Japanese Students’ Identity Negotiation and Construction

抄録

This study explores the process of identity construction among Japanese students who engage in studying abroad, with a particular focus on the potential influence of their individual agency in shaping this process within intercultural interactions. The study used qualitative research methodologies to examine the processes of identity construction and negotiation among Japanese university students studying abroad. Specifically, the research focused on exploring the students' agencies, investment, and the ways in which they developed and negotiated their identities. Data for this study were obtained via semi-structured interviews and narrative journals from a sample of 11 students who had participated in study abroad programmes in English-speaking countries. Data analysis was conducted using the analytical lenses of learner agency, attitude and identity construction, and identity negotiation through intercultural conflicts. The findings indicated that the participants underwent identity reconstruction by actively engaging with their linguistic resources and practises, and by exercising their agency. The study abroad experiences of the participants provided them with novel opportunities to develop their approaches to language acquisition and utilisation, and their attitudes towards accents, and navigate their identities through intercultural conflicts. These experiences collectively influenced their reconstruction of their preconceived notions of native English speakers.