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From Silence to Voice: Co-Constructing Confidence and Belonging
Conference proceeding   Open access   Peer reviewed

From Silence to Voice: Co-Constructing Confidence and Belonging

Syed Usman Hashmi
Languages are FUNdamental: The Central States Conference Report 2026, pp.39-59
2026
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Abstract

Challenge Statement: How can community-based learning environments help adult multilingual learners move from anxiety and silence to confidence and belonging? This study explores how collaboration and reciprocity in a Midwestern public library transformed English learning from an individual struggle into a collective act of voice, identity, and shared investment. Abstract: This community-engaged qualitative study (Ghiso & Campano, 2024) examined how anxiety, identity, and investment intersected in adult multilingual learn-ers' English learning within a weekly conversation hour at a Midwestern public library. Building on the Community-Engaged Research and Practice (CERP) model as described by Ghiso & Campano, my study involved eight key participants who acted as co-researchers in designing instruments, data generation, and interpretation of findings. The study involved conducting semi-structured interviews , focus group interviews, and collaborative reflection sessions over a period of twelve weeks. Data were analyzed using Saldaña's (2016) cyclical coding (descriptive , in vivo, emotion → pattern, axial) with member interpretation to ensure relational validity. The themes that unfolded were: (1) reducing anxiety through peer collaboration, where low-anxiety interaction re-conceptualized corrective work in terms of co-construction; (2) affirming identity through dialogic participation , where stories and acknowledgment re-mediated identities in terms of multilingual subjectivities; and (3) deepening investment through shared purpose and belonging, where motivation was transformed from individual progress to mutual responsibility. Findings reframe emotion as environmental data rather than learner deficit and position translanguaging as a resource for solidarity. Community-based EL literacy programs are considered, with regard to dialogic co-planning , assessment as recognition, and indicators of success that encompass enhanced confidence, engagement, and mutual care.
 Community-Engaged Research and Practice (CERP) language anxiety identity investment adult multilingual learners

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