Identity construction in ELF contexts: a case study of Finnish engineering students working in Germany

This paper explores connections between identity and language use in lingua franca contexts by investigating identity construction among Finnish users of English as revealed in interviews conducted both before and after a period spent in Germany. The focus is on the users' own stories of their language use and learning, and on the discursive construction of identities. The study draws on poststructuralist theories of identity construction, combining them with research that focuses on language learners' identity construction or on identity issues in contexts with English as a lingua franca. This paper illustrates how language users actively draw on different discourses in constructing their identities as foreign language users. Artikkelissa tarkastellaan identiteetin ja kielen kayton suhdetta tilanteissa, joissa englantia kaytetaan lingua francana. Identiteetin rakentumista tutkitaan haastattelemalla suomalaisia englannin kielen kayttajia seka ennen heidan muutaman kuukauden mittaista oleskeluaan Saksassa etta sen jalkeen. Tavoitteena on tarkastella kielenkayttajien omia kasityksia kielenkaytosta ja kielen oppimisesta seka diskursiivista identiteettien rakentumista. Tutkimus pohjautuu poststrukturalistisiin teorioihin identiteettien rakentumisesta. Niita yhdistetaan tutkimuksiin, joissa kasitellaan kielenoppijoiden identiteettityota tai englannin kielta lingua francana. Artikkeli osoittaa, etta kielen kayttajat ammentavat aktiivisesti erilaisista diskursseista rakentaessaan identiteettejaan vieraan kielen kayttajina.

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