Towards a tempo‐spatial model of multilingual identity development: An exploration of the role of time and space in multilingual identity construction

Abstract The dynamic property and developmental trajectory of language learners’ multilingual identity (MI), which concerns one's self‐perception as a multilingual learner and user, have attracted increasing attention in the field of applied linguistics. Though the dynamic conceptualisation foregrounds the role of the tempo‐spatial context in shaping MI development, the nature and function of time and space and their associated interactions with MI rarely receive explicit attention and remain undertheorised. Framed by complex dynamic systems theory, this study problematises and reconceptualises the roles of time and space in the dynamic construction of MI based on weekly study logs and six rounds of interview data from 16 Chinese high school learners of Japanese over one academic year. The findings shed light on the complex interactions between MI development and the tempo‐spatial context. We argue that time and space are essential hermeneutic tools to investigate the dynamic construction of MI and propose the tempo‐spatial model of multilingual identity development. By integrating time and space, which are framed as (inter)subjective, relative and interrelated, the proposed model can be useful in providing a dynamic, holistic and contextualised view of MI construction.