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Final Refl ections

Introduction

The aim of this book has been to explore the ways in which age as

socially constructed is experienced by adult EFL learners in Mexico. As an

exploratory study, the purpose was not so much to arrive at definitive con-

clusions about the construction of age in adult language learners as to deter-

mine what the issues were, to question basic assumptions, to ponder the

significance of what emerged and to point to further directions that might

be taken in the search for answers.

I began with a review of the literature on the CPH in order to find out

what has been learned about age in SLA to date that could be useful to me

in my study of adult students. I discovered that CPH and other research

on the age factor does not take into consideration distinctions among

adults of different ages nor does it address the social or experiential side of

language learning as contemplated in a sociocultural approach to SLA,

both of which were precisely the points I wanted to learn about. I then

turned to the identity work of discourse-oriented sociolinguists, as

informed by social constructionism, to guide me in the study of the enact-

ment of age in social interaction.

Because of its focus on the collaborative construction of reality, social

constructionism proved to be an excellent framework for understanding

more clearly how people give meaning to age and make sense of their experi-

ence through discourse and in their relationships with others. It also made it

possible to move away from essentialist notions of age and to view it as

constructed through discursive interaction in a specific cultural context and

a particular historical moment. This is consonant with work carried out by

contemporary discourse-oriented sociolinguists which has brought greater

depth to our understanding of other social dimensions, such as ethnicity and

gender. In a similar way, a socially constructed view of age can enhance our

comprehension and appreciation of its many complexities.

People construct age in discursive interaction, drawing on the cultural

discourses available to them to position themselves and to position others. In

the case of urban Mexico, the prevalent age discourse is that of decline, as it