International students’ negotiation of identities during transnational studies in Hong Kong: the role of language

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the experiences of two international students with different linguistic backgrounds in a university in Hong Kong, with particular attention to the role of language in their identity negotiation during their transnational studies. Based on their contrasting narratives, the study revealed that the two students’ identity negotiation experiences appeared to be shaped by their different language competences, which were valued differently in the academic and social contexts within the university. It was found that the degree of (in)compatibility between their language competences and the norms and expectations associated with the academic and social contexts within the university context impacted on their negotiation of fuller forms of participation and their construction of desirable identities. Furthermore, the two students’ different language ideologies and their different abilities to exercise agency in mobilising their linguistic capital in exchange for other forms of capital were found to mediate their identity negotiation and transformation.

KEYWORDS:

• International student
• identity
• linguistic capital
• agency
• language ideology
• Hong Kong

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee  [project number 23600416].