Trabalhos em Linguística Aplicada (Apr 2019)
Navigation of Power, Identity, and Culture in International Students’ Academic Writing
Abstract
Issues surrounding English for Academic Purposes and its use by non-native English speakers in higher education have become increasingly significant in recent years, fueled both by increased international student mobility and increased linguistic and cultural diversity within and outside of the student body. As well as posing language-related challenges, the transfer of non-native English speakers to an English speaking foreign university also demands the negotiation of new university expectations, channeled through a new cultural environment. While academic literacies research has identified that concepts such as power, identity, and culture play a role in academic writing, the navigation of these aspects in academic writing have not yet been studied thoroughly. Consequently, this study analyzes the ways in which non-native English speaking (NNES) students articulate their navigation of power, identity, and culture within their own academic writing at a tertiary institution in Ireland. Data informing this study was gathered through questionnaires and followed by in-depth case studies of students interview responses analyzed through discourse analysis. The findings suggest that while participants generally positively reflect on their ability to negotiate academic writing through the English language, there is nonetheless a high level of conflict between dominant linguistic norms and the students’ expression of their identity and culture. These findings suggest a need to increase focus on academic literacies in tertiary institutions in order to aid the negotiation of these aspects and to increase the academic success of non-native English speakers.
