Translanguaging, investment and gendered identity : a case of Nepali immigrant women in Michigan
This study explored the identity of Nepali immigrant women in Michigan from three different theoretical notions: their gendered identity, investment in learning English, and translingual practices. Data were collected using multiple sources: interviews, questionnaires, journal entries, observations and group chats on Facebook. The collected data were recursively read to trace the recurring themes related to the three themes in question. The analysis and interpretation of data were done on the basis of those themes and subthemes to support the research questions. This study yielded three key findings. First, the Nepali immigrant women in Michigan have re-constructed their initial gendered identity after their arrival in the US. Second, they are not only motivated to improve their English but are also highly invested in doing so. Third, they adopt different translingual negotiation strategies for the purpose of meaning-making among linguistically diverse groups of multilingual speakers. They resort to mobilizing their multiple resources to achieve communicative success. The study will be significant mainly for those directly or indirectly connected to ESL classrooms for adult immigrants as these immigrants constitute a substantial proportion of the US population.
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- In Collections
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Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Copyright Status
- In Copyright
- Material Type
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Theses
- Authors
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Rawal, Hima
- Thesis Advisors
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De Costa, Peter
- Committee Members
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Hardison, Debra
- Date Published
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2015
- Subjects
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Education, Bilingual
English language--Study and teaching--Foreign speakers
Gender identity
Languages in contact
Motivation in education
Multilingualism
Nepali people
Women immigrants--Language
Michigan
- Program of Study
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Linguistics - Master of Arts
- Degree Level
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Masters
- Language
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English
- Pages
- viii, 99 pages
- ISBN
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9781321740530
1321740530
- Permalink
- https://doi.org/doi:10.25335/2fxn-dr79