Language Identity: Issues of Theory and Practice

Research into identity has advanced considerably over the past years. More importantly, it has become accompanied by a sharp emphasis on application of results to particular social issues and contexts. This application is becoming increasingly apparent in the setting of language and culture teaching. Thus this paper has two major foci. First, emphasis is put on the most important developments of the concept of identity, its key categories and features as well as its connection to culture and language. Drawing from scholarly literature, these are succinctly presented. A more detailed treatment is given to issues of language identity, especially its discursive character. The second focus is on building the EFL learner's language identity, which is viewed in this paper as a developmental process with distinct stages. It is stressed that key issues of identity theory can be successfully drawn upon for our understanding of 'glocal' aspects of language learning. Further, it is argued that since identity is constituted in discourses and interactions, there is a pressing need in the educational setting to provide discursive practices within which the EFL learner language identity is framed and maintained or, conversely, transformed and changed.