Self-practices and ethical values in learning German

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect System 41 (2013) 923e934

www.elsevier.com/locate/system

Self-practices and ethical values in learning German Barbara Hennig* Studienkolleg der Technischen Universita¨t Darmstadt, TU Darmstadt, Poststraße 5, Geba¨ude S4/07, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany Received 14 December 2011; revised 19 September 2013; accepted 24 September 2013 Available online 16 October 2013

Abstract This paper explores the practices Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students engage in to learn German and the values they attach to these practices for their ‘selves’. The findings discussed in this paper are part of an empirical study investigating the motivation to learn German amongst Hong Kong Chinese university students who studied German as a major programme. The study employs a Foucauldian ethical perspective which regards learning as contributing to the process of self-formation to broaden the view on language learners’ motivation. The data were collected through interviews and diary entries over a period of two academic terms and analysed following a discourse-oriented approach based on the four axes of self-formation as defined by Foucault. This paper focuses on a selection of five research participants examining the deeper dimensions of their engagement with the language outside class. The findings indicate that the activities students engaged in to learn and apply German assisted them in living their lives differently and creating for themselves a world in which they could strive towards their ethical ideals. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Language learning motivation; German; Ethical values; Self-practices; Hong Kong

1. Introduction This paper draws on an empirical study that explored the motivation of Hong Kong Chinese university students majoring in German at a university in Hong Kong. Their motivation was examined through the lens of Foucault’s theories on ethics, in particular ‘the care of the self’ (Foucault, 1984a) and ‘the use of pleasure’ (Foucault, 1985). This ethical framework was selected to explore learners’ motivation to learn a new language beyond the social psychological (Gardner, 1979, 1985; Gardner and Lambert, 1972) or cognitive-situated perspective (Do¨rnyei, 1990, 2001a, 2001b, 2005) that commonly serve as the theoretical basis in language learning motivation research. Studies adhering to these paradigms usually describe motivation in dichotomies as either integrative/instrumental or intrinsic/extrinsic and apply quantitative research methods. In the early stages of the study, an approach was considered that drew from Norton’s concept of investment in language learning as it places the learners’ identity in the centre of investigation (Norton, 1995, 2000). However, since ‘investment’ is a term commonly associated with economics implying utilitarian, instrumental motives of becoming engaged in market trade, it did not seem to do justice to the students’ inner emotions, the feelings, disappointments, * Tel.: þ49 (0)6151 1675930; fax: þ49 (0)6151 1672930. E-mail address: [email protected]. 0346-251X/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2013.09.006

924

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

hopes and dreams they experienced when learning German. Furthermore, the concept of ‘investment’ was developed in the context of immigrant learners who struggled for acceptance by mother-tongue speakers of English. The powerrelationship between the learners and the members of the target language community was not equal, therefore the ‘investment’ framework was based on assumptions that did not match the way the Hong Kong Chinese students experienced their learning German in Hong Kong. Furthermore, irrespective of the paradigms they adhere to, most of the research studies investigating the motivation of language learners have been conducted in an ESL or EFL context where learning English constituted a necessary skill for learners either in order to comply with their study programme, or to survive in an English-speaking community. In addition, research in second language acquisition is often said to focus more on ‘the process of acquisition than to the flesh-and-blood individuals who are doing the learning’ (Kramsch, 2009, p. 2). The findings of this study thus support concerns regarding the extent to which theoretical frameworks developed in ESL contexts are useful when exploring language learners’ motivation in learning other modern languages (Busse, 2009). Learning German in Hong Kong is usually not a skill considered necessary amongst Hong Kong’s population, not a matter of survival, and seldom a matter of academic compliance, but a matter of choice. This led to the assumption that Hong Kong students choosing German as part of their university studies do so for specific purposes that might lie beyond pragmatic or instrumental reasons. The aspect of choice is a decisive element in Foucault’s theories on ethics (Foucault, 1984c, 1991). Within the framework of ethics, individuals choose certain practices and engage in certain activities to further develop and transform the self which are based on their ethical convictions and beliefs. Applying a Foucauldian ethical perspective to Hong Kong Chinese students’ choice to learn German might thus shed more light on the values they attach to their learning the language and the underlying reasons for their choice to learn German rather than Japanese or Korean which are usually regarded more practical in Hong Kong. The ethical framework allows us further to take into account the learners’ considerations of where they come from and who they are, how they position themselves within their social community, how they feel about learning a specific skill, how they want to live their lives and what kind of person they want to become. Foucault’s concern with how one can give one’s life a different direction through the concepts of ethics, style and aesthetics with the aim ‘to become oneself and not someone else’ (Nehamas, 1998, p. 187), yet remain integrated in the community, was reflected in the learners’ commitment to learning German. Knowing more about the perceptions learners hold about themselves, their ethical values and beliefs and how they relate these values to their language learning can provide further insights into why languages are learnt. Foucault’s ethical analysis shifts the focus from what the learners want to be able to do with their language skills to ‘how they want to be’ as a result of learning the language (Paras, 2006, p. 128). Foucault’s works on ethics have increasingly been employed in educational studies to shed more light on the significance of the process of learning for the development of learners’ self and identity (Clarke, 2009; Fendler, 2003; Zemblyas, 2003). Since learners’ selves and identities are contextually shaped, the discussions presented in this paper must be seen within the context in which the study had been conducted. It is hoped that the findings will provide a different perspective on language learners’ motivation and thus contribute to the ongoing debate on the interconnectedness of language learners’ motivation, self and identity. 2. Theoretical framework Foucault sees the process of ethical self-formation emanating from our freedom to venture beyond what is commonly taken for granted and to design our lives in a way we see as meaningful and purposeful. Foucault’s model of self-formation indicates possibilities of how we can shape and form our own lives according to ‘our own principles of living’ (O’Leary, 2002, p. 171), not by ignoring the world around us but by taking into account what ‘happens around us’ (May, 2006, p. 124). Self-formation is thus embedded in social interaction and discourses and a process that is socially and historically constructed. An investigation of learners’ motivation from a Foucauldian ethical perspective suggests therefore a poststructuralist approach that defines individuals’ identities as de-centralised and ever-changing. Although Foucault did not see himself as a poststructuralist, his analysis of discourses is located in the poststructuralist tradition as it examines the constant interplay between identity, language, culture and society (May, 2006). In Foucault’s view, ethics represents all the effort undertaken by individuals to transgress given power-structures that shape their understanding of who they are, with the aim to become something else and different from what they

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

925

are now (May 2006, O’Leary, 2002). Foucault (1985) described the process of self-formation as running along four axes that he defined as: a) the ethical substance, b) the mode of subjection, c) self-practices and d) telos. The ethical substance addresses all the parts of an individual’s self and aspects of his/her life that the individual feels need to change in order to take his/her life to a higher level. The mode of subjection refers to the individuals’ ethical values and beliefs that form the basis of the individual’s perceptions on how a meaningful life could or should be lived. Selfpractices encompass those activities individuals engage in to change their lives in certain ways and to give their lives direction in congruence with their ethical values and beliefs. The telos represents the ultimate purpose of the process of self-formation and addresses the question of the kind of being one wants to become based on one’s ethical convictions and beliefs (Foucault, 1984b). With the term ‘self-practices’ Foucault referred to all those activities which are freely chosen and are performed and elaborated on one’s own ‘body, soul, thought and conduct’ with the aim to lift one’s life to a higher level in congruence with one’s ethical principles (Foucault, 1997a, p. 225). In order to transform the self to a higher level, individuals have to critically test their self-practices and examine whether the practices chosen will lead to the individuals’ telos or ultimate goal of how they want to live their lives. However, this critical self-reflection on one’s practices does not mean retreating from the world and meditating about oneself in seclusion, but confronting and interacting with the world and, if applicable, changing and adjusting chosen practices to fit the norms of current societal circumstances. In his analyses on ethics, Foucault regards learning as a practice that can assist individuals to further develop their ‘selves’. Through learning a new skill individuals gain different perspectives on to the world that surrounds us. Language learning broadens our understanding of different cultures and different ways of thinking, thus can contribute essentially to our intellectual growth and to a better understanding of ourselves and others and enabling us to experience a different way of living. In this paper, the focus is set on the self-practices a selected group of Hong Kong Chinese students engaged in their learning German and the underlying reasons for applying these practices in their daily lives. With regard to learning German and for the purposes of this research, self-practices were defined as all those activities the research participants engaged with the aim to create for themselves an environment that suited their ethical convictions and beliefs and through which they could attach a certain kind of individuality and distinction to their lives. Before presenting the findings, a brief overview of the contextual background of the study and its research design is given.

3. Contextual background and research design Languages have always played a significant role in Hong Kong’s history. Since the reunification with China in 1997, English and Chinese have served as the official languages, whereby Cantonese is the mother-tongue of 89% of the population of Hong Kong (Lai, 2007). Due to its growing economic links with China, Hong Kong is aiming to become a trilingual society, promoting the teaching of English and Putonghua as second languages in Hong Kong schools (Davison and Lai, 2007). German is usually not attributed any significance in Hong Kong’s school curricula and therefore is not offered as a school subject. It is only at tertiary level that Hong Kong Chinese students can select German either in combination with a European Studies programme, as an elective or minor subject, or as a major programme depending on the university they attend. In comparison to English or Putonghua, Hong Kong Chinese students do usually not encounter German in their daily lives and have little contact with German mother-tongue speakers outside their classroom. For the majority of these students, German is the third or fourth language they attempt to learn (after English and Putonghua) and they often have no previous knowledge of the language. The data for this study were collected over a period of two academic semesters from September 2006 to May 2007, primarily using qualitative methods in the form of semi-structured interviews, diary entries and focus group discussions in which the participants were free to use German or English. A total of 14 students, who were majoring or intending to major in German at a university in Hong Kong, voluntarily participated in the study. The students were selected from across all language levels from German I (beginners) to German III (advanced). All the participants spoke Cantonese as mother-tongue, had graduated from Hong Kong Government schools and had learnt English and Putonghua as a second language at school. Eight of the participants did not possess any knowledge of German upon enrolling with the German major programme.

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

926

The research participants were interviewed six times every four to six weeks and their diary entries collected at the same time. In addition, one focus group discussion was held each semester with students of the same proficiency level discussing their feelings, expectations, hopes, dreams and fears in learning German. The data were analysed according to the four axes of self-formation as defined by Foucault (1979, 1985) and by following a discourse-oriented approach to identify the ethical values the students attached to their learning German. Laclau and Mouffe’s theory (1985) on discourse analysis was selected as this closely follows Foucault’s definitions of discourses, describing the world as ever-changing and in a state of flux. Central to Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory is the question how the process of meaning making is shaped by surrounding power-structures. In Laclau and Mouffe’s view, meaning is never permanently fixed and always subject to change. Any piece of meaning we create at a specific moment in time is contingent on our social interaction with the world and occurs in a specific social context. The discourse-oriented framework that guided the analytical approach of interpreting and describing the data was embedded in the wider theoretical framework describing the process of ethical self-formation. The findings from the discourse analysis were categorised according to the four axes of ethical self-formation (ethical substance, mode of subjection, self-practices and telos) in order to construct a picture not only of the situatedness and contextuality but also of the individuality, particularity and exclusivity of the process of self-formation of each individual learner. Discussed are the data of five research participants that were chosen for the in-depth analysis of the doctoral thesis. The selected participants are Cathy, Gloria, Friedrich, Lorenza and Wolfgang which are pseudonyms the participants selected themselves. All of the participants were mother-tongue speakers of Cantonese and had learnt English and Putonghua as a second language at school. They were between 19 and 21 years old and had chosen German as a major subject or intended to major in German in combination with other majors. Cathy was a beginner student and in her first year of university study. Gloria and Friedrich were intermediate students and in their second year of learning German. Lorenza and Wolfgang were in their third and final year of their undergraduate studies. Gloria and Lorenza had learnt some German through self-study before entering university, Friedrich and Wolfgang had studied German for one year at the Goethe Institut Hong Kong before joining the university programme. Only Friedrich, Lorenza and Wolfgang had visited Germany and other German-speaking countries either before or during their studies. The table below summarises the personal vignettes of the five participants.

Pseudonym Proficiency level Age Majors

Previous knowledge of German Travel to Germany

Cathy Beginner 19 German, European Studies/ Journalism None

Gloria Intermediate 20 German, Translation Chinese/Engl.

Friedrich Intermediate 19 German, Mathematics

Lorenza Advanced 21 German, Minor: Music and Sociology

Wolfgang Advanced 21 German, Fine Arts

Self-study

Self-study

None

None

Goethe Institut, one year Visiting relatives in Germany

Goethe Institut, one year Summer course in Freiburg

Summer course in Bayreuth

4. Personal vignettes of six research participants

The participants were free to use English or German in the interviews. Whenever participants used German, the German paragraphs were translated into English by the researcher and proofread by a certified and approved translator of English/German. The translations appear underneath the original quotes in Italics. At the beginners’ level the participant preferred to use English mainly, as she did not feel proficient enough to convey her statements in German. At the intermediate level, students increasingly employed German in addition to English, and at the advanced level students attempted to use mainly German supported by some English if themes were too complex and difficult to explain in German. With regard to completing their diaries, the participants were invited to report on their language learning experience in whichever of the three languages (German, English and/or Chinese) they felt most comfortable with. The participant at the beginners’ levels preferred to use English supplemented with some German, while the

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

927

other participants at the intermediate and advanced level mainly wrote in German supplemented with some English. Chinese was only used when referring to names or idiomatic expressions for which the learners could not find an equivalent translation in German or in English. The findings are discussed using excerpts and original quotes from the interviews and diary entries of the research participants. Underneath each original quote, the source is indicated stating the initials of the students’ pseudonyms, the interview sequence and the line numbers of the interview transcripts. For example, ‘W, 1, 103e115’ refers to: Wolfgang, 1st interview, line no. 103e115. The abbreviation ‘1F, 2’ stands for ‘1st Focus group discussion, 2nd question’, the initial ‘R’ stands for ‘Researcher’. The findings discussed in this paper were part of a doctoral thesis that has been partially published (Clarke and Hennig, 2012; Hennig, 2010a, 2010b). In comparison to those publications, this paper focuses on the self-practices and thus on only one particular aspect of the process of ethical self-formation presenting data that has not yet been published in its present form elsewhere. 5. Findings and discussion In their out-of class practices to learn German, the research participants engaged in a series of activities such as surfing German websites, reading German books or newspapers or listening to German music and watching German films. However, a deeper examination of these activities revealed that the learners did not only engage in these activities to improve their language skills from a cognitive perspective but also to create for themselves an environment that lived up to their ethical values and in which they could distinguish themselves from others as we shall see in the discussion below. 5.1. Demonstrating difference and distinction Cathy, Gloria and Lorenza used German regularly in their social activities to demonstrate to others their sense of being distinctive. Cathy for example used the Christmas season as an opportunity to point out to others her individuality. C: I also tried to make some little Christmas cards for my friends and in this card I tried to write some simple greetings or sentences in German to my friends. R: And why did you write it in German? C: Because I want to let them know I study German. Yes. And I know another language which..they didn’t know or they don’t know. (C, 4, 163e183) Another example is given in an excerpt from Cathy’s diary where she cheered up her students’ hall committee members after a long day of organising the university’s information day which was held at the time of the MidAutumn festival marking the mid-point of the Chinese year. I said ‘Scho¨nes Mondfest’ to my committee members, it means ‘happy Mid-Autumn’. Haha, it’s great to say some thanks-giving or touching words to friends and thus can make them more happy and show our support. (Diary entry, C, 05.10.06) Cathy highlighted her individuality by using German with her friends whilst still wanting to be part of the social group she interacted with. To Cathy it was apparently no contradiction to be part and supportive of a community while demonstrating at the same time her being ‘different’ by applying German. Cathy explained that she intentionally applied German on several occasions interacting with her friends because it made her feel special and unique. Because very few of my friends learn other language other than English and Putonghua, so. if I tell them I learn German, they mostly say ‘oh you are very powerful because you learn a difficult language. You learn one difficult language.’ That means I can get some face or some appreciation from them. (C, 5, 91e94) Being admired by her friends seemingly raised Cathy’s self-esteem and attributed to her a certain sense of power. Whilst wanting to be part of her social community Cathy longed to distinguish her ‘self’ from her peers and stress her intellectual abilities through learning a language that was commonly perceived ‘difficult’. Cathy’s stance brings into

928

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

mind Hegel’s dialectic and notion of sublation by which he referred to seemingly contradictory intentions of preserving and simultaneously lifting or changing a current situation, concept or way of thinking to a higher level (Forster, 1989). On the one hand Cathy attempted to preserve her identity and stay part of her social community, but on the other wanted to distinguish from and raise her ‘self’ above members of her community through learning an unusual language. Learning German seemed to raise the learners’ self-esteem even when dealing with members outside circles and communities of which they considered themselves an integrated member. Gloria for instance reported the following incident. Ich warte in der Mensa schon lange, dann lerne ich Deutsch. Ein Ma¨dchen sitzt neben mir. Sie sagt: “Deutsch lernen?” (.) “Hong Kong Studenten studieren selten Deutsch”. (Diary entry, G, 04.10.06)

I have been waiting in the students’ canteen for a long time, so I do some German exercises. A girl sits down next to me and says: “Learning German?” (.) “Hong Kong students rarely learn German”. Gloria was addressed by a Danish exchange student, who was surprised by her learning German. The Danish student confirmed Gloria’s felt uniqueness and individuality as a learner of a language that was perceived unusual e not only by members of her own society e but even by members of different cultural groups. The notion of distinction is reflected in similar ways in Lorenza’s data. Lorenza who was in her final year of study had taught her younger brother German upon entering university. Her original idea was to create for herself an environment where she could practise German outside school. Zu Hause habe ich jeden Tag mit meinem Bruder auf Deutsch gesprochen. Das macht uns viel Spab. Ich habe meinen Bruder Deutsch gelehrt, seit das erste Jahr in der Uni; weil ich glaube, dass das fu¨r mich mehr Chance hat Deutsch zu sprechen, wenn man das zu Hause sprechen kann. (Diary entry, L, 02.10.06)

At home, I speak German with my brother every day. We have lots of fun. I have taught my brother German since my first year at university; because I believe that I have more opportunities to speak German when one is able to speak it at home. Lorenza’s initial intention and practical considerations to create more opportunities to use German outside class, soon became a means of becoming ‘different’ in her interaction with her family and friends. When I can teach my brother German, then I feel it is rewarding. When I teach him, then he can speak to me in German and we can always speak in German, we are very different from others. (1F, 2) Being able to apply the language at home by conversing with her brother in a language no-one else in her family or amongst her friends understood raised Lorenza’s sense of individuality and self-esteem. She regarded her learning German as only one of many ‘unusual’ skills she pursued to highlight her sense of distinction from the mainstream. L: Ich mo¨chte etwas Besonderes lernen, deshalb lerne ich.viele Sachen, die nicht so popula¨r sind. Zum Beispiel ich lerne auch Italienisch. Das ist auch nicht so popula¨r in Hong Kong, auch Komponieren lernen, das ist auch sehr schwer fu¨r viele Leute, aber ich mag das lernen. R: Fu¨hlen Sie sich auch anders als Hongkonger? L: Ja.ich finde, ich kann etwas.ich habe andere Chancen als andere Leute. R: Sie haben mehr Wissen?...Do you feel more knowledgeable? L: Not more knowledgeable.my knowledge is different from others. (L, 2, 182e187) L: I want to learn something special that’s why I am learning..many things that are not so popular. For instance, I am also learning Italian. That’s not popular either in Hong Kong, and also how to compose music, a lot of people find it difficult but I want to learn it. R: Do you also feel different from Hongkongers? L: Yes. I think I can. I have different options from other people. R: You have more knowledge? Do you feel more knowledgeable? L: Not more knowledgeable.. My knowledge is different from others.

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

929

In this quote, Lorenza positioned herself (ich ¼ I) in opposition to the majority of the Hong Kong people (viele Leute ¼ many people) to highlight her not feeling more knowledgeable than others but knowledgeable in different ways. Lorenza, Gloria and Cathy imply that by using German in their daily lives, they can define their place in society not only as someone powerful but also as someone who is ‘different’ and unique, who is provided with different perspectives on life and consequently with different opportunities to establish their own life styles and future outlooks, which in turn would secure them the admiration and acknowledgement of members of their social environment and beyond. Furthermore, through applying an usual language in their interaction with their social communities, the participants seemingly freed themselves from any kind of control and convention and created for their ‘selves’ the room and space to demonstrate difference (Kramsch and Lam, 1996). The learners’ notion of distinction highlights the significance of the learners’ selves for their language learning beyond cognitive, pragmatic or rational considerations (Kramsch, 2009). 5.2. Reaching out to one’s ideals Two of the participants, Friedrich and Wolfgang who were in their second and third year of learning German, engaged in extensive reading activities to practise their German. They reported that reading German literature provided them with a sense of pleasure and satisfaction as they could not only engage with the language in linguistic terms but also access the ideologies and philosophies contained in the literature. Friedrich who also studied Mathematics as a major was an enthusiastic reader of the German fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. He was not only fascinated by the ‘old’ German expressions and the peculiarities of the German language but was also drawn to the time where people relied less on scientific knowledge and more on their own wishes and dreams in determining their lives. Eine Geschichte im Grimms Ma¨rchen habe ich am Abend (oder bis spa¨t wie 1 Uhr in die Nacht) gelesen; der Froschko¨nig. Das gefa¨llt mir am liebsten. Die idiomatischen Ausdru¨cke, Pra¨teritum und alte Ausdru¨cke wie ‘Tischchen’, ‘Bettchen’ sind meine Lust. Nachdem ich diese gelesen habe, fu¨hle ich mich, dass ich zuru¨ck in den alten Zeiten wa¨re, wo das Wu¨nschen noch geholfen hat. Das macht auf mich groben Eindruck. (Diary entry, F, 20.11.06)

I read a story in the Grimm’s fairy tales in the evening (or until late at night until 1 a.m.); the Frog King. I like this one the most. The idiomatic expressions, simple past tense and old expressions such as ‘Tischchen’ (little table), ‘Bettchen’ (little bed) are a real pleasure. After having read those I feel transformed back to the old times when wishing still helped people. That has impressed me a lot. Reading Grimm’s fairy tales helped Friedrich to access a time he associated with happiness, hopes and dreams. Engaging with selected works of the German Romantics, in this case the German fairy tales, served Friedrich as a means to transgress time and space to come closer to what he perceived as desirable. The introductory line (the old times when wishing still helped people) of German fairy tales stands for a time where men still stood in harmony with nature in contrast to the modern world that is believed to be ruled by facts rather than hopes and dreams. In a follow-up interview, Friedrich explained that if one was not having any wishes and dreams, one would not be able to find any goals or hopes for changing one’s life to a better form of being. In his view, people in today’s world were overly concerned with expanding knowledge and overly relied on science while neglecting the transcendental, and consequently missing the opportunity to live a happy life. R: Haben Sie auch Hoffnungen und Tra¨ume? F: Ja, obwohl ich Wissenschaft und Mathe studiere, habe ich auch Hoffnungen und Wu¨nsche, und deshalb denke ich, dass das wichtig ist. R: Warum glauben Sie, dass die Leute heute weniger Hoffnungen und Tra¨ume haben? F: Viele Dinge sind klar. Menschen verstehen viel, nachdem die IT und die Wissenschaft besser werden. Vorher, in der alten Zeit, natu¨rlich ich meine nicht, dass Wissenschaft ein schlechtes Ding ist, aber mit Wissenschaft kann man auch tra¨umen. Wenn man in der alten Zeit nicht so viele Dinge versteht, tra¨umt man immer von etwas, und deshalb bekommt man Hoffnungen. Mit Hoffnungen kann man viel machen.

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

930

R: Zeigt sich das im ta¨glichen Leben, dass die Leute nicht so viel tra¨umen? Kann man das sehen im Alltag? F: Ja, ich kann. (.) traurig, die Leute sind traurig. Die Wahrheit, die Welt, die Stimmung wa¨re traurig. Und obwohl die Wahrheit traurig wa¨re, mu¨sste man Hoffnung bekommen. Deshalb ko¨nnte man eine gute Zukunft schaffen. (F, 4,11e35) R: Do you also have hopes and dreams? F: Yes, even though I study science and math I have also hopes and wishes, and that’s why I think that it’s important. R: Why do you think people have less hopes and dreams nowadays? F: A lot of things have become clear. People understand a lot after IT and science have improved. Earlier on, in the old times, and of course I don’t mean that science is a bad thing, but with science one can also have dreams. When in the old times one was not able to understand all those things, one was always dreaming of something and that created some hope. With hope you can do a lot of things. R: Does it show in daily life that people no longer dream so much? Can one see that in one’s daily life? F: Yes, I can. (.) sad, the people are sad. The truth, the world, the atmosphere would be sad. And even though truth was sad, one would have to have hope. And then one could create a good future. In the ancient times people engaged in imagination whenever confronted with matters beyond reason with the aim to generate hope for a better future. Having dreams were to Friedrich a prerequisite for a ‘good future’, happiness and a fulfilled life. Reading selected works of German literature seemed to provide Friedrich with an opportunity to access a world that he perceived as meaningful preparing the ground for a ‘better life’. It seemed that reading the German fairy tales was a self-practice assisting Friedrich to balance his ‘self’ between factual, mathematical and scientific knowledge on the one hand and the spiritual world on the other. Wolfgang also engaged in extensive readings of German literature either in the German original or English or Chinese translations albeit for somewhat different reasons. Wolfgang was strongly drawn to the works by Friedrich Schiller whom he claimed was his favourite author. Heute habe ich das Schauspiel Schillers gelesen. Das Spiel heibt ‘Die Ra¨uber‘. Vorher hatte ich nur seine Dichtungen und letztes Spiel ‘Wilhelm Tell’ gelesen. ‘Die Ra¨uber’ ist nicht so schwer, aber man kann in dem Text den groben Geist des Dichters fu¨hlen. Was muss man tun, wenn er gegen ein Tyrann ka¨mpfen soll? Nie etwas Ungerechtes zu machen, sonst wird man auch ein Bo¨ser werden.

(Diary entry, W, 5.11.06)

Today I read Schiller’s play. The play is called ‘The Robbers’. Before, I had only read his poetry and his last play ‘Wilhelm Tell’. ‘The Robbers’ is not so difficult and one can feel the great spirit of the poet in this text. What do you need to do to fight a tyrant? Never do anything unjust, otherwise you become evil yourself. Reading Schiller’s works was to Wolfgang not only an activity for practicing his German but also, like in Friedrich’s case, a practice through which he created a world in which he could engage in an ethical self-dialogue, search for ways to behave ‘justly whilst fighting evil’ and pursue his ethical goals. I regard English as an important tool for me to communicate with people around the world. Yes.but I regard German as a tool for me to pursue my intellectual dream, or goal. (W, 5, 103e105) Wolfgang’s quote demonstrates that his engagement with the German language went far beyond pragmatic aspects which he mainly linked to his learning English. While English served Wolfgang as a practical tool, German was strongly tied to his idealistic goals. Reading German philosophers and thinkers such as Schiller or Goethe appealed to his ethical principles, and introduced Wolfgang’s ‘self’ to a world that to him represented the ideal state of living. As defined by Foucault, self-practices are performed on oneself to define one’s own conduct towards others. As part of learning German, Friedrich and Wolfgang chose to read selected works of German literature to access a world they perceived as ideal or desirable. However, self-practices also entail critical self-reflection and the majority of participants constantly reflected on their ‘selves’ as learners of German as Gloria’s case illustrates (Foucault, 1997b).

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

931

5.3. Critical self-reflection At first it seemed that Gloria, an intermediate student of German, was not satisfied with the teaching methods in her course. She said that she was used to a more interactive teaching style in her first year of study, and found it difficult to adjust to the teaching methods of the new teacher in her second year of study. In her first interview Gloria had been convinced that the teaching methods were the reason for her ‘boredom’, passivity and lack of initiative in class. There is always a round-table . always someone speaks [in class], and then the next one and then the next one. And when I speak and finish my part, I just wait here, and this is the end of the class, and I just speak one sentence, and this is the end. And I find this is quite boring, I don’t know what I can do. (G, 1, 204e207) Gloria lamented the lack of interaction and explained that she had lost her motivation to participate in the lessons and that in consequence her performance had deteriorated. Gradually however, Gloria started to reconsider her own stance in her learning as expressed in her third interview. When I found the examination results of my German tests, and they were quite poor. I rather. because before I used to work harder. So when I found these results, I asked myself why did it end up like that? And in the past, I told myself the classes are boring but other classmates did well in the exam, although they also find the lecturer boring. We were at the same level and have the same feelings but the results are different. (G, 3, 20e24) Towards the end of the first academic term, Gloria had begun to criticise herself for her deteriorating performance in German rather than continuing to blame external circumstances. She apparently became aware that if she wanted to learn German successfully she had to change her attitude towards learning. At the beginning. (.) it seems that I can’t learn many things.but later I found that in fact you can learn things from the class . if you really pay attention because at the very beginning I just think I don’t like such teaching method, so I cannot learn anything from that . Yes, but now I think, I should explore more in class. So it’s not the method, the problem of the method, I think it’s my feeling. It’s my attitude. (G, 6, 27e33) By turning her criticism onto herself and re-considering her own role in her learning German, Gloria seemed to have re-gained the momentum to further engage in her selected self-practice. During the second academic term Gloria’s performance improved significantly and she successfully registered for a one-year-exchange programme with a university in Bonn/Germany. Cathy, albeit for different reasons, had also lost momentum to learn German half way through her first academic year. She served as a cultural secretary in her student hall and explained that her obligations in the hall committee left her with less time to study German and this negatively affected herself-confidence as a language learner. I have skipped quite a many of the lessons so, once I attended the German lessons I think I was not.I was not so eager to speak in the lessons. Because...just afraid to speak up. (C, 6, 289e291) Cathy’s commitment to her students’ hall resulted in a deterioration of her performance in class leaving her with a feeling of dissatisfaction and lack of confidence. Like Gloria, Cathy eventually reflected on the reasons why she had selected German as part of her tertiary education in the first place. Then I will try to think why I am still studying German, because that’s the reason that motivated me to make the first step to learn German. And the reason is that I like the history and I like Germany and then, if I remind myself of the reason and the motivation why I learn German, this will drive away my sorrow and unhappiness. (C, 3, 21e24) Reminding herself of the reasons for learning German alleviated her worries in her studies. In her first year of study, Cathy could have abandoned German altogether in favour of another subject. However, she decided against it and continued studying German as a major topic in her second year. Gloria and Cathy’s learning situation challenged their mode of subjection and desire to express their individuality. Situations of conflict, tension and struggle were also caused through the learners’ self-relationship questioning their currently perceived identity and to what extent they want to transform their selves. In their self-practices in learning German, the participants not only created a world that reflected their ethical ideals and in which they could express

932

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

their individuality and sense of distinction on a daily basis, but they also gave critical consideration to their attitudes to learning German carefully weighing the benefits of learning the language for the further development of their ‘selves’. Gloria and Cathy carefully examined and tested whether their practice of learning German were ‘the right ones on the path to self-master’ (Foucault, 1997b, p. 239). By turning to their ‘selves’ they regained momentum and sustained their motivation to continue to learn the language. 6. Summary and conclusion This paper looked at the practices of a selected group of Hong Kong Chinese students engaged in using German in out-of-class activities and the underlying reasons for their learning behaviour. The learners applied the language not only to improve their language skills but to open up new spaces in which they could experience their individuality and uniqueness on a daily basis, and/or to enter a self-dialogue on their ethical values and beliefs. Learning German helped these students to define their place in society, live their lives in a meaningful way or to change certain aspects of their lives to the better. Some of the research participants referred to in this paper (Lorenza, Gloria and Cathy) often applied German in their interactions with significant others to demonstrate their uniqueness and individuality but also their power through the knowledge of a special skill. Other learners (Wolfgang and Friedrich) however, seemed to have entered an internal dialogue with themselves searching for ways to give their lives a certain kind of meaning or a different direction in congruence with their ethical beliefs. During critical periods of their language learning, the learners re-examined their reasons for learning German and questioned their attitudes towards their learning situation. Reflecting on their own conduct and bringing to mind the initial reasons for learning German mainly served as a means to sustain their motivation in their commitment to language learning and to re-consider what they had hoped to achieve for their ‘selves’ by learning German. In following a Foucaldian ethical perspective, the practices the research participants engaged in appear in a different light demonstrating that language learning touches deeper dimensions of the learners’ ‘selves’, involving their ethical beliefs and values which seemingly served as the very source for their language learning motivation. The study has further pointed out the individuality and creativity the learners showed in their interest in the German language and culture, and how they applied their German language skills in ways to give their lives a different turning. It was fascinating to see how the learners’ use of German were part of a more complex re-construction of their ‘selves’ and how this assisted them in shaping their identities in every day life. However, in addition to highlighting the significance of language learning for the learners’ process of selfformation, the study also raised some educational concerns. The learners in this study constructed an idealised world around the skill they learnt, a world to which they attached their own principles and values of an idealised self and an idealised society. Through simplifications and at times romanticised pictures, the learners constructed an image that was not necessarily consistent with the ‘reality’ of contemporary Germany or German-speaking countries but which to them represented the ‘real’. In these images the participants found those values which they aspired to experience on their own bodies to complete or complement their ‘selves’. Therefore, language classroom should provide an open atmosphere in which students and teachers can freely discuss the values learners attach to their language learning to prevent possible disappointment and disillusion about their perceived ideal state of being and reflect on their idealised worlds more critically. Aspects of learner’s perceived identity and self have increasingly influenced existing theoretical frameworks in language learning motivation research. To gain an even deeper understanding of learners’ motivation, Do¨rnyei added to pedagogical and educational considerations the psychological concepts of Markus and Nurius’ (1986) possible and ideal selves, thus developing a model referred to as L2 Motivational Self System (Do¨rnyei and Ushioda, 2009). This dynamic model suggests that learners imagine selves which relate to the outcome of the process of learning a specific skill, and that these imagined selves significantly affect their actions, behaviour and motivation. Learners construct an ideal self representing all their aspirations and fears associated with the process of learning. However, Do¨rnyei and Ushioda’s L2 Motivational Self System seems to be strongly linked to the outcome of an individual‘s learning process under cognitive considerations rather than treating learners’ selves as the source from which their desire and commitment to language learning derives. In contrast to Markus and Nurius’ (1986) concept of possible and ideal self, the selves the learners envisioned from learning German were not so much the product of their learning but the starting point that initiated their interest in learning this particular language. Learning German was not necessarily seen by the participants as a tool turning them into proficient and successful users of the language but served as a medium through

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

933

which the learners could give their lives a different direction or a sense of distinction. The learners’ motivation seemed to have been mainly fuelled by their concerns about how to develop themselves into accepted and respected members of their society rather than becoming proficient language users for utilitarian or instrumental purposes. The findings of this study indicate that the learners’ selves served as the very source which their learning activities were grounded in and emanated from. For this reason, Foucault’s framework of ethical self-formation has been selected as it allows motivation to be regarded as a concept that encompasses individualistic, emotional, ethical, aesthetic, spiritual and discourse-oriented dimensions from which individuals’ engagement in social activities emanate. In her study, Norton (2000) looked at her immigrant participants as individual learners and their interaction with the social communities in their new environment. However, her participants apparently learnt English as a means to define their ‘old’ identities and societal status in a new environment rather than developing different ways of being. The learners in Norton’s work adhered to a seemingly stable identity in reaction to given situations. The notion of investment has therefore often been criticised for presenting learners’ identities as relatively fixed that remained unaffected by surrounding discourses pursuing vested interests with their learning a second language rather than aiming at transforming and further developing their ‘selves’ (Price, 1996; Menard-Warwick, 2006). In this study however, learning German was perceived by the participants as a means to further ‘become otherwise’ and to give their lives a different meaning rather than as a means to maintain the status quo. Thus the findings furthermore support views in the educational field that language learning needs to be also explored under contextrelated considerations and from the perspective of self as pointed out in the introduction (Kramsch, 2009; Ushioda, 2009). This in turn requires the further development of existing research approaches and the establishment of more eclectic theoretical frameworks to better accommodate the specific situations in which languages are learnt. Foucault’s principles of ethical self-formation might serve as a suitable alternative research model, as it allows to place the learners’ sense of agency in their language learning in the social context and considers the underlying reasons why learners behave the way they do, and what they hope to achieve by what they are doing for their ‘selves’. Selfformation stands in principle for the question ‘how is one to live’ (O’Leary, 2002, p. 11). Gaining a better understanding of what learners want to achieve by learning a particular language for their ‘selves’, might assist educational practitioners in providing a learning environment that better supports learners in developing themselves into the kind of person they wish to become and designing a life they regard meaningful. References Busse, V., 2009. Book Review: motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self. In: Do¨rnyei, Zolta´n, Ushioda, Ema (Eds.), Multilingual Matters, System, vol. 37, pp. 741e743. Clarke, M., 2009. The ethico-politics of teacher identity. Educ. Philos. Theor. 42 (2), 185e200. Clarke, M., Hennig, B., 2012. Motivation as ethical self-formation. Educ. Philos. Theor.. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2012.715386. Davison, C., Lai, W.Y.W., 2007. Competing identities, common issues: teaching (in) Putonghua. Lang. Policy 6, 119e134. Do¨rnyei, Z., 1990. Conceptualizing motivation in foreign-language learning. Lang. Learn. 40 (1), 45e78. Do¨rnyei, Z., 2001a. Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. Do¨rnyei, Z., 2001b. Teaching and Researching Motivation. Longman, Harlow, UK. Do¨rnyei, Z., 2005. The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. L. Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, N. J. Do¨rnyei, Z., Ushioda, E., 2009. Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self. Multilingual Matters, Bristol. Fendler, L., 2003. Teacher reflection in a hall of mirrors: historical influences and political reverberations. Educ. Res. 32, 16e25. Forster, M.N., 1989. Hegel and Skepticism. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. Foucault, M., 1979. Discipline and Punish: the Birth of the Modern Prison (A. Sheridan, Trans.). Vintage books, New York. Foucault, M., 1984a. The Care of the Self (R. Hurley, Trans.). In: The History of Sexuality, vol. 3. Allen Lane The Penguin Press, London. Foucault, M., 1984b. Histoire de la sexualite´. In: L’usage des plaisirs, Vol. 2. Gallimard, Paris. Foucault, M., 1984c. On the genealogy of ethics: an overview of work in progress. In: Rabinow, P. (Ed.), The Foucault Reader. Pantheon Books, New York, pp. 340e372. Foucault, M., 1985. The Use of Pleasure (R. Hurley, Trans.). In: The History of Sexuality, vol. 2. Pantheon, New York. Foucault, M., 1991. The ethic of care of the self as a practice of freedom: an interview (J. D. Gauthier, Trans.). In: Bernauer, J., Rasmussen, D. (Eds.), The Final Foucault. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. Foucault, M., 1997a. Technologies of the self (R. Hurley & others, Trans.). In: Rabinow, P. (Ed.), Michel Foucault: Ethics, Subjectivity and Truth. The New Press, New York, pp. 223e251. Foucault, M., 1997b. On the genealogy of ethics: an overview of work in progress (R.Hurley, Trans.). In: Rabinow, P. (Ed.), M. Foucault: Ethics, Subjectivity and Truth: the Essential Works. The Penguin Press, London.

934

B. Hennig / System 41 (2013) 923e934

Gardner, R.C., 1979. Social psychological aspects of second language acquisition. In: Giles, H., St. Clair, R.N. (Eds.), Language and Social Psychology, pp. 193e220 (Oxford). Gardner, R.C., 1985. Social Psychology and Language Learning: the Role of Attitudes and Motivation. Edward Arnold, London, Ontario. Gardner, R.C., Lambert, W.E., 1972. Attitudes and Motivation in Second-language Learning. Newbury House, Rowley, MA. Hennig, B.B., 2010a. Language learning as a practice of self-formation. Int. J. Multilingualism 7 (4), 306e321. Hennig, B.B., 2010b. Language Learning and the Self: Exploring Hong Kong Students’ Motivation for Learning German as a Third Language from a Foucauldian Ethical Perspective. Doctoral thesis. The University of Hong Kong http://hub.hku.hk/handle/10722/132952. Kramsch, C., Lam, W.S.E., 1996. Textual identities: the importance of being non-native. In: Graine, G. (Ed.), Non-native Educators in English Language Teaching. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey, pp. 57e72. Kramsch, C., 2009. The Multilingual Subject. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Laclau, E., Mouffe, C., 1985. Hegemony and Socialist Strategy: towards a Radical Democratic Politics. Verso, London and New York. Lai, M.-l., 2007. Gender and language attitudes: a case of postcolonial Hong Kong. Int. J. Multilingualism 4 (2), 83e116. Markus, H., Nurius, P., 1986. Possible selves. Am. Psychol. 41 (9), 954e969. May, T., 2006. The Philosophy of Foucault. Acumen, Chesham, Bucks. Menard-Warwick, J., 2006. Both a fiction and an existential fact: theorizing identity in second language acquisition and literacy studies. Linguistics Edu. 16, 253e274. Nehamas, A., 1998. The Art of Living e Socratic Reflections from Plato to Foucault. University of California Press, Berkeley. Norton, B., 1995. Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL Q. 29 (1), 9e31. Norton, B., 2000. Identity and Language Learning. Longman Pearson Education Ltd, Essex. O’Leary, T., 2002. Foucault e the Art of Ethics. Continuum, London. Paras, E., 2006. Foucault 2.0-Beyond Power and Knowledge. Other Press, New York. Price, S., 1996. Comments on Bonny Norton Pierce’s ‘Social identity, investment, and language learning’. TESOL Q. 30, 331e336. Ushioda, E., 2009. A person-in-context relational view of emergent motivation, self and identity. In: Do¨rnyei, Z., Ushioda, E. (Eds.), Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self. Multilingual Matters, Bristol, pp. 215e228. Zemblyas, M., 2003. Interrogating ‘Teacher identity’: emotion, resistance, and self- formation. Educ. Theory. 53, 107e127.