Identity construction and negotiation among EFL learners :|a case study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to give an elaborate description of the relationship between L2 language learning and identity construction at the English Preparatory Program of a private university in Istanbul, Turkey. This instrumental multiple case study was based on the narrative accounts of five English Preparatory School students collected via interviews, classroom observations, audio recordings and learning diary entries during their English learning studies for over a year including online education during the COVID19 pandemic. The results of the data analysis show that the participants’ construction of L2 learner identities during their language learning journey at the school/home was marked with instances consisting of multiple and dynamic negotiations and mediations of identities from past and present learning experiences. The participants’ search for a community of practice both face-to-face and online, the fluid nature of their learner/user/speaker positionalities as L2 learners and speakers, their imagined identities before and after starting their L2 learning journey, and their L2 investments are discussed in detail. The results show how the study of L2 identity constructions during the language learning process has implications in the field of applied linguistics and English language teaching and learning in general. Based on the findings of this study, recommendations for further studies and practices in the field of English language teaching and learning are made.