An Investigation into UK University Students Identity Negotiation through Naming Practice and Choices: the Case of Chinese International Students

Abstract

This article explored how Chinese international students negotiated identity options via naming practice and choices in the UK. The existing literature has mainly discussed the Chinese students practice of adopting English names, and scant attention has been paid to the identity construction of international Chinese students through choosing between their English and ethnic names in an English-speaking context. In this case, this research was situated in the UK, a less studied context, to gain a holistic understanding of students identity negotiation. Using a qualitative approach, this research conducted four semi-structured interviews among Chinese international students studying in the UK. The findings demonstrated that when they selected an English name which can present their authentic selves, uniqueness, or wishes. Besides, when deciding whether to adopt their English names or Chinese names in the British academic community, they hold different interpretations of contextual needs, cosmopolitan identity, as well as cultural identity and ethnic belonging. The implications and limitations were also discussed in the end.