The variation of identity

After he was enrolled in the college, Ding became a bit more confident. He made some new friends, even got a girlfriend, and got along well with his professors.

Extract 22 (LOC_D_20130411 ) 滕：你的大学生活怎么样啊？

霆：不错啊，呃……呃……我还……我还交了女朋友的。所以……挺好的，哈 哈……（笑）

……

霆：我现在的英语老师好棒的，当然，你也很棒。我甚至觉得我简直是遇到了一 个外国人。你明白我的意思吗？我的意思是他的英语简直就像是母语一样！姐，

我觉得他要比你厉害一点点哦，哈哈……别介意哈，开个玩笑。

01. T- How is your college life?

02. D- Not bad. Er…er...

03. I’ve got a … a girlfriend. So…so it’s good. How…(laughs)

……

04. D- My current English teacher is amazing!

05. Of course, you are amazing, too.

06. I even feel that I met a foreigner!

07. Do you know what I mean?

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08. I mean his English is as good as native speaker!

09. Dear sister, I think he is a bit better than you. How….how…(laugh loudly) 10. Don’t mind, just kidding.

11. He had studied in Australia. Hmm…he helps me a lot.

Extract 23 (LF2F_D_JOB_20131201 )

霆：我现在学得英语和高中时不一样了，主要是专业方面的，比如机械啊引擎啊 维修啊，对我来说有点难，但是我会尽力的，因为如果想成为总工程师英语好是 必须的。你知道总工程师的年薪是多少吗？啧啧……差不多要一百多万呢，呀，

真是太厉害啦！（说这些话的时候他双眼闪光）

滕：总工程师的要求是什么啊

霆：哦，好多要求的。工程师分很多级的，最高级别就是总工程师，对于工作经 验啊，专业知识啊等等都有要求。还得通过一系列的考试。当然，英语也得好啊，

因为好多飞机配件都是进口的，说明书也是英文的。

滕：想成为一个总工程师得花多长时间呢？

霆：至少得十年多吧，好难的。但是，一旦成功了，我所有的问题，比如说我父 母啊，我弟啊，还有所有与钱有关的事情就都可以解决了。

01. D-The English I learned now is different from the one in secondary school.

02. It is mainly about my profession, such as about machines, engines or maintenance.

03. It is a bit difficult for me,

04. but I will do my best because English is necessary if I want to be the chief engineer.

05. Do you know how much the salary is?

06. Aha, the yearly salary is up to one million yuan (approximately 200,000 euros).

07. Oh, how amazing it is! (His eyes are shining while talking.) 08. T: What are the requirement of being a chief engineer?

09. D: Oh, there are so many requirements.

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10. There are many grades of engineer, and the top one is chief engineer.

11. It is related to one’s working experience, professional knowledge etc.

12. What’s more, I must pass a series of tests.

13. Of course, your English must be good enough,

14. because many aircraft accessories are imported from abroad so the instructions are all in English.

15. T: How long will it take to be a chief engineer?

16. D: More than ten years, at least.

17. It is a long and tough path.

18. But once I am successful,

19. all my problems, for instant, my parents, my brother and everything related to money, will be solved.

Obviously, there is a long path before he can become a chief engineer. But that gives him a forceful motivation to carry on. And in this stage in his life, he has become more outgoing and optimistic. When we met together, Ding had changed a lot. For example, when he mentioned his current English teacher was amazing, he added “Of course, you are amazing, too.” (line 04 and 09, Extract 22 above). It indicates that he has begun to care about other’s feelings and is learning to get along with others. And he insisted on calling me “sister” rather than “Miss Teng” as before and jokes with me, such as saying his current English teacher is better than me –something he could not have said while at his secondary school (line 09 and 10, Extract 22 above). As mentioned by Firth and Wenger (2007), learning is a social process. Ding’s English learning is an interactive activity between him as an individual and his surrounding environment. As his surroundings as well as his community changed, his social capital became better. For Ding, he was not simply finding and discovering the world through English, but it also served as a means to construct new social interaction between himself and his surroundings. All these variations are due to his release from the anxiety of his poor family along with the breadth of his vision in college and the help

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of his teachers. He seems to recognize his own development in the interview.

Extract 24 (LF2F_D_FAM_20131201) 滕: 你还介意别人提起你的家庭状况吗？

霆：嗯……不太介意……（停了一下）你也知道，我长大了。这不是我的错……

也不是我父母的错。没有人可以选择自己的家庭出身。而且，他们爱我，我的父 母很爱我，这就足够了。你知道吗，我的很多同学也知道我妈妈身患残疾，但没 人笑话我，至少当面没有。他们也都是大学生了，不会那么幼稚了。我的老师也 一直教育我们说：英雄不问出处。

01. T- Do you still mind others mentioning your family situation?

02. D- Hmm… not so much…(pause).

03. You know, I have grown up.

04. It is not my fault…and it is not my parents’ fault.

05. Nobody can choose their family. And… they love me.

06. My parents do love me. That’s enough……

07. Do you know, most of my classmates know about my mum’s disability but nobody laughs at me, at least in front of me.

08. They are college students and they are not childish.

09. My teacher always tells us: Even a hero might have humble beginning.

With his teacher’s help and his own growth, Ding seemed to get rid of the shadow which had hung over him for a long time. He has repositioned himself within the systemic patterns of control and his newer identity as a college student offered him the self-confidence to face dilemmas and improve both his life and his English learning.