Identities and Language Use across Contexts in a Multilingual University in Hong Kong: A Filipina International Student’s Narrativized Account

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper explores the intricate relationship between identity and language use in a multilingual university context by analyzing a Filipina international student’s narrativized accounts of her experiences in a Hong Kong university. The findings suggest that the international student’s identity negotiation and language practices vary markedly across contexts and appear to be shaped by different language regimes operating in different in-class and out-of-class spaces within the university. The study also reveals that various language ideologies mediate the international student’s situated identity negotiation and language use, including ideologies pertaining to the relationship between language and ethnicity, the relationship between English proficiency levels and the local/non-local student categorization, and the hierarchization of different varieties of English. Overall, the study argues for the need to attend to the complex and dynamic interplay between identity negotiation, language use and language ideology in understanding the international student’s experiences in a multilingual university context.