Life as Narrative: Identity construction among English majors from Vajdaság (Accepted)

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Abstract (max. 250 words):
I was recently asked by an acquaintance, ‘Do you consider yourself Hungarian or American?’ Identifying as a bilingual and bicultural Hungarian-American who has lived for over thirty years in Szeged, I smiled and answered, ‘Well, … both’. The benign but ultimately reductive and essentialist view of cultural identity implied in this question prompted me to wonder about the identities held by my own students at the University of Szeged, including identities tied to regions within and without Hungary, to socio-economic status, and to second language(s). Proceeding from work by Bruner (1987) and Fougère (2008) on the construction of identity through self-narrative, the paper will present findings from qualitative research on narratives produced by a small group of native speakers of Hungarian from the Vojvodina/Vajdaság region of Serbia, who are in a BA program in English Studies at the University of Szeged. Themes explored will include: sensemaking (the process of an ever changing understanding of an ever changing identity); a sense of belonging with a focus on insideness and outsideness, competence and role fulfillment, and center and periphery dynamics; questioning and learning about the self; and development and change, including heterotopias and the ‘third space’, and dwelling in-between. In demonstrating how these particular learners tell their identity, the findings may have implications for foreign language learners, teachers, administrators, teacher trainers, educational policymakers, coursebook and other materials designers and anyone involved in foreign language learning and teaching, which is by definition an experience marked – and enriched – by multiple cultural and linguistic identities.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Thomas A. Williams, PhD, is a senior assistant professor at the Department of English Studies, University of Szeged, where he researches identity construction among language learners and teaches classes on linguistic pragmatics and identity as well as English language teacher education courses. A certified translator, he also teaches – and does – specialized translation in a range of genres and subject areas.