“Stories from No-Man’s Land?” Situated language learning through the use of role models in the context of international Higher Education

Abstract

This article discusses the value of role models in the language acquisition process of international students following an English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) programme in the Netherlands. Narrative interpretations of qualitative data provide insights into the identity work involved in the use of role models and the impact that this work has on the participation of learners in the ir core learning community and other communities. The article compares the use of role models in the cases of three students. These learning experiences were recorded through Language Learning Histories (Murphey, Chen & Chen: 2004), semi -structured interviews and journal entries. Analysis is grounded in the theory of situated learning, taking Communities of Practice (Wenger 1998) as the main conceptual framework. The article also draws on related perspectives from within the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), notably a heuristic understanding of Activity Theory (Lantolf & Pavlenko 2001; Ivanič 2006) and ‘person -in-context’ (Ushioda 2009). Narrative interpretations of language learning experiences are shown to provide understandings of the impact of local educational practices on learner participation in and across learning communities. These interpretations highlight the need for greater transparency and awareness of the tensions intrinsic to participation in language learning communities. These tens ions are exemplified in these three cases by the learners’ use or non -use of role models, which is of particular relevance in the broader context of their experience outside the classroom setting. Such research provides an opportunity to incorporate learner perspectives in curriculum design and evaluation.