Investment in Imagined Identities of Korean Study Abroad Learners of English In New Zealand

Abstract

This research adopts a narrative epistemological and methodological approach to explore various investments of Korean study abroad learners of English in New Zealand. The specific focus of the study is on: the relationship between Korean learners’ investing in study abroad English learning and Korean societal ideologies; the learners’ study abroad investing in relation to their imagined identities; and, the identity work and outcomes the learners experience during their sojourns. The study focuses on six adult study abroad sojourners from Korea, most of whom participated in this research for a period of six months. As data collection instruments, the study employed narrative interviews, narrative frames, and a private Facebook group. Two types of data analysis are used in this research: narrative analysis and crosscase thematic analysis. Narrative analysis consists of narrative writing as a key process of analysis, while allowing for the presentation of the findings in storied form. Through engaging in narrative writing, I employ individual participant data into a storyline that highlights the salient data linkages in relation to the scope and aims of the research, and thereby produce individual participant narratives as findings that are readable and possess verisimilitude. I also use cross-case thematic analysis to address the research questions by exploring theoretical relationships among salient themes identified in the individual narratives and across the data set. This study explores the social situatedness of study abroad language learners and contextualises study abroad language learning as a crucial part of investing in imagined identities and desired futures, characterised by identity work. The findings highlight the mutually informing relationship among investment, imagined identities and identity work and the dynamicity of the push and pull factors that characterise study abroad language learner experience. Furthermore, it reveals the power of storytelling as a meaning-making tool, suitable for inquiry into human experience. Lastly, the findings of the study attest to the fruitfulness of researching the social aspects of language learning, as it humanises the language learner and sheds light on the dynamicity of the language learning process.