Structure and agency in the development of plurilingual identities during study abroad
Structure and agency in the development of plurilingual identities during study abroad
In this chapter, we place centre stage the notion of plurilingual identity as the result of a dialectical relationship between agency and structure. In the light of these three notions, we critically discuss existing European SA research, thus suggesting a new research avenue around two relatively recent interests in applied linguistics: identity and multilingualism. The chapter can be seen as the initial stage in the elaboration of a principled platform for future research on the constitution and evolution of plurilingual identities by taking into account the individuals’ interactions with their contexts and how these interactions can be affected by and affect their linguistic repertoires. The chapter can also be considered as a useful preliminary step to reassess learners’ experiences of SA programmes, showing the need to take into account (i) students’ communicative repertoire as a whole, including both the development of their plurilingual skills and attitudes, and (ii) the structural opportunities and constraints with which students are confronted in the process of deploying their agency.
study abroad, identity, structure, agency
165-187
Cots, Josep Maria
68bb4093-5b85-4b99-8246-1fd4688d9137
Mitchell, Rosamond
de2eabed-7903-43fa-961a-c16f69fddd7e
Beaven, Ana
3112f7d7-872f-4a2b-a5f7-5b6ee4d73262
2021
Cots, Josep Maria
68bb4093-5b85-4b99-8246-1fd4688d9137
Mitchell, Rosamond
de2eabed-7903-43fa-961a-c16f69fddd7e
Beaven, Ana
3112f7d7-872f-4a2b-a5f7-5b6ee4d73262
Cots, Josep Maria, Mitchell, Rosamond and Beaven, Ana
(2021)
Structure and agency in the development of plurilingual identities during study abroad.
In,
Howard, Martin
(ed.)
Study abroad and the second language learner: Expectations, experiences and development.
London.
Bloomsbury Publishing, .
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Abstract
In this chapter, we place centre stage the notion of plurilingual identity as the result of a dialectical relationship between agency and structure. In the light of these three notions, we critically discuss existing European SA research, thus suggesting a new research avenue around two relatively recent interests in applied linguistics: identity and multilingualism. The chapter can be seen as the initial stage in the elaboration of a principled platform for future research on the constitution and evolution of plurilingual identities by taking into account the individuals’ interactions with their contexts and how these interactions can be affected by and affect their linguistic repertoires. The chapter can also be considered as a useful preliminary step to reassess learners’ experiences of SA programmes, showing the need to take into account (i) students’ communicative repertoire as a whole, including both the development of their plurilingual skills and attitudes, and (ii) the structural opportunities and constraints with which students are confronted in the process of deploying their agency.
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e-pub ahead of print date: 14 January 2021
Published date: 2021
Keywords:
study abroad, identity, structure, agency
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 446219
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/446219
PURE UUID: 90a0484a-97d8-436b-bfd7-c217646779ff
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Date deposited: 29 Jan 2021 17:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:32
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Contributors
Author:
Josep Maria Cots
Author:
Ana Beaven
Editor:
Martin Howard
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