Re-imagining ESOL policies and practices for fostering L2 motivation and civic participation

Al Shahma, Ahmad (2025) Re-imagining ESOL policies and practices for fostering L2 motivation and civic participation. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This study challenges the monolithic structures of language and culture in current ESOL provision in the UK. Through a Participatory Action Research (PAR) design, it seeks to reimagine these structures with two main aims. Firstly, it seeks to generate critical insights into how the colonial discourses of linguistic and cultural homogeneity impact L2 motivation and civic participation. Secondly, from a decolonial perspective, it aims to develop pedagogical plans and practices that foster L2 motivation and civic participation without compromising learners’ diverse sociocultural and communicative resources. To explore these aspects, data was collected from five ESOL students and two ESOL teachers at a Further Education college in Manchester, using a multimodal data collection approach that included interviews, observations, and art-based tools such as body silhouette art and drawing. The reflexive thematic analysis of the collected data reveals that multilingual learners' diverse cultural and communicative resources interact ecologically. This interaction shapes their identities, supports language learning, and fosters socio-cultural resilience. As such, the findings illustrate that the national discourses of linguistic and cultural uniformity expose ESOL students to symbolic violence, negatively affecting their L2 motivation and civic participation. In this context, the findings depart from citizenship as a legal status, where learners’ civic membership is bound to cultural and linguistic requirements, to what this study terms ‘communicative active citizenship.’ In this form of citizenship, learners can perform civic acts that are responsible, justice-oriented, and participatory, while using various forms of expression that respect their cultural, linguistic, and non-linguistic resources. These forms include what the study refers to as ‘multimodal translanguaging’ and ‘cultural transknowledging.’ Building on the concepts above, the study introduces a pedagogical participatory framework designed to enhance L2 motivation and civic engagement, centred on three key components: sociopolitical knowledge, argumentation skills, and participatory action tools. To implement this framework within institutionalised ESOL settings, the study introduces a pedagogical model called ‘embedded participatory action ESOL.’ This model empowers teachers and learners to enact classroom-based change within institutional constraints without being entirely confined by them.