Exploring second language speakers’ linguistic identities in ELF communication: a Hong Kong study

Abstract

This paper reports on a qualitative inquiry that investigated a group of Hong Kong university students' perceptions of their linguistic identities in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) communication. The participants of the study were proficient second language (L2) speakers of English who reported to have participated in intercultural ELF communication on a regular basis. By analyzing data gathered via two rounds of in-depth interviews, the study revealed that these participants did not evaluate their "non-native" status negatively but embraced their identities as legitimate and empowered speakers of English in ELF interactions. In addition, they validated their identities as multilingual, multicompetent, and translingual speakers of English with the ability to draw upon a diverse set of multilingual resources flexibly in ELF contexts. The analysis also found that these participants' linguistic identities were constructed and negotiated in relation to the perceived linguistic competence of other ELF speakers, especially L2 speakers of other cultural/national backgrounds. This paper sheds light on the complexity of linguistic identities in ELF contexts and contributes to the growing ELF research in the Asian context.

Identity construction and self-identification of the protagonist in the film media discourse: Multi-modal linguo-semiotic approach

“…Linguistic research in the context of self-identification and identity construction theories focuses on multiple questions such as construing reality (Constantinou, 2019;Lovelock, 2017), understanding human cognition and memory (Drager, 2015;Hamilton, 2013), linguistic identity (Antaki & Widdicombe, 1998;Bordia & Bordia, 2015;Higgins, 2011;Miller, 2004;Park, 2020;Sung, 2015), sociocultural identity (Baker, 2015;Bucholtz & Hall, 2005;Hogg, 2001;Ochs, 1993). All of the above studies assume that there is an inextricable "link between linguistic variation and identity" and that "language and social information are stored in the mind and accessed during the production and perception of speech" (Drager, 2015, p. 1).…”

Exposure to Englishes in Listening Classrooms: The Perspectives Of Indonesian ESL Learners

“…Moreover, in the Indonesian university context, little is known about Indonesian L2 learners' perspectives on the exposures to Englishes in college listening classrooms. A call for description of L2 learners' views on ELF has been renounced by Jenkins (2007) and Sung (2015). Asia is the magnet of ELF communications to take place in a huge number considering the English learners who also use it.…”

University Students’ Attitudes towards English as a Lingua Franca in a Multilingual Sustainable Society

“…Nowadays, the number of English users in the expanding circle is much larger than that in the inner circle, as evidenced by the majority of English-communication users being non-native speakers [2]. Specifically, Asia is considered a critical region for the development of English as a lingua franca (ELF) [3,4], and research on ELF in the context of Asia has been emerging in recent years [5,6].…”

“…From the perspective of ELF, fostering students' communication ability is important, and the current English teaching practices should fulfill students' real needs of improving their communication skills [15]. Some studies [5,6] revealed that in Hong Kong, a similar society to Macao, people's attitudes towards ELF were conservative, and this might imply that Macao people's attitudes are also native-speaker oriented. It is critical for researchers to explore these issues to provide implications for English teaching in Macao, especially for tertiary education.…”