Dialogism: An L2 Preschooler’s Otherness, Voices, and Answerability

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate otherness, voices, and answerability of an L2 preschooler using Bakhtin’s dialogism. This approach allows for a deeper understanding of how young children are becoming the self and authoring voices in relation to others. Despite its significance, insufficient research has been conducted in the field. This case study explored a preschooler’s heteroglossia of voices and varied answerability based on his consciousness and otherness. The analysis focused on language use, including embodied language acts, actions, and emotional-volitional tone and intonation, in “a contact zone” (Bakhtin, 1981, p. 345) where interlocutors create a dialogical conversation. The results highlighted the preschooler’s unique participation in being (Bakhtin, 1993) and “endless becomings” (Morson, 2004, p. 331) by creatively interacting with others in his preschool classroom.