. In P. Lantolf (Ed.) Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning. Oxford University Press. Pp.155-177. • Martin, P. and Turner, B. A. (1986). Grounded Theory and Organizational Research. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 22(2), 141.