The Affordances of Identity Texts with Adult Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education

Working with adult Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE) requires teachers to develop a knowledge and understanding of a complex range of matters related to pedagogy, language and literacy acquisition and the practical and socio-emotional challenges of resettlement. Limited research has focused on how teachers can support students’ literacy practices and the expression of students’ rich life experiences and knowledge systems through language learning. Using a design-based framework and undertaken across 10 weeks, this research investigated the pedagogical potential of identity texts when working with adult SLIFE in the Australian context. The collaborative research design involved teachers and teacher educators participating in ongoing professional learning sessions as a range of identity texts were integrated into lessons. Data collected included classroom recordings, recordings from professional learning sessions and formal interviews with teachers and materials produced by learners during the project. A thematic analysis of the data highlighted the transformative potential of the use of identity texts in creating more inclusive, student-centred learning environments and greater learner agency. Further work is needed to better understand the necessary pace, tempo and utility of a range of identity texts in adult SLIFE language learning contexts.