Drawing on in-depth interviews with a Chinese EFL learner, this qualitative study explores her identity changes throughout her engagement in the third space-the online intercultural writing exchange. The findings show...Drawing on in-depth interviews with a Chinese EFL learner, this qualitative study explores her identity changes throughout her engagement in the third space-the online intercultural writing exchange. The findings show that her productive construction of the third space is marked by a transformation from a reticent student to an open thought sharer and her claim of a legitimate ownership of using English as a global language. A split is exposed between her newly acquired English rhetorical conventions and her deeply rooted perceptions in the Chinese context. It is suggested by the study that EFL learners be provided greater opportunities to explore language as both a linguistic system and a sociocultural practice where they can exercise their agency and expand the range of identities.展开更多
文摘Drawing on in-depth interviews with a Chinese EFL learner, this qualitative study explores her identity changes throughout her engagement in the third space-the online intercultural writing exchange. The findings show that her productive construction of the third space is marked by a transformation from a reticent student to an open thought sharer and her claim of a legitimate ownership of using English as a global language. A split is exposed between her newly acquired English rhetorical conventions and her deeply rooted perceptions in the Chinese context. It is suggested by the study that EFL learners be provided greater opportunities to explore language as both a linguistic system and a sociocultural practice where they can exercise their agency and expand the range of identities.
