Narratives of Indigenous University Students in the English Classroom

Abstract

This chapter explores the narratives that indigenous students of a normal rural school of the north of Mexico have about English learning and how this process is connected to their native language and the acquisition of Spanish. Through the biographical-narrative method, an interpretative framework and a qualitative approach, this research examines the testimonies of six key informants using in-depth interviews. The results show that students experience an acculturation process that makes them abandon their native language in favor of the use of Spanish, which is the predominant language in all of the education levels in Mexico. In this way, tensions between the cultural identity of the family origin and their performance in other contexts, such as higher education, is identified. In regards to English learning, a late and sporadic contact is observed, which is formalized once they access higher education