Toward Empowered Identities: An Exploration of Female ESL Learners’ Literacy Through Digital Storytelling

Abstract

This research explores the learner identity of female students learning English as a second language (ESL) at a public university in Pakistan through digital texts of identity (DTIs) created by them and learners’ associations of educational experiences across time and locations which impact their emergent identities. Following the poststructuralist framework on identity negotiation and “thematic” and “dialogic/performative” analysis, and image analysis framework by Kress and van Leeuwen, 33 DTIs were gathered and analyzed from 10 female ESL learners. The function of gender as a fundamental identity marker in educational experiences was investigated in particular, in order to demonstrate how social identity is established through multiple discourses. The study highlights DTIs’ ability to strengthen learners’ identities and promote more empowered identities through diverse learning environments. The main argument of the research is that female learners use digital stories to create an interpersonal space that expresses strong ties between their family and everyday locations, such as university, and the target language population, all of which shape their social identities as women and learners. The participants felt empowered by associating themselves with competent users of English making authority claims, developing their authority in and via their digital texts.