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ARTICLE 1. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL EFL LEARNERS’ ADOPTION OF ENGLISH NAMES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CLASSROOM PRACTICE

 

Abstract – The adoption of English names is common among elementary school English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Taiwan. In this study 86% of participants in this study have their own English name and 67.5% of those who do not have one would like to. However, none of the students who have an English name know its meaning or have been told why their particular name was chosen for them. English names were mostly given to learners by English teachers at their school or a private language school. The younger the learners are, the more they feel that the adoption of an English name makes them feel like an English native speaker. Younger EFL learners also feel that having an English name makes a positive impact on their English learning and attitude. Suggestions are provided on giving EFL learners’ English names and using English names as a means of cultural learning.

Index Terms – adoption of English names, identity, English learning attitude

I. INTRODUCTION

In Taiwan, elementary school students who have previously attended private English language institutions have their own English names, while those who haven’t learned English before usually do not. On the first day of the school year, English teachers call the roll and students who do not have English names often ask the teacher to choose one for them. The majority of students who have English names do not know the meaning of their English name or the reason why they are called such a name. Some students will pick very strange names, such as Pig, Mimi, or Elephant. One girl in this study insisted on calling herself “David,” no matter how many times she was told that David is a boy’s name.

This study discusses English as a foreign language (EFL) young learners’ adoption of English names and the relationship between English names and English learning attitude and identity. First, what is the current situation regarding elementary school EFL learners’ adoption of English names? Second, what is the relationship between adopting an English name and English learning attitude? Finally, suggestions are provided on giving EFL learners‟ English names and using English names as a means of cultural learning.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

A name defines a person and tells people who he or she is. A person’s name is both literally and symbolically a part of them (Blau, 1996; Liu, 2001). A name enfolds the identity of an individual, signaling social and ideological affiliations (Chatterjee, 2003; Liu, 2001).

Scholars have studied how language learners adopt English names, why they chose the names they do, and what their attitudes toward their English names are (Chatterjee, 2003; Edwards, 2006; Wang 2009). In Edwards‟ (2006) study, she found that the practice of Chinese learners‟ adopting English names was widespread. However, none of the Chinese students interviewed in Chatterjee’s study felt any anxiety about taking on English names. One teacher interviewed claimed that from the 1960s to the 1990s there was some resistance to English names, but that the current generation are eager to have an English name. For them, it is a way of “feeling close to the local people” or to make it easier for “native English speakers” to pronounce their names.

The majority of language learners were given an English name by their teachers (Edwards, 2006; McPherron, 2009), so Chatterjee (2003) suggests that teachers should spend some time getting the names right. Blau (1996) asked his students to write down their names, and to brainstorm lists of words, images, or feelings conjured up by their names. Blau also asked students to write stories about their names.

There are eight factors that affect how EFL learners choose their English names.

First, some of them choose to name themselves after their favorite basketball player or a famous person (Chatterjee, 2003; McPherron, 2009). Second, students may choose their name from a dictionary (Chatterjee, 2003); this can give rise to weird and unique names (e.g. Talent, Elephant) (Wang, 2009), or to the playful creation of words (e.g. Dodo) (McPherron, 2009). Third, students may choose names that are phonetically similar to their Chinese name, such as Lulu or Lily (Chatterjee, 2003; Edwards, 2006). Fourth, students like their English names to be easy to pronounce and to remember (McPherron, 2009; Wang, 2009). Fifth, students are concerned with the meanings, especially the literal or original meanings, of their English name (Wang, 2009). Sixth, students choose their English names because parts of these may reflect parts of their Chinese personal name. In this study, Zelda and QQ chose their names because their Chinese names begin with Z and Q respectively. One student called himself Joe because it sounded Chinese, whilst another called himself Joe because his family name was Zhou (a very similar sound) (Edwards, 2006; McPherron, 2009). Seventh, some students choose their names to represent how they would like to be viewed by others (Edwards, 2006; McPherron, 2009; Wang, 2009). Bonnie chose her name because it means “beauty and intelligence”. Iris chose hers because it means rainbow goodness. Derrick chose his because it means strength. Eighth, students may translate the concepts in their Chinese names directly into English: for example, Sky, Ocean, Summer, Apple, Tiger, Long, Sun, Moon, etc (Edwards, 2006).

Language learners hold varying attitudes toward the adoption of English names. For some Chinese students, taking on an English name was only temporary. Others cannot relate to their English names and often cannot recognize it as theirs (Chatterjee, 2003). One of the students interviewed by Chatterjee (2003) said he would continue to use his adopted “English” name because he has had it for a long time and is known by it. Most of the students replied “No, it’s just a name. It does not mean anything” to the question “Does adopting an English name make you feel any different?” However, one student, Lily, indicated that choosing an “English” name gave her a sense of autonomy. She felt that renaming herself gave her a sense of being able to decide on an important aspect of her personality (Chatterjee, 2003). Furthermore, the 19 undergraduate students in China and Canada in Wang’s (2009) survey regarded their English names as a kind of social investment in imagined communities of English learning or employment by a Hong Kong, Taiwanese, or foreign company in China; or even by living or working in English-speaking countries or regions. They associated their English name with their reality, such as their life goals and their ideal personal qualities.

The above studies focus on how EFL adult learners choose their English names and their attitudes toward those English names. This study aims to discuss whether EFL young learners‟ having English names and knowing the meanings of the names makes a difference to their English learning attitude and identity.

III. METHODS

A. Subjects

The subjects of this study are 132 EFL middle to upper grade learners in a rural elementary school in Taiwan, consisting of 36 fourth graders, 50 fifth graders, and 46 sixth graders. Of the 132 participants, 70 are boys and 62 are girls, all of whom have received formal English education since the first grade. They have experienced three forty-minute English classes a week in the first and second grades and four forty-minute English classes in the middle and upper grades.

B. Instruments

The learners answered a questionnaire in Chinese which included 15 statements about English names. For the first ten statements, students had to choose yes/no or fill in the blank. The last five statements were measured by a 5-point Likert scale (1= strongly disagree; 5= strongly agree). The statements were written based on the current literature on language learners’ adoption of English names and on language learning identity.

IV. RESULTS

The analysis is divided into two parts covering the adoption of English names and attitudes toward them.

A. Current Situations of Adopting English Names

Of the 132 participants, 86% (114) have English names. Nineteen students could not spell their English names at all, while others spelt their names incorrectly such as “jimmy,” “Danil,” “andrew,” “Llo,” “Wilsno,” “Tin,”or “gary.” Of these nineteen, seven were fourth graders.

Some students picked strange or unusual names, such as Apple, Not, Bell, Mango, Nett, or Pig. One girl gave herself a boy’s name: Tommy. The most common boys’ name is Jason, followed by Martin and Kevin. The most common girls’ names are Amy and Cindy.

(GRACE CHIN-WEN CHIEN

Department of English Instruction, National Hsinchu University of Education, Hsinchu City, Taiwan)

 

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