Reflection on “investment”

Reflection on “investment”

The original meaning of investment means devoting, using or giving of time or energy to achieve something. After reading this article, I have a better understanding about investment in second language learning. In this reflection, I will explain two main points about investment in second language learning with my own experiences.

First of all, according to Norton (1995), the construct of investment is “The socially and historically constructed relationship of learners to the target language, and their often ambivalent desire to learn and practice it.” In my opinion, “the construct of investment” talks about the social and historical relationship between the second language learner and the language he/she is trying to learn. For example, I am learning English now. In order to learn English better, I came to Canada and took the TESOL program. During this process, I gained many material resources and accumulated more cultural capital related to an English speaking country. These efforts are what I invested in my second language studying and expected to gain a return on this investment. However, not every investment you do will have a positive return in your studying. If you do not engage in English studies and have the motivation to learn more about the English speaking culture and the idioms, your result may probably not be as good as anticipated.

Second, the theory goes even further and says that, “When language learners speak, they are not only exchanging information with target language speakers, but they are constantly organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world.” (Dwight, 2011, P75). That means when the learner speaks a second language, they also express their identity and perceives toward the social culture rather than just speaking another language. For example, I am learning English and when I talk to others in English, I am also saying something about who I am as a person and how I relate to the world around me. It makes me feel good to be able to speak a second language and people surrounding me may look up to me because I can speak a second language. Maybe English-spoken people will respect me because I am trying to speak their language and that makes me feel satisfied. The writer goes further and says that by investing in learning a second language, I have really invested in my own identity. In my opinion, this identity includes the person who I am and the person I want others to see me as.

In conclusion, the word investment that relates to second language learning has two aspects. There are the efforts that you spend on learning a second language and also the investment in your own identity and the identity towards the target society. As a result, during my time invested in learning a second language, I have not only developed and advanced my English skills but also gained an identity about myself.

References

Dwight, A. (2011). Alternative approaches to second language acquisition. Abingdon, England:

          Routledge.

Norton Peirce, B. (1995). Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL 

          Quarterly, 29(1), 9–31.