Tweeting and Identity

In looking at the tweets and conversations this week, I have made a few observations.  First off, I would like to recall the tweets regarding bridging academics and personal experiences in the classroom as a means of learning.  Something I am finding particularly useful about the Twitter is that it is allowing us to, at some extent, create these bridges. Though our experiences are held to a 140-character limit, it does allow us to bring what we observe, notice, feel, etc., in a precise moment into the classroom. Questions via Twitter also serve as a basis for further inquiry, such as the questions regarding code-switching and world-travelling. These questions, and the ones that are generated in class provide a framework and basis for thought, in and out of the classroom, leading us to form more experiences with the mindset and understanding of what we accomplish in the classroom.

Some of the recent conversations on Twitter that I have found particularly interesting are those regarding identity and code-switching.  As somebody who speaks multiple languages, and code-switches, I am interested in the ways my identity is acknowledged and what that means for me and those around me.  There are several identity choices one is making when they speak multiple languages.  Bilingual individuals portray certain aspects of their identity when they speak one language versus the other, and a whole other aspect when they code-switch.  In Professor Wozniak, I am working on a group project where we are looking into certain forms of “created” identity, how it is generated, and what choices individuals make in their “created” identities.  Through this research, and in the work in connection our class, I have posed some questions for further observation.  How does our language serve as a means of identifying ourselves? How do the ways we share and understand our narratives and the languages we use effect our identities? What does it really mean to have a “created” identity? Are all of our identities created?