World Englishes pedagogy: constructing learner identity

Abstract

This article examines the impact of a critical pedagogy informed by World Englishes and investment frameworks on one L2 learner in Hong Kong who claims to use ‘Hong Kong English’ (HKE). Taking a critical and proactive stance, we seek to counter insidious (neo)colonial ideologies and practices through our pedagogic investigation in an undergraduate course. Multimodal output during the intervention was jointly analysed to gauge the impact of the pedagogy on one learner’s investment trajectory. The findings revealed that the participant-learner managed to invest in multiple intertwined identities as Hongkonger, legitimate HKE user, and as an L2 English learner. The participant-learner challenged her exonormative orientations to become an invested, self-reflective learner who endorses and embodies endonormative norms in her local English. Overall, the study highlights tasks that create spaces for students to actively resist colonial representations of English.