L2 Names and Ideal L2 Selves

Meredith “Koyomi” Hanson, University of Hawai’i

at Manoa and Concordia Language Villages

Overview

Theoretical ModelsContextResearch QuestionsData CollectionCoding ProcessPatterns in the dataDiscussionQuestions

Theoretical ModelsDörnyei (2005)’s L2 Motivational Self System

Ideal L2 Self+Ought-to L2 Self+L2 Learning ExperienceSpeaking Japanese is part of who I want to be

Participatory ResearchEthicsPracticality

Context: Mori no Ike 森の池Japanese language and cultural immersion summer camp for “villagers” aged 7-18 (all levels)All staff and villagers choose and use Japanese names1- and 2-week noncredit, and 4-week HS credit summer programs

Research Questions (from the overall project)

How do villagers describe the importance of their Japanese names in their lives inside and outside the program?What effects (if any) do participants say choosing and using a Japanese name has had on their language-learning experiences and motivations?How do villagers position themselves as speakers of Japanese and participants in a Japanese-speaking community? How might this be influenced by the use of Japanese names?

Research Question here:How do Japanese names fulfill the necessary conditions described in Dörnyei and Ushioda (2010) for ideal L2 selves to have a motivating impact on learners?

For Ideal L2 Selves to be motivating… (Oyserman et al. 2006; Pizzolato, 2006; Yowell, 2002)

They must exist.They must differ from the current self.They must be elaborated.They must seem attainable.They must require effort to achieve.They must be somewhat socially acceptable.They must be thought about, often.They must have connected strategies.They must be offset by a feared alternative.

Participants (Researchers)10 HS credit villagers (9 returners) were villager-researchers (VRs) who developed questions and collected this data This fulfilled their final project requirement

Required to ask interview questions in Japanese; interviewees usually responded in English

Very briefly trained in recorder usage and interviewing strategiesVRs presented their results, in Japanese, to the entire camp, poster-session style

VRs’ projects: 6 different themesDescribing villagers’ connections to their JN, esp. as they change over timeInvestigating whether how villagers chose their JN affects their experience in different waysDescribing what it’s like to use JN and their perceived effects on learning Investigating villagers’ connections to anime, manga, or other characters they named themselves afterComparing villagers’ feelings about L2 names in the program vs. in school settingsJN and participants’ “Mori no Ike personalities”

Participants (Interviewees)62 interviews, 38 interviewees (half were interviewed more than once, by different VRs, up to 4 times)21% have taken HS or college Japanese courses; 56% do not study Japanese in any formal way outside the program.3 heritage speakers of Japanese

InterviewsBetween 2-18 min. long (most 3-6 min.)Each interviewer or interview team asked different questions (with considerable overlap)Interviewers carried English translations of their questions, which they used when negotiating meaning in Japanese was unsuccessfulInterviewers were instructed to ask follow-up questions and let interviewees talkConducted during study halls and free time Audio-recorded

Example Interview QuestionsHow did you choose your Japanese name? What does it feel like to use a Japanese name?Has your connection to your name changed over the years?Do you like using Japanese names at Mori no Ike?Why do you think we use Japanese names at MnI?Has using a Japanese name affected your personality? (Do you have a MnI personality?)Do you use your Japanese name outside of MnI?Do you want to become [like] [the character whose name you adopted]?

Evidence for ideal selves Dörnyei (2010): “If the person we would like to

become speaks an L2, the ‘ideal L2 self’ is a powerful motivator to learn the L2…” Taka represents what I want…to be free…Yuuto would like to be more like an actor he admires“I would love to be able to emulate [a Japanese hip-hop dancer]…dance like him, look like him, that would be so kakkoii”“Satoru’s a better person than [real name]”Having a Japanese name “allows you to be who you are and be free to be who you want to be”

J-name selves are differentI feel like I could start over; become a new person, someone who uses Japanese; at home I don't use Japanese at all [This summer I] wanted to be Reiko [again], I didn't want to have to be someone elseHaving a Japanese name’s created a new personality for me I feel like my personality is a little bit different when I speak Japanese…don't know if it's the name or the languageMasami's like my other personalityEvery time I come here, I feel like I'm having a new personality take over and like I'm restarting my life, pretty much, and if feels good.

Are J-names connected to elaborated personalities?

Kiku ( 菊 )Has kept the same Japanese name for many years: “It’s sort of an embarrassment outside Mori no Ike, but I’m pretty proud of my name…”Double meaning ( 聞く ) “makes for really funny [puns]…so having it always connected me to camp; it’s nice.”

Reiko“I really feel like the person I have self-confidence in is more Reiko than my, other, American self”

HideakiDresses and tries to act like his idol (who shares his name)

J-names make Japanese accessible“When I become Miyu, then I can be a person who actually can speak Japanese.”“As Hideaki, I'm maybe a person that's like a tiny bit Nihonjin as opposed to, like, kinda that dude…” “[My Japanese name] helps…[me] feel more Japanese”“When people call me Sachiko, I think more Japanese-like”

Is effort required to move towards these Ideal L2 Selves? Are you bilingual?

Competence: “If I continue to…study Japanese…I will become bilingual.”Ideal L2 Selves:

“…hopefully I’ll be bilingual, or possibly even trilingual, someday”“I’m not like perapera in Japanese yet, but I mean, I really wanna be and I’m trying…”“[Being bilingual]’d be really cool.”

Japanese plays a role in my future (evidence of distal goals)

Going to Japan/Living in JapanMany different professions were mentioned, but they don’t seem very solidly committed yet weak Ideal L2 Self?

Becoming a Mori no Ike SenseiOr it doesn’t:

I don’t think I would like to live there, unless I could speak the language[Japanese] is almost completely useless to me, it's more of an interest than an actual needStill, few signs of Ought-to L2 Self here

Japanese namesdeeper immersion?

“It makes you feel part of it”Connects me to the languageCreates a Japanese communityEnhances feeling of integration with the languageHelps you fit in with Japanese culture“I don’t see how you could do it without using one.”

If we stopped using Japanese names?

All but one response were strongly negativeI/“people” would be mad, would hate MnIMnI would seem different, less JapaneseSad, depressing, confusingIt couldn’t be done/MnI wouldn’t workIt would make MnI a cram school

Ought-to L2 Self??

It would take away the “I could be a different person” factor

Ideal L2 Self??

Review: For Ideal L2 Selves coming from J-names to be motivating…

They must exist.They must differ from the current self.They must be elaborated.They must seem attainable.They must require effort to achieve.They must be somewhat socially acceptable.They must be thought about, often.They must have connected strategies.They must be offset by a feared alternative.

For some, at least, they do!

Yes!

Occasionally…

Hard to say…

It depends…

Unclear…It depends…

Often more so…confidence, or fitting in…

Perhaps the English-name self???

How do villagers describe the importance of their Japanese names in their lives inside and outside the program? What effects (if any) do participants say choosing and using a Japanese name has had on their language-learning experiences and motivations?

How do villagers position themselves as speakers of Japanese and participants in a Japanese-speaking community? How might this be influenced by the use of Japanese names?

Research Questions Revisited…

Inside, VERY important! Outside, not used much.

For their experience: important, measurable, and positive ones! Motivation is less clear though…

Multiple comments about how JN make them feel more Japanese, how they give them the right to speak…

More discussion…What counts as motivated behavior here?

Participating in camp activities?Speaking Japanese?Doing what is needed to get good grades?Participating in these interviews?

How can we split up motivation to be AT camp and motivation to learn Japanese?Likewise, how can we differentiate what comes from having a Japanese name and what comes from the camp environment?

One group tried to address this…A few participants do use their real names as JN.Others have switched between several names.Perhaps the reactions to getting rid of JN?

Where do we go from here?It seems that many villagers’ Japanese names may be propelling them toward developing, or at least thinking about, an Ideal L2 Self.Further research possibilities:

Comparison with L2 name users outside Mori no Ike (though no parallels really exist)?Further interviewing with these villagers (as L2 Selves were not a focus of the original project)?Comparison to psychological studies of camper development in other camps?