My Junglee Story Matters: Autoethnography and Language Planning and Policy

Abstract

The present paper discuses the value of autoethnography as a research methodology in the area of language planning and policy in investigations of language, power, and identity. Traditionally, research methodology in the area of language planning and policy focuses on language, power, and identity from a sociopolitical perspective at the national level. These methodologies do not easily examine how the issues of language, power, and identity are related to the lives of individuals. Therefore, this paper argues for the use of autoethnography as a research methodology in language planning and policy research because it systematically analyzes personal experiences in order to understand the researcher’s cultural experience regarding her or his perspectives, beliefs, and practices of language as a language user. This paper also argues that autoethnography can be combined with traditional research methods such as historical-structural analysis and ethnography of language policy to make language planning and policy research more diverse and critical.Keywords: Language planning and policy; autoethnography; research methodology; power; identity