Language-specific (i.e. the ideal L2 self) and plurilingual selves are now at the forefront of scholarly inquiry in L2 motivation research. Yet, there is a lack of empirical studies examining how language learners reframe their sense of self as speakers of an L2. This study draws on a questionnaire (N = 162) and on semi-structured interviews (N =…

Informed by translingual practice [Canagarajah, S. 2013a. "Translingual Practice: Global Englishes and Cosmopolitan Relations." New York: Routledge] and poststructuralist conceptualisation of identity [Norton, B. 2000. "Identity and Language Learning: Gender, Ethnicity and Educational Change." "TESOL Quarterly" 35…

This study examines the potential roles of self-guides (ideal L2 self/outght-to L2 self), enjoyment, and gender in language achievement. A total of 727 Chinese high school students participated in this study and data were collected through a questionnaire survey. Path analysis showed that ideal self was positively related to both enjoyment and…

Indigenous communities, linguists, teachers, and language activists have been developing methods to revitalise endangered languages over several decades. Not only are these methods diverse, they are usually implemented in various ways according to local needs and aspirations. Language revitalisation methods focus on proficiency, but there is also…

The present study investigates the possible impact of language ideologies on second language proficiency. Based on interviews and a thematic analysis, we explored language ideologies among French long-term residents in Stockholm, Sweden. The participants had contrasting proficiency levels in the host community language: five were categorised as…

Foreign language teachers' recognition of their identity is essential to their professional development. Drawing on bicultural theories, this study investigated two American teachers who recounted their experiences of teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at a university in China. This study leverages the Two-directional Extension Model as…

Israel's population includes over a million Russian-speaking immigrants and more than 300,000 native English speakers. These groups differ in social integration and in the status of their heritage languages in Israel. We compared children's and parents' perceptions of children's identities, language abilities, and language preferences among…

This paper explores the "multilingual lived experience" (MLE) of four Mongol-Chinese individuals. This lived experience is set in the multilingual context of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR) of China. Compared to the ethnic majority Han people, who are Mandarin (Putonghua) speakers, and who study English as a L2, Inner…

Due to the increased mobility and linguistic and cultural diversity internationally, there has been a renewed interest in the linguistic practices of immigrant families. Earlier scholarship focused on the difference between parenting in monolingual contexts and bilingual parenting conceptualised as management of more than one language in a family.…

Feeling like a different person when speaking different languages has been investigated before and attributed to several linguistic as well as psychological factors. Language proficiency, the context of language acquisition, personality traits, emotional intelligence, and the topic of conversation as well as the interlocutor have been found to…

As part of its ambitious Belt and Road initiative, the Chinese government, cognizant of the fact that establishing strong people-to-people bonds locally, regionally, and internationally will be key to the initiative's success and that languages will play a pivotal role in facilitating this, has called for the diversification of language programmes…

As plurilingual/multilingual research advances, factors that contribute to or hinder individual's flexible language use are still underexplored. Questions such as "Why do some people identify as plurilingual and pluricultural while others do not?" and "What factors contribute to high levels of plurilingual and pluricultural…

This paper explores eight Kazakhstani postgraduate students' reflections of their international educational experiences in the UK after their immediate re-entry into Kazakhstan. Special focus was on their language identity development after their one-year stay in the UK. It was informed by Benson et al.'s ([2013]. "Second Language Identity in…

With the number of international students growing rapidly within (international) higher education, more attention has been focused on the need to consider international students' experiences, particularly those from the global south, from more critical, ethical and qualitative perspectives. This paper examines how the lived experiences of three…

Informed by Bourdieu's conceptualisation of habitus and its relation with social class, this study explores the construction and negotiation of middle-class identity among a group of urban overseas returnees in China. Using ethnographic interviews and online observational data, the study found that participants built a compliant identity…