Language Awareness and Identity Formation among Plurilingual Students at a High School Accepting Foreign Students in Japan: Focusing on the Language Socialization and the Positioning of English in the Youth “Crossing Borders”

Abstract

This study conducted mother tongue awareness interviews with seven high school seniors who are bilingual speakers with ties to foreign countries, such as Nepal, the Philippines, Brazil, and China, and discussed the results from the three perspectives of “inherited language (first language),” “local language” (Japanese), and English. The results were examined from the three perspectives of “inherited language (first language),” “local language” (Japanese), and English, and their multilayered perceptions of each language and the expression of identity based on these perceptions were qualitatively analyzed.