Investigating multilingual identity in study abroad contexts: A short story analysis approach

This article examines the construct of second language identity and its susceptibility to change during study abroad experiences. The researcher draws on findings from a large-scale narrative-based study of Hong Kong students participating in study abroad programmes of varying lengths. In the study three dimensions of second language identity were found: (a) identity-related aspects of second language proficiency, (b) linguistic self-concept, and (c) second language-mediated aspects of personal development. This article explores these dimensions further in the life of one of the study abroad students over time. Interviews were conducted before and after his first year of study as an undergraduate student at a university in New Zealand, and then nearly five years later after his return to Hong Kong. The article demonstrates a short story approach to analysing the narrative interview data. Two short stories from the interviews, representing the 3 language identity dimensions in study abroad contexts, are analysed for both their content and the varying scales of context in which the short stories were constructed and interpreted.