T1 112012036 Full text

EFL STUDENTS’ IMAGINED IDENTITIES AND INVESTMENTS
IN THEIR LEARNING PROCESS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

SANDRA PRISKILA
112012036

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA WACANA
SALATIGA
2016

EFL STUDENTS’ IMAGINED IDENTITIES AND INVESTMENTS
IN THEIR LEARNING PROCESS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of

Sarjana Pendidikan

SANDRA PRISKILA
112012036

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA WACANA
SALATIGA
2016
i

EFL STUDENTS’ IMAGINED IDENTITIES AND INVESTMENTS
IN THEIR LEARNING PROCESS

THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

SANDRA PRISKILA
112012036

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA WACANA
SALATIGA
2016

Approved by:

Gita Hastuti, M.A.
Supervisor

Athriyana S. Pattiwael, M.Hum.
Examiner
iii

PUBLICATION AGREEMENT DECLARATION

As a member of the Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana (UKSW) academic
community, I verify that:
Name
: Sandra Priskila
Student ID Number : 112012036
Study Program
: English Language Education Program
Faculty
: Faculty of Language and Arts
Kind of work
: Undergraduate Thesis
In developing my knowledge, I agree to provide UKSW with a non-exclusive royalty
free right for my intellectual property and the contents there in entitled:
EFL Students’ Imagined Identities and Investments in Their Learning Process
along with any pertinent equipment.
With this non-exclusive royalty free right, UKSW maintains the right to copy,
reproduce, print, publish, post, display, incorporate, store in or scan into a retrieval
system or database, transmit, broadcast, barter or sell my intellectual property, in
whole or in part without my express written permission, as long as my name is still
included as the writer.

This declaration is made according to the best of my knowledge.
Made in
: Salatiga
Date

: August 2 2016
Verified by signee,
_________

Approved by
Thesis Supervisor

Thesis Examiner

Gita Hastuti, M.A.

Athriyana S. Pattiwael, M.Hum.

iv

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT

This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in any
course or accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any university. To
the best of my knowledge and my belief, this contains no material previously
published or written by any other person except where due reference is made in the
text.

Copyright@ 2016. Sandra Priskila and Gita Hastuti, M. A.

All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without
the permission of at least one of the copyright owners of the English Language
Education Program, Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Kristen Satya
Wacana, Salatiga.

Sandra Priskila

v

TABLE OF CONTENT

Cover Page …………………………………………………….……………….…..… i
Inside Cover Page ………………………………………………......…………..…… ii
Approval Page ............................................................................................................ iii
Publication Agreement Declaration ………………………………………………… iv
Copyright Statement ………………………………………………………………… v
Table of Content …………………………………………………………………..... vi
Abstract ……………………………………………………...……………………..... 1
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………..… 1
LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………..……………………….…... 3
Sociocultural Context in Identities…………...………………………………….. 4
Identities ……………………………………………………………………….. 5
Imagination …………………………………………………………………….... 5
Imagined Identities and Imagined Communities …..………………….………… 6
Investments ……………………………………………………….…………...… 6
Learning Process .................................................................................................... 7
Previous Study ……………………………………………………..……………. 7
Identity, Investments, and Learning as Interrelated Concepts …………………... 8
THE STUDY …………………………………………………………………..…… 9
The Method ……………………………………………………………..……….. 9
Context ………………………………………………………………….……….. 9

The Participants …………………………………………………………..……. 10
Data Collection

……………………………………………………………… 11

Data Analysis

…………………………………………………………….... 12
vi

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION …..……………………..………………………. 12
EFL Students‘ Imagined Identities Developed in Their Learning Process
(RQ1)…….……………………………………………………………………... 12
EFL Students‘ Investments in Their Learning Process (RQ2) ………....…… 15
Investments stated by the participants ……………………………………. 16
Asking questions to the teacher ………………………………………...….. 16
Taking notes ……………………………………………………………..…. 16

Investments as perceived by the teacher ………………………………….. 17
Answering teacher’s questions ………………………………………......… 17

Investments revealed through classroom observations ………………….. 17
Interacting with friends by own initiative ………………….…………….… 17
Interacting with friends as a part of learning activities ….…………......... 18
Repeating the correct pronunciation given by the teacher ………………. 18

CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………………… 21
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ……………………………………………………….. 23
REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………….... 24
APPENDICES …………………………………………………………………….. 27
Appendix A …………………………………..……………………………….... 27
Appendix B …………………………………………………………………….. 28
Appendix C …………………………………………………………………….. 29
Appendix D …………………………………………………………………….. 30
Appendix E …………………………………………………………………….. 31
Appendix F ………………………………………………………………….…. 32

vii

EFL STUDENTS’ IMAGINED IDENTITIES AND INVESTMENTS IN THEIR
LEARNING PROCESS

Sandra Priskila
Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana

Abstract
A lot of interests have been drawn to identity research in language learning, which
used post-structuralist approach (Lamb, 2009). There are many constructs developed
to relate identity and language learning, but research using imagined identity and
investment concepts are limited, especially in EFL context. To fill in the gap, this
study aimed to examine EFL students‘ imagined identities and investments in their
learning process. In imagined identities, ―learners imagine who they might be, and
who their communities might be, when they learn a language‖ (Jenkins, 2005 &
Jenkins, 2007 as cited in Norton & Toohey, 2011, p. 420). On the other hand,
investment ―is a sociological construct, and seeks to make meaningful connections
between a learner‘s desire and commitment to learn a language and their changing
identities‖ (Norton & Toohey, 2011, p. 420). These notions are relevant with learning
process itself since there is a certain social context in which learners can participate
and that context creates possibilities to learn English (Norton & Toohey, 2011). Thus,
when language learners invest in the target language, they also invest in their own
identity (Norton, 2001). The data were obtained through Focus Group Discussions,
classroom observations, and an interview. Findings of the study showed that

participants imagined different future jobs that represented their future identities.
They could also define their imagined communities and how both were related to
their current language learning. Besides, their investments in classroom activities
were evident and they were able to recognize in which practices they invested more.
Key words: imagined identity, investment, learning process

INTRODUCTION

Many people assume that English is important, but only some put the
importance of learning English into action. In Salatiga, there are quite many
university students who take lessons from English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
1

institutions. It might imply that English is important for either their study or later
career. Looking upon this phenomenon, two questions arose: ―Do the students know
what they want to be later?‖ and ―How is this related to their learning now?‖
In the area of TESOL, there seem to have been a lot of recent studies that
investigate students‘ future identities in relation with their language learning. These
studies dominantly used post-structuralist approaches (Lamb, 2009). Some studies
used future selves and L2 self to talk about identity (e.g. Taguchi, Magid, & Papi,

2009; Yashima, 2009; Lamb, 2011). However, not many discussed the issue using the
notion of imagined identities and investments (e.g. Norton, Jones, & Ahimbisibwe,
2011; Norton & Toohey, 2011). Imagined identities can be defined as the identities
that are imagined by the language learners, in which ―learners imagine who they
might be, and who their communities might be, when they learn a language‖ (Jenkins,
2005 & Jenkins, 2007 as cited in Norton & Toohey, 2011, p. 420). On the other hand,
investment ―is a sociological construct, and seeks to make meaningful connections
between a learner‘s desire and commitment to learn a language and their changing
identities‖ (Norton & Toohey, 2011, p. 420). Thus, investment can be seen as what
learners can do or get to accommodate their willingness in learning a language in
order to connect with their identities.
The present study is based on the recommendation from Norton, Jones, and
Ahimbisibwe‘s (2011) study on the relationship between learners‘ investments in
language practices of the digital literacy course and their identities. They
recommended examining the relationship between the ability to imagine identities
and learning success (Norton, Jones, & Ahimbisibwe, 2011). However, this study
only takes the recommendation partially, focusing on examining the investments and
imagined identities in EFL students‘ learning process.
Referring to the previous studies and the current phenomenon, two research
questions were formulated:

2

1. What are the imagined identities that EFL students develop in their learning
process?
2. What do the students do to invest in their learning process?
This study may generate the results of students‘ imagined identities and
investments. Therefore, it might be helpful for the students in imagining their future
identities as well as reflecting on their individual investments. By understanding their
own imagined identities and investments, hopefully they can improve in their
learning process. On the other hand, teachers can also reflect on their ways of
teaching while thinking and taking into account of what students can invest in the
target language. Since there are not many studies about this in EFL context,
conducting this study might be useful in enriching the studies about imagined
identities and investments. Moreover, this study can give other researchers idea to do
further studies regarding EFL students‘ identities in their language learning.
LITERATURE REVIEW

Recently, identity discussion has been a great innovation in applied linguistic
research (Ricento, 2005), mostly using post-structuralist approach (Lamb, 2009).
Post-structuralist approach believes that language is not only an independent set by
putting aside the speakers or the speaking, but also highly related to how people
socially communicate and create meaning (Bakhtin, 1981, 1984, 1986 as cited in
Norton & Toohey, 2011).
As mentioned, identity and language learning is an area of research using
post-structuralist approach (Norton & Morgan in press as cited in Norton & Toohey,
2011). There seem to be two major dimensions in identity research, which are
psychological dimension and sociocultural dimension. Psychological dimension plays
a big role in identity research; some related constructs include future self, L2 self,
possible selves, and motivation (e.g. Csizér & Dörnyei, 2005; Lee & Oyserman,
3

2009; Taguchi, Magid, & Papi, 2009; Yashima, 2009; Lamb, 2011). Psychological
dimension emphasized more on the insights of self-psychology and individual‘s main
focus of preventing failure (Lamb, 2009). Most of identity research used motivation
constructs as the psychological dimension, but there are other aspects to cover such as
extraversion and individual differences (Dewaele, 2005). This dimension argued that
learners are ―individually internalizing stable system of language knowledge‖
(Norton & Toohey, 2011, p. 419). Therefore, psychological dimension underlined
individual aspects in identity formation.
Also included in post-structuralist approach is the sociocultural dimension of
identity, as proposed by Ricento (2005) and Norton (2006). Sociocultural dimension
emphasized on ―the ways in which identity is constituted through and by language,
and how these processes occur within broader social discourses with their inscribed
power relations‖ (Ricento, 2005, p. 895). Sociocultural dimension viewed learners as
having different position in social and historical communities who use language and
language learning as dynamic tools (Norton & Toohey, 2011). Some of the
sociocultural elements in identity are investment, gender, race, and ethnicity (Ricento,
2005). Thus, since investment is included in sociocultural dimension, this research
will focus more on identities in a sociocultural context.

Sociocultural Context in Identities
Norton (2006) noted that there are five characteristics of identity as a
sociocultural conception: 1) identity is conceived as dynamic and changing across
time and place; 2) identity is ―complex, contradictory, and multifaceted‖; 3) identity
―constructs and is constructed by language‖; 4) ―identity construction must be
understood with respect to larger social processes, marked by relations of power that
can be either coercive or collaborative‖; and 5) identity theory is often linked with
classroom practice (pp. 24). Thus, these five characteristics reflect how identity is

4

constructed, with some sociocultural dimensions related to identity, such as language,
power relations, and classroom practice.

Identities
In complement to Norton‘s (2006) sociocultural identity characteristics, poststructuralist approach pointed out that identities ―are seen as multidimensional,
hybrid, and fluid‖ (Faas, 2008, pp. 164). Furthermore, it allowed ―contradiction and
multiple categories of identity‖ which are expected not to be reconciled (pp. 64). In
addition, the fluidity of identity seem to be supported with post-structuralist
theoretical framework which challenged ―the idea of a single monolithic truth and
identity and regards all absolutes as constructions‖ (pp. 164). In summary, both poststructuralist approach and sociocultural conception agreed that identities are
complicated, dynamic, and multidimensional, and that there is no one fixed concept
of one‘s identity.
Imagination
Obviously, the notion of imagination sets a significant point in the constructs
of imagined identities and imagined communities. Imagination constructs ―an image
of ourselves, of our communities, and of the world, in order to orient ourselves, to
reflect on our situation, and to explore possibilities‖ (Wenger, 2000, pp. 228). In
addition, imagination is required when we think of ourselves as a member of a
community and is important to our sense of self and to how we interpret our social
world participation (Wenger, 2000). Therefore, imagination in both learner‘s identity
and expected community is more likely future-oriented and is essential to learner‘s
identity development.

5

Imagined Identities and Imagined Communities
There is a concept of identity that was developed by Kanno and Norton
(2003), and Norton and Pavlenko (2007), as cited in Norton and Toohey (2011). This
concept integrated imagination with identities; imagination accommodates our desire
for future identities and connects this with the communities that we want to be allied
with, regardless time and space limit (Norton & Toohey, 2011). This notion is called
as imagined identities, with another notion to follow, imagined communities.
Imagined identities and imagined communities ―focus on the future when
learners imagine who they might be, and who their communities might be, when they
learn a language‖ (Jenkins, 2005 & Jenkins, 2007 as cited in Norton & Toohey, 2011,
p. 420). Imagined identities are envisioned through imagined communities and it can
impact learners‘ participation in educational practices (Kanno & Norton, 2003). Thus,
imagined identities cannot be separated from imagined communities and both are
related to language learning process.

Investments
As a complement of motivation constructs, the concept of investment was
developed (Norton Peirce, 1995; Norton 2001, 2010, in press as cited in Norton and
Toohey, 2011). Investment, as Norton and Toohey (2011) pointed out, ―recognizes
that learners often have variable desires to engage in the range of social interactions
and community practices in which they are situated‖ (pp. 420). It differs from
motivation since motivation is more likely a psychological construct (Dörnyei, 2001
as cited in Norton & Toohey, 2011), while investment ―is a sociological construct,
and seeks to make meaningful connections between a learner‘s desire and
commitment to learn a language and their changing identities‖ (Norton & Toohey,
2011, p. 420).
The notion of investment is highly influenced by Bourdieu & Passeron‘s
(1977) cultural capital, as referred by Norton & Toohey (2011). Cultural capital
6

contains ―knowledge, credentials, and modes of thought that characterize different
classes and groups‖ (Norton & Toohey, 2011, pp. 420). By investing in their target
language, learners can increase the value of their cultural capital and reflect on their
desires for the future (Norton & Toohey, 2011).
The existence of this concept can stimulate a question: ―What is the learner‘s
investment in the language practices in this classroom?‖ (Norton & Toohey, 2011,
pp. 421). Thus, instead of discussing learner‘s motivation in learning, we may find
out the action that learners take and things they learn to prove their commitment in
learning.

Learning Process
According to Wenger (2000), learning in social context is a combination
between personal experience and social competence. Similarly, Rogoff (1994)
assumed that people‘s participation in sociocultural activities in their community can
initiate learning and development. This means that there is a certain social context in
which learners can participate and that context creates possibilities to learn English
(Norton & Toohey, 2011). Referring to Lave & Wenger‘s (1991) formulation of
social practice, Norton (2001) argued that language learning is included in it as it
involves learners‘ complicated identities. In conclusion, learning occurs when the
learners experience a gap between themselves and a certain social context in which
they think they belong to.

Previous Studies
This study is based on the recommendation from Norton, Jones, and
Ahimbisibwe‘s (2011) study on the relationship between learners‘ investments in
language practices of the digital literacy course and their identities. Their study was
conducted in Uganda with 12 young female English language learners as their
participants. They did the research by using two questionnaires at the beginning and
7

the end of the course, and also analyzing journal entries from both the instructor and
participants. The researchers found out that learners invested in different areas, which
are digital literacy, digital information about HIV/AIDS, digital resources, and
learner-centered pedagogy. Besides, by being digital literate and broadening their
resources, they could project and imagine future identities. Thus, the findings showed
that there are learners‘ multiple investments, which are closely related to their
imagined identities.

Identity, Investments, and Learning as Interrelated Concepts
Identity, investments, and learning can be seen as interrelated concepts and
processes. Wenger (1998) as cited in Pavlenko and Norton (2007) pointed out:

Learning, in turn, will be seen as a situated process of participation in particular communities
of practice, which may entail the negotiation of ways of being a person in that context. Thus,
―because learning transforms who we are and what we can do, it is an experience of identity‖
(p. 215), a process of becoming, or avoiding becoming a certain person, rather than a simple
accumulation of skills and knowledge. (pp. 670)

Moreover, when personal transformation is combined with evolving social structures,
learning takes place (Wenger, 2000). This implies that learning contains the process
of identity formation, which is related to the imagination of certain communities a
learner hopes to belong to.
In the construct of investment, a language learner is perceived to have ―a
complex history and multiple desires‖ (Norton, 1997, p. 411). This means that when
language learners invest in the target language, they also invest in their own identity
(Norton, 2001). Besides, ―a learner‘s imagined community invited an imagined
identity, and a learner‘s investment in the target language must be understood within
this context‖ (Norton, 2001, pp. 166). By looking at this, I might say that it is
essential to investigate these three concepts as an interrelated process to find out how
learners perceive their identities in the future and relate that to their investments in
their current learning process.
8

THE STUDY

This study was based on the research questions:
1. What are the imagined identities that EFL students develop in their learning
process?
2. What do the students do to invest in their learning process?

The Method
This study is a qualitative research study, with Focus Group Discussion
(FGD), interviews, and classroom observations as the research instruments. It is
different from Norton, Jones, and Ahimbisibwe‘s (2011) study, since the research
instruments are different. Norton, Jones, and Ahimbisibwe‘s (2011) study seemed to
use open-ended questionnaires, while in this research, Focus Group Discussion and
interviews were used. For the observations, there were observation protocols, so they
can represent teacher‘s journals like what was done in Norton, Jones, and
Ahimbisibwe‘s (2011) study.
Context
This study was conducted in a private course in Salatiga, Indonesia, which has
many university students joining the course. Furthermore, English learners in
Indonesia can be categorized as EFL learners since they do not use English for
everyday communication. Consequently, not all Indonesian people are willing to
learn English further. However, people who join a private course are assumed to be
aware of their needs in learning English and be more motivated to improve.
Therefore, university students who learn English in a private course are the suitable
participants for this study since the researcher expects to invite this kind of
participants.

9

Specifically, one of the Speaking Basic classes was chosen since the context
is the learning of English as a Foreign Language, whose learners still need to
strengthen their basics to step to the more complicated lessons in learning English.
Furthermore, this is the only class suitable to the research‘s time span and the
availability of the students. Thus, this class matched the context and requirement that
the researcher had.
The classroom context for classroom observations will be described as
follows by mentioning the topics and activities used during those meetings. In the
first classroom observation, the topic was cooking ingredients and the agenda was
vocabulary drilling. In this meeting, the activities were vocabulary memorization,
written exercises, and a game. The second classroom observation was a discussion
class. There were presentations of cooking recipes (the delayed assignment from the
previous topic), discussion on a case of choosing Sophie‘s future husband, and
discussion on their fantasy boyfriend. The last classroom observation had a questionled discussion on advertisement. Further details of related activities are explained in
necessary parts in Findings and Discussion section.

The Participants
As this study took place in a private course, the participants of this study were
the students of the course. Considering the time constraints of the research and the
availability of the participants, I decided to use convenient sampling technique. I
considered participants‘ willingness, time availability, and class availability as the
convenience factors. Originally, there were 6 participants who were students in the
same Speaking Basic class in the course. However, the one majoring in psychology
could not continue taking part in this research due to her job in another place. She
moved away before all data were collected. Thus, the researcher decided to continue
with 5 participants and their teacher as a supporting participant.

10

The participants were three students of Faculty of Information and
Technology and two students of Faculty of Economics and Business who joined the
same Speaking Basic class in that course. It needs to be students from different
majors because the researcher would like to have different views about this issue. For
further information, the participants were all female students. However, this research
did not take gender into account, so it did not impact the research result. To ensure
their confidentiality, they were given pseudonyms, which are Audrey, Diana, Elaine,
Ophelia, and Viola. The ones from FIT are Audrey, Diana, and Viola, while the ones
from FEB are Elaine and Ophelia.
In addition, I included their teacher as a supporting participant. She was
interviewed to seek teachers‘ views of their students‘ investments and improvements.
She was also given a pseudonym which is Ms. Patricia.

Data Collection
The data were collected using two FGD sessions for the students at the
beginning and approaching the end of the course. The teacher was interviewed once
approaching the end of the course. Classroom observations were done three times,
with the range of four to six meetings in between.
The data collected from the first FGD session were about their imagined
identities, investments, and learning process. Then, the observations were done in
order to prove and match the investments that the students said in their first FGD.
Teachers‘ interview was about students‘ investments and their learning process. The
second FGD session at the end confirmed whether they change their imagined
identities, what their investments are, their improvement, and whether their learning
is related to their imagined identities and investments. Thus, the data collected from
FGD, interview, and classroom observation will be different and they can complete
one another to perform as a result of the study.

11

Data Analysis
The data analysis was based on the themes framed and other themes that
emerged in the FGD, interview, and classroom observations. The themes framed are
students‘ imagined identities (RQ1) and students‘ investments (RQ2). Other issues
surfaced from the FGD and classroom observation were included in both themes,
such as other investments seen in classroom observations, which were not mentioned
in FGD. Following-up the theme grouping of FGD, interview, and observation
results, all of them will be synthesized and related to the literature.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The data collected from the Focus Group Discussions, interview, and
observations will be presented based on the research questions:
1. What are the imagined identities that EFL students develop in their learning
process?
2. What do the students do to invest in their learning process?
For research question 1 (RQ1), the data are analyzed and discussed based on the
similarities and differences in participants‘ ideas. Meanwhile, the data for research
question 2 (RQ2) are classified into the kinds of investments that the students did.
EFL Students’ Imagined Identities Developed in Their Learning Process (RQ1)
For this research, the context of imagined identities is narrowed down to
students‘ dream jobs. These jobs became their focus of what they might become in
the future as they learn English (Jenkins, 2005; Jenkins, 2007 as cited in Norton &
Toohey, 2011). Students‘ different academic expertise results in various future jobs
that they hope they will get. The future jobs that they expected to get are
entrepreneurs, a CEO, a hardware support, and a database analyst. In addition to
future jobs, their imagined identities will also be related to their current English
12

learning process. Therefore, their answers are discussed based on the similarities and
differences in their ideas.
Although the participants had different choices of future jobs, there is one job
that some of them had in common: an entrepreneur. Audrey, Ophelia and Viola were
the ones who expected this job. The desire to become an entrepreneur is ―because I
don‘t like to be a follower. So I want to lead,‖ as Ophelia said. Although she wanted
to be an entrepreneur, Viola would like to experience working in a company first as a
hardware support. Later, ―I don‘t want to be an employee all my life; I want to
become an entrepreneur, opening my own business.‖
The other two chose different jobs. Diana, who majors in Technology and
Information Department, preferred to be a database analyst. Other than related to her
field of study, she also reasoned that, ―…database analysts are needed in every
company.‖ On the other hand, as a Business Management student, Elaine aimed to be
a CEO of a company. She mentioned that CEO is one example of notable positions in
a company. However, she has not yet had any goal of what kind of company that she
wanted to work in.
Basically, they chose the job that suited their current major. However,
interestingly, Audrey chose to be an entrepreneur, which is not really related to her
study in Technology and Information Department. She was specifically interested in
culinary business, but ―I want to apply what I‘m studying now for my business…only
in some areas, though.‖
Imagined identities are envisioned through imagined communities (Kanno &
Norton, 2003). The participants‘ were able to imagine their future identities because
they knew what kind of communities that they may belong to in the future. Generally,
they expected to interact with foreign people. These people can be their colleagues or
business partners, depending on their expected job.
Enriched options of imagined identities are what imagined communities can
offer (Norton & Toohey, 2011). As seen in the previous paragraphs, the participants
13

had different future job choices—even a job that is different from their major in
college now. Their dream jobs are also related to their imagined communities, which
they expected to involve foreign people as colleagues or business partners. Elaine
mentioned, ―Indonesia will join AEC [ASEAN Economic Community] soon, so there
will be people from other countries coming here.‖ She was aware of what might
happen in the future and it became her desired community also. Therefore, since they
have imagined identities and imagined communities, they hoped to be able to become
people with those identities by learning.
These students, despite their busy college life, must have their own reasons
for joining a private course. Generally, their reasons to learn English are to be
confident in speaking English, to be able to communicate with foreign people, to add
more value to their competence, and to be able to compete in getting a job. This
implies that learning English is not only for their personal improvement, but there
may also be a demand from the society in terms of ability.
This kind of phenomenon is related with the concept of learning described by
Wenger (2000). Learning can be socially defined as a crossroad of social competence
and personal experience (Wenger, 2000). Competence and experience, as Wenger
pointed out, pull each other in different situations and when they do, learning
happens. In participants‘ cases, social competence seems to pull its rope. All of them
agreed that ―being able to speak English shows that we are competent.‖ They took
account of what people think of those who have certain positions, like CEO and
business owners. As in Elaine‘s view, ―What would people think of a CEO who
cannot speak English? It‘s embarrassing.‖ Besides, Viola argued, ―A business for
people to look up to has to have a well-educated business leader. When a welleducated business leader can speak English, I guess it‘s good [for his/her business].‖
On the other hand, their experience may probably be that they lack English
skills, especially speaking. That is why they joined the course. Since they think that
there seem to be a certain standard of competence from the society, they need to
14

reflect on their experience and improve the lacks by learning. In refrain with the other
participants, Audrey admitted that they ―want to be fluent in conversing; not only in
writing or just understanding, but also speaking. So, they [the interlocutors]
understand what we‘re saying.‖ Participants‘ admittance proved that they ―need to
align experience with the competence ‗they‘ define‖ (Wenger, 2000, p. 227), with
‗they‘ here refers to the society.
Sociocultural approach sees language learners as members of social and
historical communities in different positions who use language and language learning
as a dynamic tool (Norton & Toohey, 2011). The participants have imagined their
future jobs, which make them have different positions in their desired communities.
Besides, their goals in learning are somehow related to their imagined identities and
imagined communities. They learned English to equip and prepare themselves to
obtain those sociocultural positions and meet the society‘s demand. Thus, their
learning seems to be an impact of orientation towards imagined communities as it is a
direct involvement in their daily life communities, just as Pavlenko and Norton
(2007) suggested.
EFL Students’ Investments in Their Learning Process (RQ2)
Based on the question, ―What is the learner‘s investment in the language
practices in this classroom?‖ (Norton & Toohey, 2011, pp. 421), the researcher
obtained the required data by conducting two sessions of Focus Group Discussion, an
interview with the course teacher, and three times of classroom observation. Other
than classroom investments, the participants actually revealed that there were other
investments that they do outside the classroom, like watching movies, listening to
songs, and trying to converse with friends in English. However, the ones discussed in
this study are their classroom practice investments. The investments are categorized
into those stated by the participants, those as perceived by the teacher, and those
revealed through classroom observations.
15

Investments stated by the participants. The investments that the
participants mentioned were asking questions to the teacher and taking notes.
Asking questions to the teacher. In the first Focus Group Discussion, all

participants agreed that they needed to ask if there were difficulties. As Elaine said,
―we don‘t need to be embarrassed to ask in order to improve.‖ Mostly, the question
would be, ―What is the meaning of…?‖ They questioned the English equivalent of
certain Indonesian words and vice versa. The other question was ―How to
pronounce…?‖ Ms. Patricia, the teacher, confirmed this in the interview. She could
see that ―if they do not know certain word, they will ask me, ―Miss, what is the
meaning of this?‖‖ When they were not familiar with particular words, they would
ask these two questions.
In a discussion, the participants asked the teacher the same question that the
teacher did. It happened in one meeting when the researcher did the second classroom
observation. The language point was describing people and the topic was about
fantasy boyfriend. The participants were asked to describe their fantasy boyfriend. In
the end, they asked the teacher back. The questions were: ―Who is your fantasy
boyfriend and what are his characteristics?‖ and ―When did you get proposed?‖
Another occasion when they asked questions was when they got assignments.
They asked questions related to the assignment, specifically the parts that they did not
understand. Ms. Patricia also admitted that the participants were willing to ask about
―something that they do not know.‖ Thus, the participants invested in the language in
the form of questions when they encountered new vocabulary, when they were
curious about something, and when they needed further explanation on assignments.

Taking notes. Since the initial meetings were vocabulary building, the

participants got new vocabulary based on the topics e.g. public places, cooking
ingredients, and adjectives. The participants took notes when they got new words that
16

were not on the vocabulary list. Sometimes, they also jotted down the correct spelling
when there was a mistyped word. In discussions, some of the participants also wrote
down their ideas according to the questions that led the discussions. Therefore, this
investment was done to record vocabularies and ideas.

Investments as perceived by the teacher. The investment that the teacher
noticed was answering teacher‘s questions.
Answering teacher’s questions. Despite having limited vocabulary and
expressions, the participants still did their best to respond to their teacher‘s questions.
They might speak with grammatical or pronunciation error, but they tried to share
their ideas or simply answer vocabulary questions. Ms. Patricia acknowledged this as
a great effort of her students. ―Of course when they try to share their ideas, when they
try to answer my question, it‘s effort. It is different if they stay silent and not saying
anything.‖ In her opinion, their willingness to speak was the most important thing
that they could learn.

Investments revealed through classroom observations. The investments
that were visible in classroom observations were interacting with friends by own
initiative, interacting with friends as a part of learning activities, and repeating correct
pronunciation given by the teacher.
Interacting with friends by own initiative. This happened often when the

participants were given time to study the vocabularies or to arrange their ideas for a
discussion. In the first classroom observation, the agenda was vocabulary building.
There was an activity where the teacher asked them to mention the English word of
the Indonesian word that she said. The participants had to memorize the provided
vocabulary list because they were not allowed to look at it in the activity. They
studied and memorized the vocabulary with the help of each other by mentioning
either the English or Indonesian word and asking their friends to guess the equivalent.
17

For arranging ideas, it happened once during the second classroom
observation. Diana asked Ophelia, ―Which one do you choose?‖ It was for a
discussion activity, where they were given a case of a woman named Sophie who
would choose her future husband. There were three options of men and another
option was to continue her career. They discussed a while of which man they would
choose.
In addition, the participants also corrected each other‘s pronunciation when
there were mistakes. They would sometimes yell and shout if the same person
pronounced the same words over and over again. Briefly, the participants actually
initiated interaction in order to help each other to learn and to share their ideas.

Interacting with friends as a part of learning activities. In learning activities,

there would definitely be interaction; moreover this class is a speaking class. These
interactions happened in games and discussions. In the first classroom observation,
there was a game called ―Who am I?‖ The game‘s purpose was to find out their
friends‘ identities by asking yes/no questions to them. Thus, in this game, the
interaction occurred in the form of asking questions and responding to them.
Discussions usually went on based on questions. In the second and third
classroom observations, the researcher saw that there were some questions to lead the
discussion. In the second classroom observation, they discussed Sophia‘s future
husband, which led to a slight argument between Ophelia and Elaine. On the other
hand, the discussion in the third classroom observation showed more interaction
between teacher and students. The interaction among the students occurred when they
agreed with each other or when they added each other‘s opinions.
Repeating the correct pronunciation given by the teacher. This majorly

happened in vocabulary drilling, where the participants had to answer the English
word of the Indonesian that the teacher said. When the teacher told them the correct
18

pronunciation, they repeated it right away. Sometimes they repeated it more than
once. The other occasion when they did this was when the teacher gave feedback for
their presentation in the second classroom observation. Briefly, the participants
repeated the correct pronunciation which the teacher gave in vocabulary drilling and
presentation.

Based on the descriptions above, it is sure that the participants actually
invested in the classroom activities. Basically, they always tried to speak English as
much as they can, even though sometimes they ended up using Indonesian due to lack
of vocabulary and expressions. They used English to ask and to share their ideas in
order to engage in the classroom activities.
Although they learned many things from the course, the ones that they most
invested in were vocabularies and confidence. Ms. Patricia also approved this in the
interview, saying that the most important thing to learn is the willingness and
confidence to speak and followed by enrichment of vocabulary. The participants can
relate to the vocabularies in daily life, like Audrey said, ―When I see something, I
know what this is [in English].‖ Besides, they also knew how to deliver a presentation
appropriately and how to engage in a discussion. These two things are important to
apply ―in a meeting or brainstorming, especially in group works and if we‘re working
in a company,‖ as Audrey said. In this sense, the participants have increased their
cultural capital value, specifically linguistic capital (Bourdieu, 1977), while
evaluating their future desires (Norton & Toohey, 2011) which are depicted in their
imagined identities and imagined communities.
Language learning is a struggle of social participation in the world of another
culture (Pavlenko & Lantolf, 2000). This implies that language learners need to put
effort and invest in the language in order to participate in the community where they
can use the language. As learners invest in the language, they will have the desire to
be involved in social interactions of their situated community (Norton & Toohey,
19

2011) or market—the social conditions where people can use the language (Bourdieu,
1977). To draw the line, in this case, the participants‘ market is their imagined
communities, where they can interact with foreign colleagues and business partners.
They showed the desire to engage in the community by investing in the language and
its practices, and by distinguishing which are useful in the future social interactions.
As shown in the previous paragraph, they realized that they needed to enlarge their
vocabularies to be able to talk about more topics and issues and learn how to engage
in a discussion since it might be useful in a meeting when they work later on.
Furthermore, they also invested more in the confidence to speak with no fear of
speaking inaccurately, which was shown in their active participation of class
discussion and presentation delivery. Both teacher and students acknowledged these
aspects as what they invest more in the language practices. Thus, their participation in
the learning process shows that they invest in their imagined communities also
(Norton, 2001; Pavlenko & Norton, 2007 as cited in Alsagoff, 2012).
The construct of investment believes that when language learners speak, not
only does information exchange happen, but also sense organization of who they are
and how to relate to social world (Norton, 2001). Through this speaking class, they
could imagine their identities and open possibilities to imagine certain communities.
Their investments proved that imagined identities, which are envisioned through
imagined communities, could impact learners‘ participation in educational practices
(Kanno & Norton, 2003). At the same time, the investment learners make in the
language means they invest in their own identities (Norton, 2001), and learning
provides a space where this can happen. Therefore, they could show that language
learning is practical; it is not only about mind, but also the whole living human being
who

interacts

continuously

with

the

environment

(Dewey 1957, 1990;

Biesta 1994, 1995; Biesta & Burbules, 2003 as cited in Hodkinson, Biesta, &
James, 2008).

20

CONCLUSION
This research investigated language learners‘ imagined identities and
investments in their learning process. Findings of this study suggest that learners
could project their imagined identities as entrepreneurs, a CEO, a hardware support
and a database analyst. Furthermore, their imagined communities were reflected in
interaction with foreign people as business partners or colleagues. Thus, these
projections have answered Research Question 1 (RQ1) ―What are the imagined
identities that EFL students develop in their learning process?‖
The participants put efforts in their classroom activities and were able to
figure out which materials or language practices were more useful for their future
practices. Enriched vocabulary, ability to participate in a discussion, and confidence
in speaking were the language practices that they invested more as the result of doing
all the efforts. The presence of their investments have relevantly answered Research
Question 2 (RQ2) ―What do the students do to invest in their learning process?‖ As
they focus on their imagined identities and imagined communities, participants invest
in their learning to achieve their desire. As a result, participants were able to project
their future identities and relate them to their investments in the language learning
process and to the language learning process itself.
Studies about imagined identities and investments are still limited, especially
in Indonesia. Language learners as individuals and community members have not
been addressed often in language education in Indonesia. In respond to this issue,
curriculum and material developers, schools, and educational institutions should
increase their awareness to meet students‘ needs in terms of materials and language
classroom practices. Teacher should also help students explore more sociocultural
issues, language practices, and choices of their future jobs. By putting all of this into
consideration, education practitioners can aid learners not only to master the
language, but also to have broader vision of their future identities and communities.
21

As a limitation, the sample of this study cannot be used to generalize that all
students of those majors would choose their imagined identities or invest like the
participants did. Besides, the participants were all female. The data could be more
varied if there were male participants. Moreover, there is time limitation for this
research that might be quite an issue to obtain richer data. Thus, limited number of
participants, only female participants, and time span were this research‘s limitation.
Since this study takes the perspectives of learners, it might be interesting to
conduct this kind of study from teacher‘s point of view. Further studies may be
conducted to see how teachers deal with learners‘ imagined identities and investments
and develop the suitable materials for the classroom practices. In addition, a similar
study can also be conducted in the future with more participants from