Carácter jurisdiccional de los órganos que no pertenecen al Poder Judicial

The most common change noted by respondents was an increase in self confidence which they attributed to their experiences learning English as adults. This

confidence was manifested in a number of different ways. The first was a willingness and confidence to speak to native speakers where, prior to learning English as an adult, respondents had, at times, actively avoided any people from countries other than their own or had not spoken to them and did not want to communicate with them, mainly for fear of not being able to communicate

successfully. This again reflects Tanveer‟s (2007) description of characteristics of language anxiety where, because of their feelings of inadequacy, language learners avoid situations where they fear their low proficiency will be evidenced.

Respondents expressed experiencing feelings of nervousness or of being afraid when meeting native speakers of English prior to learning English as adults, “Before if I met a native speaker, I was afraid and I didn't say anything” (I 12). A fear of communicating or being unable to communicate when placed in a situation where they had to acknowledge a NSE resulted in the development of strategies to avoid such situations occurring, “I was afraid that if I met him I couldn't say anything, so I couldn't go out” (I 10). Clearlywhat was being described was long term language anxiety, as described previously.

The development of self confidence in communicating with native speakers was noted as of considerable importance to those who were studying English, as the following expresses: “The best thing is that I have confidence, so I forget to be nervous with native speakers”(I 14). This sense of empowerment, the

transformation from fear to self confidence, for some also progressed to pleasure at having the ability to be able to communicate with NSE in English, as I 4 indicates, “So I felt extreme pleasure to start to communicate with others in English”.

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A successful experience of learning English, as quantified by attaining the official test scores required, was encouraging to learners. A priority in learning English in an inner circle country was to achieve an official recognition of their level of English, and once this was achieved respondents noted that they had confidence and courage to consider learning another language, should they be required to or choose to in the future. Respondents stated that they had confidence in their language learning abilities and they now regarded the possibility of learning another language positively. Respondents also expressed having confidence to travel to other countries now that they had learned English, where previously they had felt scared (I2) or nervous (I18). Having this confidence provided a sense of freedom to meet people from other countries and presents opportunities to build relationships with people from other countries, regarded as a change in lifestyle (I 18).

Respondents observed that language learning provided opportunities to develop their problem solving skills as they faced and overcome difficulties; meeting the challenge of language learning had given them a sense of confidence to meet what they

described as other barriers or difficulties. They expressed confidence that

successfully negotiating the “very big mountain”(I 9), or the “barrier”(I 4) that is the process of learning English in a country other than their own had enlarged their capacity to cope in the future in other areas of life as the following evidences:

I think before I studied in English class, English was a very big mountain for me, which I couldn‟t climb over. But I think, after English class, there is no

mountain I can't climb; it means that I can try everything and it will be possible. (I 9)

I think it is a process to overcome a kind of barrier... It is hard to learn English but through the hardship of learning English I have confidence that the experience of overcoming this kind of barrier could help me when I face another difficulty. (I 4)

One respondent also noted that success in learning English in a country other than their own had given a sense of self confidence that they are able to complete

something successfully away from the normal support network available to them in their home country. This respondent observed that having persevered in Australia

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despite difficulties she had proven to herself that she could persevere in another culture. The respondent considered this a significant achievement and that by proving to herself that she could persevere in language learning and achieve a level of success was “something nobody can take away”(I 2).

For some, the English language learning process had initiated significant changes to identity and these were clearly articulated by respondents. Concepts described indicated changes not only to personality, but to the sense of self. These changes were for some the result of conscious effort. There was an acknowledgement by these participants that in the ELL process they had intentionally become more extroverted to function effectively in the new culture and context. To maximise the benefits of learning English these people had consciously decided to change their natural behaviour; whereas in their own culture they had been reserved, this did not help them achieve their language learning goals in the new culture and consequently, to learn English they had to be more outgoing, as PW 12 explains, “I used to be an introverted person and rather shy, but I realised that this character didn‟t help me to practise English... So I have forced myself to be more like an extroverted person and take extra courage to be outgoing”.

Learning English in a new country also presented the opportunity for the learners to consciously reinvent themselves through distancing themselves from the person they were in their first language. This was regarded as an enjoyable process, allowing the learner to be “different in a different language setting and that has an attraction of its own. It gives you the option of exploring new patterns ... and start again to some extent” (PW10).

However, other changes went beyond conscious effort to the acknowledged development of a new identity. One respondent described a new self developed in the new cultural context: “I would say I was a different person back home. I had to build up a new me in Australia to be able to learn English” (I 2). When describing this new self, the respondent explained that it involved a new sense of awareness of other people and of dependence upon others where, in the cultural context of the home country, they had been independent. This new identity involved feeling vulnerable and involved “taking off your mask”(I 2), so this vulnerability is visible

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to others. It involved asking for assistance from others as was necessary to negotiate the new cultural context. The participant noted that on return to the home country, there was an initial period of confusion, of feeling “lost”(I 2) and of a desire to keep both old and new selves before slipping into old patterns of being and relating, but with differences that were noticeable to and noted by others.

On return to the home country, these changes can be noticeable to others, particularly to family members but may not beunderstood or appreciated by others in the home country as noted by respondents who acknowledged becoming more direct when communicating than had been the case before learning English. In the home country, this was not the cultural norm and led to difficulties with family members, as the following passage indicates:

I was not used to being a very direct speaker, but learning English for many years, made me a direct speaker. My relationship with my family, it's very different, you know. They feel like I became another person... I became a direct person, and that is very rude in my culture. So when I talk to my family members, I shouldn‟t say it that way, but without thinking I just say everything that I feel. Sometimes I had some difficulties with my siblings. I expressed my feelings to my siblings and my mother as well. My mum got angry, "I didn't teach you that way," she said. (I 17)

The respondent went on to explain the need now to be aware of the manner in which she communicates when in her home culture.

7.1.4 Transformation involves the development of intercultural