This qualitative case study examines the way in which six adult learners and their teacher in a university language classroom narrativise their identities while reflecting on experiences in and outside of the classroom. This study determined that the identity positions of the student participants were strongly influenced by notions of normative cultural, national and religious identity categories, as well as the students’ experiences in environments that were characterized by high-stakes grading, and “native speaker” norms. Drawing on poststructural identity theories (Norton, 1995, 1997; Gee, 2001) and anti-colonial and anti-racist scholarship (Kubota and Lin, 2009), this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge that addresses the effects of subjective notions of identity and structural power relations on the experiences of adult learners. Additionally, it outlines some possible actions for teachers and policy-makers to counter some of the structural inequalities that negatively impact the identity negotiation of students.

This qualitative case study examines the way in which six adult learners and their teacher in a university language classroom narrativise their identities while reflecting on experiences in and outside of the classroom. This study determined that the identity positions of the student participants were strongly influenced by notions of normative cultural, national and religious identity categories, as well as the students’ experiences in environments that were characterized by high-stakes grading, and “native speaker” norms. Drawing on poststructural identity theories (Norton, 1995, 1997; Gee, 2001) and anti-colonial and anti-racist scholarship (Kubota and Lin, 2009), this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge that addresses the effects of subjective notions of identity and structural power relations on the experiences of adult learners. Additionally, it outlines some possible actions for teachers and policy-makers to counter some of the structural inequalities that negatively impact the identity negotiation of students.

This thesis explores the issues of immigration and identity that inform the experiences of adult English language learners and which can be addressed within a classroom context. Using practitioner research and an explicitly critical approach to literacy and learning, I conducted a six week workshop at a community English language school in New York City, working with eleven adult learners to discuss their lives in their native countries, decisions to move to the United States, and experiences living in a new country and learning English in an attempt to understand how those factors shape their learning and could be incorporated into the curriculum. This workshop used poetry as a means for students’ self-expression and demonstrated the importance of inviting adult immigrant students into collaborative, co-constructive learning environments where their lived experiences are at the core of their language learning process in order to allow for an inclusive negotiation of identity.

This thesis explores the issues of immigration and identity that inform the experiences of adult English language learners and which can be addressed within a classroom context. Using practitioner research and an explicitly critical approach to literacy and learning, I conducted a six week workshop at a community English language school in New York City, working with eleven adult learners to discuss their lives in their native countries, decisions to move to the United States, and experiences living in a new country and learning English in an attempt to understand how those factors shape their learning and could be incorporated into the curriculum. This workshop used poetry as a means for students’ self-expression and demonstrated the importance of inviting adult immigrant students into collaborative, co-constructive learning environments where their lived experiences are at the core of their language learning process in order to allow for an inclusive negotiation of identity.