Reading Research antd Instnrtion

Spring 2002, 41 (3) 279-288

Adolescent Second Language Literacy: Language-

Culture, Literature, and Identity
Steven G. McCafferty
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

ABSTRACT

The process of reconceptualizing identity as it relates to re-representing oneself

in a second language-culture is considered in relation to the interface between
language. culture. and cognition. Through discussing language and its use in
the contexts of literary texts, it is suggested that adolescent second language
speakers of English can both better come to understand the second culture as
embedded in the language and to feel more comfortable with expressing their
sense of self through language. Concepts deriving from the philosophy of lan-
guage, sociolinguistics. cognitive linguistics. and sociocultural theory are uti-
lized in this effort. Pedagogical recommendations are also provided.

As their bodies grow, adolescents typically find that gender roles,

responsibilities, and their sense of responsibility, for example, are transforned by the
social world around them, causing states of both newfound position and resistance.
Given this profound sense of change, it is not surprising that those who are
immigrants, who are second language (L2) speakers of the dominant language, are
particularly challenged by these circumstances. It is my contention that the language
of literary texts, especially those geared toward adolescents, can prove to be a
valuable resource for L2 learners of English struggling to find a sense of self in their
second language-culture.
The first five sections of this paper, language shock, multivocality, the language
of social solidarity/status, conceptual metaphors, and multimodality, examine
elements of the interface between language, culture, and cognition as found in
American English and how these elements connect to issues of identity and second
language learning/acquisition. Each is also an important aspect of literacy, and
because of the depth of contexts provided in literary works, it is my contention that
such texts provide a particularly valuable resource for L2 students. It is also the case
that native speakers can come to better appreciate the cultural-historical nature of
language and how it shapes our world through such an examination.

LANGUAGE SHOCK

Speakers of a language rarely stop to think about how their native tongue sounds
to them in terms of routine social exchanges, that is, we take it for granted that in
280 Instruction Spr'ing 2002, 41 (3)
Reading Research andJ

English asking someone "how are you?" and having them reply "fine" is perfectly
appropriate. However, a number of people who arrive in the U.S. with another first
language-culture find this greeting to be rather bizarre. Indeed, Europeans typically
recount that initially upon arrival they are pleased with the expression "how are
you?" believing that it means what it says, that people will genuinely respond with
regard to how they are. Of course, it does not take long before they realize that
basically everyone responds as if they are "fine", that, in fact, no one expects a
lengthy response to this query or an honest answer. I remember one L2 student
stating "why do you ask?", puzzled by the seeming futility of the exchange.
The point of course is that this greeting has become a convention that essentially
has no real meaning outside of the social function of acknowledgement. The
response of L2 speakers, however, as suggested previously, is at times one of feeling
uncomfortable, that the language does not truly represent them and that they would
not behave this way were they given a choice linguistically. This is the feeling of
language shock. If this still seems somewhat difficult to grasp, I would like to use an
example from my own L2 history. A common form of greeting in the Northeast of
Thailand translates as "Have you had a shower yet?" As an American, I can assure
you that it took some time for me to get used to using this particular form of
greeting. At first, I felt that I was insulting people, but the meaning behind this
greeting is actually something like "Have you finished working?"
Adolescents have a tendency to create their own language of solidarity, that is, a
way of showing group membership in which other members of the culture will not
engage. For example "Waz up?" has been a prevalent greeting for some time in the
U.S. It is not too difficult to see why adolescents from another language-culture
background might not only be confused by the lack of semantic transparency of this
expression, but also may not feel comfortable with this greeting as representative of
themselves, either. Naturally this results in a sense of alienation from the peer group,
the language, and the culture as a whole.
Exposure to literary works that entail relatively current dialogic interaction and
at the appropriate age level can, if talked about in language arts classes, provide an
opportunity for usage clarification and contexts for understanding as well. In tum,
this may help L2 learners to feel more at ease producing such forms and, therefore,
able to interact more comfortably with their native English speaking peers and
others. The value of this opportunity should not be underestimated as language shock
is considered to be more difficult to overcome than culture shock (Gass & Selinker,
1994).

MULTIVOCALITY

Another difficulty for adolescent L2 leamers that relates to identity is choosing

one's words in the sense that words have a history of usage within any given social
contexts that extend their meaning to include, in some cases, any number of
psychological associations. The word green serves as an example with its current
environmental, political, social, and economic overtones. L2 students, as part of
 Second Language 281

acquiring the language, are searching for a voice to represent them. Initially, this can
be quite a literal process, that is. students are likely to ventriloquate the voice of
another, to use Bakhtin's term (Holquist, 1990). Because of their search for meaning
in context, adolescent language learners rely on those around them to derive the
sense of words within any one particular discourse community. As a result, they can
end up sounding just like those with whom they associate, although it is important to
point out that this process is mediated by their own sense of self, particularly as they
become more proficient in the language-culture.
One of the preoccupations of adolescent L2 learners and adolescents in general,
then, is to distinguish "my word, neutral words and other's words" (Bakhtin, as
found in Holquist, 1990, p. 68) as a part of discursively forming a sense of self.
Indeed, through either direct or indirect use of another's voice, a person is making a
kind of statement about that other 1. while at the same time reflecting on his/her own
1. In relation to this concept, it is important to consider Bruner's (1990) idea that self
is a socially distributed entity, that the narratives that we form are woven out of the
voices of what others have said to us and about us, or as expressed by Bakhtin, that
"being is a simultaneity, it is always co-being" (Holquist, 1990, p. 22).
The opportunity to encounter multiple voices in American English through
reading and discussing literary texts can be an important aspect of the acquisition and
production of a voice in English for L2 students. Such exposure allows adolescents
to explore other dialogical spaces and modes of expression beyond what they might
typically experience in their everyday lives. Offering a breadth of exposure is also
important because, in addition to finding a voice that represents a sense of self,
adolescent L2 learners must also begin to become familiar with language use in a
number of discursive contexts. Bakhtin (Holquist, 1990, p. 69) noted that we are all
"hetroglossic" speakers of a language, that is, we speak differently to people and
communities depending on our relationship to them. For example, we are very likely
to choose our words quite differently depending on whether we are talking to young
children, at a job interview, conversing with long-time friends, etc. Although we
rarely reflect on the linguistic complexity involved in being a member of a society,
for L2 speakers this is truly a monumental challenge. Adolescent L2 learners may
not recognize this as an important aspect of their language learning without models
and explicit guidance.

THE LANGUAGE OF SOCIAL SOLIDARITY/STATUS

As pointed out by Gee (1996), language can serve purposes of solidarity - for
example, a common accent used among friends who grew up in the same
neighborhood, city, state, etc. - or for purposes of status, such as the use of formal
language in the workplace. Gee provided examples of classroom discourse, which
indicate that mainstream American teachers may not hold varieties of English outside
of Standard American English (national newscasters are often cited as embodying
this form) in high regard, instead believing that their profession calls on them to
instill the standard variety. There are, of course, consequences to such repression.
282 Reading Research and instruction Spring 2002. 41 (3)

First of all, for those adolescents who do speak a variety other than Standard
American English. they cannot help but sense that something is "wrong" with the
way they speak, and by extension how their parents and friends speak as well.
Moreover, by ignoring, denying, and/or chastising such an important aspect of
identity, students can easily become alienated from teachers, leading to the belief that
they are outsiders that they don't belong in school.
L2 speakers of English face the same situation, although in their case it is not a
variety of English that comes under fire but their first language-culture - equally
devastating, of course. Additionally, many of the L2 students who come as
immigrants to the U.S. end up living in communities where they come to acquire and
identify with aspects of a non-standard variety of English. Under these circumstances
not only is their first language suspect in many schools settings, but their use of
English is also considered questionable. Therefore, it is possible that while quite the
opposite of language arts teachers' intentions, L2 adolescents can become profoundly
othered in classroom contexts, if such matters of language and identity go
unattended.
I believe that it is important for language arts teachers to express to adolescents
that the language of solidarity is just that, that it is an important tool in maintaining
one's identity with regard to family and friends. Moreover, they should be given the
chance to discuss regional and ethnic variations of English. to come to appreciate
linguistic diversity at this level in addition to so-called foreign languages. Were
teachers to adopt this more open attitude toward their students' language
backgrounds, I believe it would help all adolescents feel more at home in schools.
However, at the same time, it is equally important for teachers to stress the
importance of knowing and becoming proficient with the language of status, pointing
out examples in literary texts and discussing the contexts of use. Adolescents need to
know the reason behind language use, so that they can both understand and learn
what will be expected of them in the society at large.

CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS

Metaphor is basically the process of mapping a source domain onto a target

domain. Target domains are best thought of as abstract conceptual arenas, often the
internal mental or emotional world, sometimes the social world and, occasionally,
unseen and unknown aspects of the physical world. Source domains are commonly
recognized elements, most often found in the physical world. For example, with the
metaphor My cup runneth over, the target domain is happiness and the source
domain is the physical world.
Lakoff and Johnson (1980) introduced the idea that metaphor is not, however,
confined to literary texts and figurative language, rather, they suggested that it is a
pervasive aspect of language and thought, finding instantiation in such everyday
phenomena as time, space, states, and ideas. For example, with the expression "we
have a long way to go," in relation to describing the state of a love relationship, the
speaker is invoking the implicit conceptual metaphor Love is a journey. If he or she
 Second Language 283

were to continue by saying "we are spinning our wheels", an interlocutor familiar
with the language and culture would immediately be able to draw the connection to
the previous utterance, the second utterance being an entailment of the central
metaphor.
Also, Lakoff and Johnson claimed that metaphor partly constitutes our
understanding of the world, that is, that such metaphors provide a foundation for
aspects of cultural cognition as related to the experiential realm of people as
embodied in the physical world. For example, the conceptual metaphor Up is good,
bad is down has instantiations in English such as "I'm feeling up for that", or
conversely "I'm feeling down today".
Farnell (1996), on the other hand, suggested that there is no reason to view
conceptual metaphors as deriving from our relationship to the physical world. From
her point of view, and in relation to the previous conceptual metaphor, Famell argued
that "The shared ground or tenor that creates the metaphor (up is good, bad is down)
is the idea that 'sad is down,' not the physical expression of that idea" (p. 320).
Moreover, she suggested that "We experience things, including our own bodies, the
way we do because as members of a culture we have grown up hearing people,
including ourselves, use precisely these metaphors to talk about it" (p. 321). For
support, she cited Martin (1995), who found that in Haiti the prevailing metaphor is
Good is down, bad is up.
Also, Quinn (1987) conceived of conceptual metaphors as being more abstract,
that conceptual metaphors are selected to fit culturally shared models. From this
point of view, then, only in exceptional cases could metaphor itself reorganize
thinking, supply new entailments, or permit new inferences. For example, Quinn
found that Americans have eight basic image schemas or conceptual metaphors that
apply to marriage: that it is shared, mutually beneficial, lasting, and so forth.
However, Gibbs (1994) objected to Quinn's idea that the specific use of
metaphor is less important than how it supports abstract categories of understanding,
suggesting instead that:

We may be able as analysts to abstract from people's metaphorical under-

standing of their experience and provide a detailed idealized, even culturally
sensitive, model that appears independent of metaphor. Yet we don't know
if these idealized cultural models are constitutive of individuals' ordinary
experiences: They might be convenient fictions created by scholars to sug-
gest regularities in human experience that are really motivated by figurative
schemes of thought (p. 206).

A third perspective on this issue is offered by the Palmer (1996) who suggested
that both Quinn and Gibbs are correct. Moreover, he argued that there is likely to be
a good deal of individual difference not accounted for by either of the two views.
Gaining conceptual grounding in a new culture is of course something of dire
importance for newcomers to understand if they wish to eventually participate as full
members of a culture. Therefore, studying this form of metaphor and the
284 Readi&ng Research ainld Instruction Spring' 2002. 41 (3)

instantiations in cultural texts is of obvious value. For instance, for American

adolescents, one of the cultural concepts that typically gains prominence in their
lives is the right to privacy. However. other cultures do not share this concept, in fact,
the notion of a "private life" or "private space" is unknown in some cultures. For
example. Pavlenko (1997) found that Russian speakers of L2 English living in the
U.S. used American metaphors of personal privacy to describe various situations in a
silent film, despite the lack of this concept in Russian language-culture. On this basis
she argued that L2 learners reconceptualize notions of identity when faced with
different cultural values.
Although perhaps a little far a field. it is interesting to note, in a further example
of the connection between culture, cognition, and metaphor. that the government of
the Czech Republic, in an effort to bolster worker productivity, introduced the
American conceptual metaphor Time is money to the Czech people and in English
(Robert McMullin, personal communication, March 7, 2000). Evidently, the
connection between the language and the American economic model - capitalism -
proved to be something, apparently, the Czech government wanted to "capitalize on"
in moving from a socialist to a capitalist economic model.
Although not strictly related to the use of conceptual metaphors, Grabois (1999)
conducted a study that investigated semantic associations for various culturally
sensitive words (e.g., love, family, passion, emotion, mom) for second and first
language speakers of Spanish, to see if the second language speakers (all native
speakers of English) would have semantic associations similar to native speakers of
Spanish or native speakers of English. Through a combined quantitative and
qualitative analysis Grabois found that L2 speakers who had lived in Spain for at
least three years had moved significantly toward the same sorts of associations as
found for native speakers of Spanish. This result lends support for the possibility that
L2 learners of a language who are living in naturalistic contexts (where the language
is spoken on an everyday basis) reconceptualize the world in important ways as a
result of their experience.

MULTIMODALITY

Meaning, of course, comes in multiple forms of representation. Certainly

adolescents become aware of private codes - verbal, nonverbal, pictorial, etc. - and
come to incorporate those they find fitting their own sense of identity in relation to
their social contexts. Therefore, in the case of L2 learners of English, it is important
to keep in mind that although language remains by far the most salient of semiotic
systems, that there are other forms that differ cross-culturally as well.
In relation to language and literacy, the use of nonverbal forms of
communication is of particular interest, some researchers suggesting that up to 90%
of what "gets said" is actually nonverbal in face-to-face communication (McNeill,
1992). Although gestures have been studied for centuries, nonverbal communication
also includes features such as gaze, facial expressions, thermal, dermal, and chemical
emissions in the form of, for example, body heat, scent, tears, and perspiration.
 Second Languzage 285

When all of these channels are considered together, it is not difficult to appreciate the
impact that nonverbal forms have on communication. It is also important to stress
that these forms vary idiosyncratically as well as culturally.
It has been found that over time L2 learners appropriate gestural and other
nonverbal forms of communication in the second language-culture (McCafferty &
Ahmed, 2000). More recently, in a quasi-tutorial setting, I found that a newly arrived
adult college student from Taiwan in conjunction with an American graduate student,
a former English as a foreign language teacher, co-constructed meaning for the use
of gestures that became lexicalized within the context of their interactions. That is,
certain gestures achieved the status of words, helping to create a shared social,
symbolic, mental, and physical space (McCafferty, in press). Moreover, it needs to be
recognized that nonverbal signs are also part of establishing identity in relation to
both being an adolescent and coming to re-represent a sense of self in a different
language-culture.
Texts themselves are also, of course, multimodal representations at times.
Morrison (1990) noted that in the twelfth century illuminations were not seen as
separate from written text; that is, in order to appreciate the full force of the Bible the
two modalities were expected to be considered in unison. It is interesting that with
the advent of the internet fully embodied representations, often in the form of
photographs, video, graphs, charts, and other forms of "illumination" have assumed,
in many cases, a more prominent position than the written word (see Kress, 1997) in
mediums other than the internet as well, including so-called print media. Cross-
cultural and cross-linguistic interpretations, reactions, etc., to multimodal forms of
text are interesting to explore with both first and second language speakers of
English. The overall semiotics of text structure can be connected to issues of identity
as well. The poet, e.e. cummings, for example, although not changing the basic
structure of written English script, did change its representation through his lack of
capitalization for proper nouns, an innovation that is currently a productive aspect of
American first names.
Another form of multimodal representation, that quite literally embodies the
word, is drama. Acting out scenes, skits, or scenarios has been a part of second and
foreign language teaching and learning for a long time. Giving voice to actions
provides adolescent L2 learners with the opportunity to imitate the gestures and ways
of handling cultural artifacts found within the second language-culture, in addition to
the opportunity to study and practice the language. Also, because drama essentially
deals with social interaction, explicit attention can be brought to the connection
between language and identity, language and emotion, and so forth, as found within
specific contexts.
Furthermore in relation to drama, Habermas (1984) argued that people in
conversation are engaged in "dramaturgical action", that is, they "[constitute] a
public for one another, before whom they present themselves. The actor evokes in his
public a certain image, or impression of himself, by more or less purposefully
disclosing his subjectivity" (p. 86). This behavior is of course especially important to
establishing a sense of identity in a new language-culture, an area of research
286 1d Instruction Spring 2002. 41 (3)
Reading Research eiu

currently receiving a good deal of attention within applied linguistics (see Kramsch,
1995; Norton, 1997; Pavlenko & Lantolf. 2000; Siegal, 1996; Toohey, 2000). Finally,
with regard to multimodal texts and L2 learning for adolescents, there is support that
the comprehension and production of graphic organizers such as charts, figures. and
pictorial illustrations can be beneficial in helping these students to more fully
comprehend written texts (Short, 1994).

CONTINGENCY

When adolescent L2 learners are able to interact in ways authentic to

themselves, in effect reclaiming their subjectivity as opposed to being cast into the
prescribed role of student, they are much more likely to be interested in learning the
language. Moreover, such circumstances tend to create classroom contexts that are
conducive to learning in general. Contingenit discourse, according to van Lier (1996).
is anchored in the experiential context of the participants. is unpredictable, self-
determined, symmetrical. process-oriented, conversational, and allows for a sense of
expectancy. These are all qualities that are highly desirable to facilitating L2
learning. Furthermore, van Lier (1996, p. 163) noted that:

[R]esponsive teaching, or in general any pedagogical interaction which is

contingent, is especially important for less motivated, culturally disenfran-
chised, and other at-risk groups. The bigger the gap between students' back-
grounds, ideals, and aspirations (if any). and the school's institutionalized
norms and purposes, the more crucial a responsive or contingent form of in-
teraction will be, if we are to assist the students in their development.

Of course, many L2 adolescents fit just this description.

Hopefully, each of the previously discussed sections provides a link between
language, literature, and identity that makes for contingent pedagogical
circumstances in relation to literary texts and facilitating L2 leaming. Certainly my
own experience teaching students of English as a second/foreign language suggests
that it does. However, at the same time. I believe that these concepts also provide
contingent interaction for mainstream adolescent students as well, who generally
have little formal awareness concerning the interface of language. culture, and
identity, although they tend to recognize that this interaction is significant. However,
at the same time, responsive teaching is not as necessary to keep them in the game as
in the case of L2 and other minority language students. Also, although not explicitly
mentioned up to this point, from the point of view of contingency, it would behoove
teachers to utilize literary works by authors who are themselves second language
speakers of English, or who grew up bilingually or biculturally in the U.S., such as
Amy Tan and Richard Rodriguez.
 Second Language 287

CONCLUSION

I have argued that language arts teachers should attempt to mine the interface
between language, culture, and cognition as found in American English to help L2
learners develop a better sense of the language in connection with matters of identity.
However, as yet, I have not dealt with an important aspect of utilizing this approach,
namely, the differing levels of L2 proficiency that are typically found within a class
that includes this population.
Clearly, any text that cannot be comprehended by a student because of a lack of
access to vocabulary or structure cannot be contingent in van Lier's sense. If
adolescents are to be engaged, and if teaching is to be responsive, they must be given
the opportunity to gain control over the language of the text. This may require
prereading activities or small group discussions before moving on to the
consideration of multivocality, the language of solidarity/status, conceptual
metaphors, or multimodal or embodied representations such as gestures, facial
expressions, illustrations, etc.
I would also suggest that language arts teachers keep a folder (electronically or
otherwise) of poems, short stories, essays, and other literary texts that they find
meaningful and that are accessible in terms of length and difficulty to L2 students. It
is also important to keep in mind that van Lier's notion of contingency not only
applies to the choice of text but also, of course, to pedagogical activities. L2
adolescents need the opportunity to be involved in language arts classes in ways that
reflect how they experience the world as those with another language and culture, as
outsiders, or as people who feel marginalized within one social context or another.
These are all aspects of identity that not only are found in literature, but that are
realized in everyday language use.

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Received: September 1, 2001

Revision received: November 6, 2001
Accepted: November 20, 2001
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TITLE: Adolescent Second Language Literacy: Language-Culture,

Literature, andIdentity
SOURCE: Reading Research and Instruction 41 no3 Spr 2002
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