Gendered Second Language Socialization

Abstract

Despite the fact that gender is a central organizing principle in every culture and that conceptions of normative masculinities and femininities differ cross-culturally, the role of gender identity in second language socialization has received insufficient attention. In 1994, Burton commented on the paucity of studies addressing the intersection of multilingualism and gender: "With a few notable exceptions, the considerable body of work on language and gender deals with monolingual situations, whatever the cultural context. In the literature on bilingualism, on the other hand, gender is hardly mentioned; here, it seems, is an area in which the experience of women is little documented" (1994, p. 1). More than a decade later, an increasing number of studies have contributed to a more complex understanding of gender identity and its role in second language (L2) socialization within culturally heteroge-nous and multilingual settings. The perspective of gendered L2 socialization redefines what it means to learn a second language; more than just learning a structure for communication, learners are acquiring social, cultural, and gendered norms along with procedures for interpretation within a new cultural landscape. This concept has refocused the attention of researchers away from the acquisition of discrete language skills and toward the larger framework of identity and context that may provide or limit access to L2 socialization. Research has explored how gender influences access to language socialization opportunities, how L2 learning may lead to transformation of gender identities and performance and reconsideration of gender ideologies, and the influence of gender on the development of language ideologies. The primary focus of this chapter is adult gendered L2 socialization, but a few important studies on children's L2 socialization are also included. E A R LY D E V E L O P M E N T S Research in gendered second language socialization emerged from two sources-research in the field of children's first language socialization (see Kyratzis and Cook, Language Socialization and Gendered Practices in Childhood, Volume 8) and a growing interest in the exploration of language and gender in discourse.