Negotiating Multilingual Identities in Korean College EMI Programs: A Narrative Inquiry of International Students

doi:10.18627/jslg.41.3.202511.383

All Issue

2025 Vol.41, Issue 3 Preview Page

Research Article

Negotiating Multilingual Identities in Korean College EMI Programs: A Narrative Inquiry of International Students: Lee, Inhwan^1*; ¹Woosong College

30 November 2025. pp. 383-396

PDF

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates how two international students construct and negotiate their multilingual identities within English-Medium Instruction (EMI) programs at a Korean junior college. Grounded in a poststructuralist perspective on identity (Norton, 2000), the study employed narrative inquiry through multiple interviews conducted over the course of one year. The findings show that the students’ identity trajectories diverged: one student initially resisted the Korean-dominant environment but was able to participate in the college community using English as a lingua franca and gradually expanded her multilingual identity by investing in learning Korean, while the other flexibly used three languages and sustained a stable sense of multilingual ownership. These contrasting pathways demonstrate that multilingual identity formation is dynamic and shaped by sociocultural contexts. Implications are discussed for enhancing institutional support for international students’ identity development within EMI programs in Korean higher education.

Keywords

identity

international students

multilingual identity

English as a lingua franca

English-medium Instruction

References

Baker, W. 2015. Culture and Identity Through English as a Lingua Franca. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. 10.1515/9781501502149
Canagarajah, S. 2013. Translingual Practice: Global Englishes and Cosmopolitan Relations. London: Routledge. 10.4324/9780203073889
Choi, J. 2021. ‘No English, Korean Only’: Local Students’ Resistance to English as a Lingua Franca at an ‘English Only’ University in Korea. Language and Intercultural Communication 21.2, 276-288. 10.1080/14708477.2020.1845712
Darvin, R. and Norton, B. 2015. Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 35, 36-56. 10.1017/S0267190514000191
Gomes, C. 2019. Identity as a Strategy for Negotiating Everyday Life in Transience: A Case Study of Asian Foreign Talent in Singapore. Current Sociology 67.2, 225-249. 10.1177/0011392118792929
Hajar, A., Mhamed, A. A. S., and Owusu, E. Y. 2024. African International Students’ Challenges, Investment and Identity Development at a Highly Selective EMI University in Kazakhstan. Language and Education 39.1, 54-71. 10.1080/09500782.2024.2343288
Heigham, J. and Croker, R. (eds.) 2009. Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics: A Practical Introduction. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1057/9780230239517
Holliday, A. R. 2015. Native-speakerism: Taking the Concept Forward and Achieving Cultural Belief. In A. Swan, P. Aboshiha, and A. Holliday (eds.), (En)Countering Native-speakerism. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 11-25. 10.1057/9781137463500_2
Kachru, B. 1992. The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Kinginger, C. 2015. Student Mobility and Identity-Related Language Learning. Intercultural Education 26.1, 6-15. 10.1080/14675986.2015.992199
Koehne, N. 2005. (Re) Construction: Ways International Students Talk About Their Identity. Australian Journal of Edu cation 49.1, 104-119. 10.1177/000494410504900107
Kudaibergenov, M. 2023. “Because We All Change, Right?”: A Narrative Inquiry of an International Student’s Self- Formation in South Korea. International Journal of Educational Development 96. 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2022.102708
Lee, J. 2020. A Study on the Language Identity of Non-Native Students. Journal of Speech Communication 48, 37-64.
Norton, B. 1997. Language, Identity, and the Ownership of English. TESOL quarterly 31.3, 409-429. 10.2307/3587831
Norton, B. 2000. Identity and Language Learning: Gender, Ethnicity, and Educational Change. Harlow, England: Longman.
Norton, B. 2013. Identity and Language Learning: Extending the Conversation (2nd ed.). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. 10.21832/9781783090563
Norton, B. and Pavlenko, A. 2019. Imagined Communities, Identity, and English Language Learning in a Multilingual World. In X. Gao (ed.), Second Handbook of English Language Teaching. Cham: Springer, 703-718. 10.1007/978-3-030-02899-2_34
Pavlenko, A. 2001. Language Learning Memoirs as Gendered Genre. Applied Linguistics 22.2, 213-240. 10.1093/applin/22.2.213
Pavlenko, A. and Blackledge, A. (eds.) 2004. Negotiation of Identities in Multilingual Contexts. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 10.21832/9781853596483
Pavlenko, A. and Norton, B. 2007. Imagined Communities, Identity, and English Language Learning. In J. Cummins and C. Davison (eds.), International Handbook of English Language Teaching. New York, NY: Springer, 669-680. 10.1007/978-0-387-46301-8_43
Pennycook, A. 1994. The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language (1st ed.). London: Routledge.
Rabbidge, M. and Banerjee, M. 2022. Positional Identities of an International Student in South Korea: Denied Rights and Neglected Duties. Journal of Language, Identity and Education 23.5, 613-626. 10.1080/15348458.2021.2014844
Sanoh, M. and Ambele, E. A. 2025. Global Englishes in Thai Higher Education: Navigating Linguistic Preferences and Academic Integration of International Mobile Students. Asian Englishes, 1-17. 10.1080/13488678.2025.2551933
Sercombe, P. G. 2011. Perceptions of Identity Among International Students in Newcastle. In B. Preisler, I. Klitgard, and A. Fabricius (eds.), Language and Learning in the International University. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 41-58. 10.21832/9781847694157-006
Shibata, M. 2025. International Students’ Multilingual Identity Negotiation in an English-Taught Programme in Japan: Language Practices and Sense of Belonging. International Journal of Multilingualism, 1-16. 10.1080/14790718.2025.2575074
Sung, C. C. M. 2019. Investments and Identities Across Contexts: A Case Study of a Hong Kong Undergraduate Student’s L2 Learning Experiences. Journal of Language, Identity and Education 18.3, 190-203. 10.1080/15348458.2018.1552149
Sung, C. C. M. 2024. Identities and Language Use Across Contexts in a Multilingual University in Hong Kong: A Filipina International Student’s Narrativized Account. Journal of Language, Identity and Education 23.4, 466-481. 10.1080/15348458.2021.1994406
Toohey, K. 2000. Learning English at School: Identity, Social Relations and Classroom Practice. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Virkkula, T. and Nikula, T. 2010. Identity Construction in ELF Contexts: A Case Study of Finnish Engineering Students Working in Germany. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 20.2, 251-273. 10.1111/j.1473-4192.2009.00248.x

Information

Publisher :The Modern Linguistic Society of Korea
Publisher(Ko) :한국현대언어학회
Journal Title :The Journal of Studies in Language
Journal Title(Ko) :언어연구
Volume : 41
No :3
Pages :383-396
DOI :https://doi.org/10.18627/jslg.41.3.202511.383

[1] Baker, W. 2015. Culture and Identity Through English as a Lingua Franca. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. 10.1515/9781501502149

[2] Canagarajah, S. 2013. Translingual Practice: Global Englishes and Cosmopolitan Relations. London: Routledge. 10.4324/9780203073889

[3] Choi, J. 2021. ‘No English, Korean Only’: Local Students’ Resistance to English as a Lingua Franca at an ‘English Only’ University in Korea. Language and Intercultural Communication 21.2, 276-288. 10.1080/14708477.2020.1845712

[4] Darvin, R. and Norton, B. 2015. Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 35, 36-56. 10.1017/S0267190514000191

[5] Gomes, C. 2019. Identity as a Strategy for Negotiating Everyday Life in Transience: A Case Study of Asian Foreign Talent in Singapore. Current Sociology 67.2, 225-249. 10.1177/0011392118792929

[6] Hajar, A., Mhamed, A. A. S., and Owusu, E. Y. 2024. African International Students’ Challenges, Investment and Identity Development at a Highly Selective EMI University in Kazakhstan. Language and Education 39.1, 54-71. 10.1080/09500782.2024.2343288

[7] Heigham, J. and Croker, R. (eds.) 2009. Qualitative Research in Applied Linguistics: A Practical Introduction. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1057/9780230239517

[8] Holliday, A. R. 2015. Native-speakerism: Taking the Concept Forward and Achieving Cultural Belief. In A. Swan, P. Aboshiha, and A. Holliday (eds.), (En)Countering Native-speakerism. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 11-25. 10.1057/9781137463500_2

[9] Kachru, B. 1992. The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

[10] Kinginger, C. 2015. Student Mobility and Identity-Related Language Learning. Intercultural Education 26.1, 6-15. 10.1080/14675986.2015.992199

[11] Koehne, N. 2005. (Re) Construction: Ways International Students Talk About Their Identity. Australian Journal of Edu cation 49.1, 104-119. 10.1177/000494410504900107

[12] Kudaibergenov, M. 2023. “Because We All Change, Right?”: A Narrative Inquiry of an International Student’s Self- Formation in South Korea. International Journal of Educational Development 96. 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2022.102708

[13] Lee, J. 2020. A Study on the Language Identity of Non-Native Students. Journal of Speech Communication 48, 37-64.

[14] Norton, B. 1997. Language, Identity, and the Ownership of English. TESOL quarterly 31.3, 409-429. 10.2307/3587831

[15] Norton, B. 2000. Identity and Language Learning: Gender, Ethnicity, and Educational Change. Harlow, England: Longman.

[16] Norton, B. 2013. Identity and Language Learning: Extending the Conversation (2nd ed.). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. 10.21832/9781783090563

[17] Norton, B. and Pavlenko, A. 2019. Imagined Communities, Identity, and English Language Learning in a Multilingual World. In X. Gao (ed.), Second Handbook of English Language Teaching. Cham: Springer, 703-718. 10.1007/978-3-030-02899-2_34

[18] Pavlenko, A. 2001. Language Learning Memoirs as Gendered Genre. Applied Linguistics 22.2, 213-240. 10.1093/applin/22.2.213

[19] Pavlenko, A. and Blackledge, A. (eds.) 2004. Negotiation of Identities in Multilingual Contexts. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 10.21832/9781853596483

[20] Pavlenko, A. and Norton, B. 2007. Imagined Communities, Identity, and English Language Learning. In J. Cummins and C. Davison (eds.), International Handbook of English Language Teaching. New York, NY: Springer, 669-680. 10.1007/978-0-387-46301-8_43

[21] Pennycook, A. 1994. The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language (1st ed.). London: Routledge.

[22] Rabbidge, M. and Banerjee, M. 2022. Positional Identities of an International Student in South Korea: Denied Rights and Neglected Duties. Journal of Language, Identity and Education 23.5, 613-626. 10.1080/15348458.2021.2014844

[23] Sanoh, M. and Ambele, E. A. 2025. Global Englishes in Thai Higher Education: Navigating Linguistic Preferences and Academic Integration of International Mobile Students. Asian Englishes, 1-17. 10.1080/13488678.2025.2551933

[24] Sercombe, P. G. 2011. Perceptions of Identity Among International Students in Newcastle. In B. Preisler, I. Klitgard, and A. Fabricius (eds.), Language and Learning in the International University. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 41-58. 10.21832/9781847694157-006

[25] Shibata, M. 2025. International Students’ Multilingual Identity Negotiation in an English-Taught Programme in Japan: Language Practices and Sense of Belonging. International Journal of Multilingualism, 1-16. 10.1080/14790718.2025.2575074

[26] Sung, C. C. M. 2019. Investments and Identities Across Contexts: A Case Study of a Hong Kong Undergraduate Student’s L2 Learning Experiences. Journal of Language, Identity and Education 18.3, 190-203. 10.1080/15348458.2018.1552149

[27] Sung, C. C. M. 2024. Identities and Language Use Across Contexts in a Multilingual University in Hong Kong: A Filipina International Student’s Narrativized Account. Journal of Language, Identity and Education 23.4, 466-481. 10.1080/15348458.2021.1994406

[28] Toohey, K. 2000. Learning English at School: Identity, Social Relations and Classroom Practice. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.

[29] Virkkula, T. and Nikula, T. 2010. Identity Construction in ELF Contexts: A Case Study of Finnish Engineering Students Working in Germany. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 20.2, 251-273. 10.1111/j.1473-4192.2009.00248.x

The Journal of Studies in Language ISSN:1225-4770(Print) 2671-6151(Online) 언어연구

All Issue