Face and Enactment of Identities in the L2 Classroom

This book examines student identities as revealed through the pragmatics of face as observed in the context of English L2 classroom interaction between Japanese students and a native speaker teacher. Classroom recordings together with retrospective interviews reveal specific points during learning activities when the students’ and their teacher’s interpretations of classroom communication deviate from what was intended. This research study is a potent reminder that what students and teachers may consider as standard and conventionally acceptable language use and behaviour within the classroom context can differ dramatically according to social, cultural and individual frames of reference. The book outlines an innovative teacher professional development programme which encourages teachers to reflect on and, where desired, modify or discontinue existing pedagogic practices.

Joshua Alexander Kidd has been involved extensively in teaching, curriculum development and education research in Japan for over 20 years. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from Macquarie University, Australia. His research interests include social pragmatics, discourse analysis, face, identity and politeness theory. As a teacher he focuses on promoting language acquisition while fostering cultural awareness, interest, respect and tolerance.