Garfield, SLA Gold Medalist: examining the investments of an exceptional US Language Learner/hyperpolyglot

• Autores: Roger W. Andersen
• Localización: Foreign language annals, ISSN 0015-718X, Vol. 55, Nº. 4, 2022, págs. 1043-1062
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Garfield is an exceptional language learner and US polyglot. This oral history project explores his trajectory from a childhood coma to knowing 15 languages. It examines his investment in his second language acquisition (SLA), a concept comprising identity, ideology, and capital (Darvin & Norton, 2015). Qualitative content analyses of 10 h of recorded, transcribed audio data produced themes for each component. It was found that Garfield's principal identities were those involving his “passion languages” and his perceived need to prove himself. Important ideologies were a service orientation, a “living languages” SLA approach, and deference to serendipity. Factors impacting Garfield's access to capital were trajectory-changing individuals, bureaucratic obstacles, and the scarcity of available encounters with the foreign. Pedagogical implications include a reappraisal of polyglots, a recognition of learners' subjective experiences and emerging identities during SLA, and an emphasis on developing learners' willingness to communicate alongside intercultural and global competences.