Identity, meaning the way a person sees oneself, is, in especially today´s world, essential and, without a doubt, the guideline that people follow when they are lost and hesitant about where they belong to (Bauman 2011-1996:19). People are constantly identifying not only themselves but also others according to their features, such as, appearance, behavior, cultural backgrounds and, most of all, linguistic abilities.
Language plays a double role, being both a sign of someone´s identity and the way to construct identities (Weedon 1997:21). Whereas the mother tongue has its special role in a person´s life as the language of expressing oneself confidently without restrictions, foreign languages set up various challenges for the language learner in terms of who they are in that language. It is thus no surprise that language learning has been equaled with learning a new identity (Pavlenko and Lantolf 2000).
Identity construction through language learning became a topic of interest especially in the 1990s. During the past two decades the number of studies combining language learning and identities has increased rapidly as researchers have shifted towards understanding language learning as participation instead of acquisition (Block 2008:141 and Kalaja, Menezes and Barcelos 2008:3). Basically the metaphor of acquisition refers to individual possession of language knowledge, whereas participation shifts the focus on becoming a member of a community. Hence, the active role of the language learner has been addressed even more since it is stated that everyone is a unique, social learner guiding one´s own learning by participating in various communities of practice (Wenger 1998). It is generally acknowledged that through this social participation and interaction in different groups, people find their own place and thus, construct their identities.
Even though the research area of identities and language learners has extended over the years, immigrants, or in other words, second language learners, have constantly been under particular interest in identity studies (Taylor 2013:27). Therefore, there is a notable shortage of identity studies concentrating on the foreign language learners who, in comparison to second language learners, are not surrounded by native speakers and the same challenges in their everyday life. Basically, second language learners and foreign language learners face different types of processes concerning their identity building. Finally, it also has to be noted that the information of the emerged foreign
language identities that the studies have conducted so far is in many ways inadequate and thus, more precise information about the language learners´ identities is needed.
The purpose of the present study is thus to examine the effect of foreign language learning on adult language learners to find out what type of identities emerge as a result of language learning. Adults were chosen as the target group not only because young learners have commonly dominated the field of language learning and teaching, but also since it was considered that adults are able to express issues relating to processes of change and identities better than young learners. Furthermore, adults´ experience in work life and their aspirations to start learning a new language at adult age were thought to bring interesting perspectives to the studying of foreign language identities.
As a subject of research, identity is a complex phenomenon since it consists of subjective and highly personal experiences which, first of all, are challenging to express and secondly, even harder to interpret. Therefore, numerous studies interested in the identities of language learners use a variety of different theories in order to get closer to the learner (Huhtala and Lehti-Eklund 2012:7). In the present study identities are viewed from the poststructuralist point of view which sees identities as multiple, complex, dynamic and socially constructed (Miyahara 2010:5, Paiva 2011:62, De Fina 2006:268, Weedon 2004:7). Moreover, it is stated that identities are closely attached to narratives which consist of language learners´ subjective experiences (McAdams, Joelsson and Lieblich 2006:4). This is in line with the definition of foreign language identities presented by Benson et al (2012) and Korhonen (2014:68) who note that identities are closely related to “any aspect of a person´s identity that is connected to their knowledge and use of a foreign language.”
Because of the complexity and sensitivity of the topic, the data of the present study was collected qualitatively. Altogether four adult learners, aged 30 to 50 years, were interviewed thematically in order to receive information about their language learning experiences in past, present and future and thus, to be able to form their foreign language identities. The data was then analyzed using both content and narrative analysis. In the end, four unique stories, or in other words, narratives, were created based on what and how the learners spoke about the foreign language and how it had affected or changed their lives and themselves.
Hopefully the study offers meaningful information about the diversity of language learners and their identities, which can be utilized in understanding the identity formation of foreign language learners and more generally in educational contexts of language learning and teaching in the future. Furthermore, the study addresses the joy of life long learning and the meaning of languages in people´s lives.
The organization of the present study is as follows. In chapter 2 the theoretical background for the present study is introduced including history of language learning and identity studies, definition of identity and the connection between learning and identity building. The final parts of chapter 2 present previous studies in more detail and construct the precise framework for the present study. In chapter 3 the research design is outlined including the aims of the study, thematic interview as the data collecting method, participants and methods of analysis. Findings of the study are presented in chapter 4 in the form of narratives, which are considered learners´ identities. In chapter 5 the results are discussed in more depth and additionally, the study is evaluated and future implications in terms of possible research areas are presented. The final chapter concludes the present study by summarizing the results.