Textual Identities and Contradictions in Cross-Contextual Academic Literacy Socialization: A Narrative Inquiry into Chinese Multilingual Doctoral Students

ABSTRACT

Few studies have touched upon the cross-contextual impact on academic literacy socialization (ALS afterwards) in Asia and how the impact shaped textual identities while negotiating contradictions. This longitudinal narrative inquiry reconstructed and represented two Chinese multilingual doctoral students’ cross-contextual ALS across Chinese Mainland, Taiwan and Japan to reveal how they socialized and enculturated into the target communities. Data were collected within 38 months via six sources for triangulation including oral narratives, semi-structured interviews, shadowing observations, frequent informal conversations, researchers’ field notes and memos, and relevant documents. Combining paradigmatic approach identifying common themes and narrative approach for the synthesis of human experiences, this study indicated the dynamic, complex and multifaceted nature of cross-contextual ALS with contradictions negotiation and textual identities construction. Participants’ textual identities transformed from academic English test-takers, academic English readers to academic English/Chinese writers in pre-, during and post- or approaching doctoral study. Meanwhile, these contradictions concerning literacy practices intertwined with ever-changing textual identities inevitably contributed to the cross-contextual ALS. Pedagogical implications and limitations were discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic literacy socialization
• contradictions
• cross-contextual
• narrative inquiry
• textual identities

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Notes on contributors

Beibei Song

Beibei Song obtained her Ph.D. (2020) in TESOL at National Chengchi University in Taipei. Now she is a lecturer at the Department of English, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Institute of Technology (SIT) in Shanghai. Her current research interests include language socialization and identity, teacher development, and second language pragmatics.