Learning English & Immigrant Identity

Author

Abstract

This presentation explores the complex relationship between language learning and immigrant identity formation, focusing on the transformative role of English acquisition in the U.S. context. Drawing from scholarly sources, poetry, and visual design, the project illustrates how language both enables and complicates assimilation for immigrants navigating bicultural realities. English language learning is shown not merely as a functional skill but as a deeply personal and political act—one that shapes identity, affects access to social and economic opportunities, and reveals cultural tensions between the Old and New Worlds.

Inspired by theories from Bonny Norton and Carolyn McKinney, as well as poetic reflections by Rina Ferrarelli, the project examines imagined communities, resistance to assimilation, and the emotional and social implications of perceived language proficiency. The visual structure of the presentation emphasizes fragmentation, repetition, and layering—mirroring the disjointed yet evolving experience of language learners and their shifting sense of self.

Created for ENGL 2363, this project engages with multimodal communication to make visible the often-invisible labor of cultural adaptation. It invites viewers to consider language as a bridge and a battleground in the immigrant experience, and to reflect on how pedagogy, policy, and personal motivation intersect to shape identity in migration narratives.

Project: Learning English & Immigrant Identity