Being and Becoming a Speaker of Japanepb: An Autoethnographic Account

By Andrea Simon-Maeda

Book Overview

This autoethnographic account of the author's Japanese as a second language learning trajectory is an important and unique addition to diary studies in SLA and applied linguistics qualitative research circles. In-depth ethnographic details and introspective commentary are skilfully interwoven throughout Simon-Maeda's narrative of her experiences as an American expatriate who arrived in Japan in 1975 - the starting point of her being and becoming a speaker of Japanese. The book joins the recent surge in postmodernist, interdisciplinary approaches to examining language acquisition, and readers are presented with a highly convincing case for using autoethnography to better understand sociolinguistic complexities that are unamenable to quantification of isolated variables. The comprehensive literature review and wide ranging references provide a valuable source of information for researchers, educators, and graduate students concerned with current issues in SLA/applied linguistics, bi/multilingualism, and Japanese as a second language.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1847693601
• ISBN13: 9781847693600
• Release Date: March 2011
• Publisher: Multilingual Matters Limited
• Length: 166 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.1"