Constructing, Reconstructing and Reclaiming Learner Identities - (New Perspectives on Language and Education) by Ellen Preston Motohashi (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book focuses on the experiences of 1.5 generation Filipinos in Japan, charting their educational experiences in both the Philippines and Japan. The participants use their educational histories and learner identities as an intangible resource to help overcome the differences in the teaching-learning environments they encountered in Japan.

Book Synopsis

This book focuses on the experiences of 1.5 generation Filipinos in Japan, charting their life histories and educational experiences in both the Philippines and Japan. Against a background of transnational migrations between both countries, and varying levels of Japanese as a Second Language and educational support for immigrant/non-Japanese speaking children in Japanese schools, the author uses a narrative, life history approach to consider how the participants use their educational histories and learner identities as intangible resources upon which they drew to overcome the structural and cultural differences in the teaching-learning environments they encountered in Japanese schools. The book ends by recounting the participants' regained sense of confidence as learners upon entering university, where they reclaim their learner identities as active participants in the classroom, with several receiving awards for academic excellence.

About the Author

Ellen Preston Motohashi is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Dokkyo University, Japan. Her research focuses on education for immigrant students and students from linguistic and cultural minorities.