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Imagined Communities, Identity, and English Language Learning in a Multilingual World

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Book cover Second Handbook of English Language Teaching

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

Abstract

This chapter discusses the construct of “imagined communities” as a way to better understand the relationship between second language learning and identity. It is argued that language learners’ actual and desired memberships in “imagined communities” (Anderson B, Imagined communities: reflections on the origins and spread of nationalism. Verso, London, 1991) affect their learning trajectories, influencing their agency, motivation, investment, and resistance in the learning of English. These influences are exemplified with regard to five identity clusters: postcolonial, global, ethnic, multilingual, and gendered identities. We discuss the relevance of “imagined communities” for classroom practice in English education and conclude with a reflection on the future of English language teaching in our increasingly multilingual global community.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Bonny Norton

  2. Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Aneta Pavlenko

Authors
  1. Bonny Norton
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  2. Aneta Pavlenko
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bonny Norton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Xuesong Gao

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Norton, B., Pavlenko, A. (2019). Imagined Communities, Identity, and English Language Learning in a Multilingual World. In: Gao, X. (eds) Second Handbook of English Language Teaching. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02899-2_34

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