| Adult English language learners (ELLs), particularly in non-traditional academic settings, often rely on social interactions to improve their reading and writing skills. As a result, a close examination of the social context in which second language (L2) literacy develops is critical to understanding how adults participate in the process of L2 literacy learning.;Through the lens of the sociocultural and community of practice literature, this qualitative dissertation paints a richer picture of the complex factors which influence the L2 literacy learning of four Chinese women in one community of practice, the University Settlement Organization (USO) ESL writing class. USO, the oldest settlement agency in the United States, provides a unique model for literacy instruction. Whereas the majority of adult literacy programs focus on functional literacy skills, the USO model was designed to emphasize empowerment by utilizing the students' own words as the text for the class. Additionally, in this student-centered model, students take on various leadership roles; while some of these roles are teacher-directed, others develop organically. Data collection over a ten-month period included extensive field notes of these in-class interactions, a lexical analysis of students' writing, as well as in-depth interviews with the focal students to uncover the prior and current literacy practices; academic and professional goals, and writing development of four women.;Findings reveal that the women's participation in the ESL writing class was closely linked to their prior personal and academic experiences as well as to their current opportunities for interaction and community beyond the classroom. While the students did not produce more complex writing by the end of the year, the encouragement they received from both their teachers and peers fulfilled a critical need for the students: their confidence increased, thereby enabling them to re-envision and subsequently achieve their goals. These findings emphasize the importance of affective factors in adult learners' participation in the classroom, thus contributing to the current body of research in adult L2 literacy education and challenging the field to engage a more expansive view of literacy beyond the cognitive perspective. |
