Chinese students' multilingual identity constructions after studying abroad: A multi-theoretical perspective

Abstract

Given the recent development of globalization, the focus of research on identity in the field of applied linguistics has shifted to investigating multilingual identity among students studying abroad. Studying abroad can be regarded as an authentic setting of English as a lingua franca (ELF) that has an impact on students' multilingual identity construction because they experience ELF communication with people from different lingua-cultures. Thus, this study aimed to map Chinese university students' multilingual identity constructions in relation to their overseas experiences before, during, and after studying abroad to explore multilingual identity construction from an ELF perspective. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight university students to report their learning and use of English before, during, and after their study abroad experiences to determine if their experiences, evaluations, and emotions had an impact on how multilingual identity is constructed. The findings suggest that there are meaningful differences in constructing multilingual identities before, during, and after the participants' study abroad sojourn, and revealed the opportunities ELF communication provides to develop multilingual identity negotiation and construction. Thus, this paper calls for the need to incorporate an ELF-informed and multilingual pedagogy into language education.