Points of Transition: Understanding the Constructed Identities Of L2 Learners/Users Across Time and Space

Abstract

Using sociocultural and poststructuralist theoretical lenses, this study examines the narrative construction of language-learner identity across time and space. We applied cross-narrative methodologies to analyze language-learning autobiographies and interview data from three English users who had recently transitioned to a U.S. context for graduate studies. We found that learners' narratives and identity constructions are shaped in unique ways by the narrators' present and distant interactions, which can be understood by identifying points of transition (PsoT) in their stories. PsoT revealed how learners made sense of their ever-changing identities across time and space, viewed inconsistencies and conflict, and linked these conflicting identities with imagined futures. Our study contributes to research about learner identity and agency as we offer a narrative exploration of how L2 users construct identities and give meanings to these constructed identities by linking the influences of time and space in their language learning narratives.