Degree
Master of Education
Program
Education
Supervisor
Dr. Julie Byrd Clark
Abstract
This study examines the linguistic identities and language-learning investment(s) of eight Grade 8 core French students at a Cambridge, Ontario elementary school. I address the following questions: (1) How do FSL students in a Grade 8 classroom in Ontario identify themselves linguistically? (2) Does linguistic identity play a role in students’ investment in French language learning? (3) Do students who perceive themselves as bilingual, multilingual, or learners of French have more success than peers who identify themselves as ‘English only’? Following Blackledge and Creese (2010), Byrd Clark (2008, 2009, 2010, 2014), Lamoureux (2012, 2014), Roy (2010), and Taylor (2009, 2014), I use ethnomethodology to understand the relationship between students’ multiple identities, language-learning investment, and achievement. I draw on post-structuralist theories of language learning, identity, and investment, and use discourse analysis to explore students’ beliefs about bi/multilingualism, languages, and the importance of learning French, to suggest improve FSL outcomes in Ontario.
Recommended Citation
Gauthier, Heather B., "Linguistic Identity and Investment in Grade 8 Core French Students" (2015). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 2981.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2981