English has gained in popularity as the world’s lingua franca, inviting individuals and countries to join the international community. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the use of English has dramatically increased in Turkmenistan, in Central Asia (CA). Russian was required for securing jobs, professional development, and economic well‐being in CA countries during the time of the Soviet Union, but it has been replaced with English. Using liberal feminist theory (Groenhout, 2002; Tong, 2009) and Norton’s (1995) investment theory, this case study examined the experience of one woman learning English as a foreign language in rural Turkmenistan and its role in her professional trajectory and identity development as an empowered Turkmen woman. The authors show how Ayna, the case study participant, invested in learning English as a child but was originally prohibited from postsecondary education by the family’s matriarch because Ayna is female. Later, with help from her parents and an English tutor, Ayna used her advanced English skills to access postsecondary employment and education, where she was introduced to Western philosophical and sociological texts. Through these experiences Ayna transformed her identity as an empowered woman by increasing her awareness of gender inequality, shifted her perspectives on rural village life, and took on, as she said, “an English‐speaking mindset.”

中文翻译：

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“英语是增强妇女教育成功的工具”：一个农村土库曼妇女的案例研究

英语已成为世界通用的通用语言，并邀请个人和国家加入国际社会。自苏联解体以来，土库曼斯坦，中亚（CA）的英语使用大大增加。在苏联时期，为确保CA国家的工作，职业发展和经济福祉，需要俄语，但俄语已被英语取代。本案例研究使用自由女权主义理论（Groenhout，2002； Tong，2009）和诺顿（1995）的投资理论，考察了土库曼斯坦农村地区一名妇女学习英语作为外语的经历及其在其职业发展轨迹和身份发展中的作用。有能力的土库曼妇女。作者展示了案例研究参与者Ayna如何 她从小就开始学习英语，但由于Ayna是女性，最初被家庭的女家长禁止接受中学教育。后来，在父母和英语老师的帮助下，艾娜（Ayna）利用她的高级英语技能获得了大专学历和教育，并在那里接受了西方哲学和社会学著作的介绍。通过这些经历，Ayna通过提高对性别不平等的认识，转变了自己作为权能女性的身份，改变了她对乡村生活的看法，并且如她所说，继续了“说英语的思维方式”。在这里她被介绍给西方哲学和社会学著作。通过这些经历，Ayna通过增强对性别不平等的认识，转变了自己作为权能女性的身份，改变了她对乡村生活的看法，并且如她所说，继续了“说英语的思维方式”。在这里她被介绍给西方哲学和社会学著作。通过这些经历，Ayna通过提高对性别不平等的认识，转变了自己作为权能女性的身份，改变了她对乡村生活的看法，并且如她所说，继续了“说英语的思维方式”。