The complexity of identity formation of English language learners in China

A large number of studies have been carried out on second/foreign language learners' identities, but there seems to be insufficient research on the constitutive effect of discourse on L2 learners' identities, especially among English learners in China. Informed by discourse theory, this study explored how college students' identities were discursively constructed in their English learning experiences. This study identified the discursive strategies of establishing oppositions and differences the students adopted in identity construction as they interacted with the specific learning community, the social surrounding and an imagined global community. The paper starts by discussing the constructs that guide the study and then provides an interpretation of the extracts from interviews and diary studies in light of the sociocultural context where the investigation takes place. Copyright © 2009 Hawaii International conference on Education.