In Search of Identities: How Chinese Economic Immigrants Invest in their English Language Learning and Use

This study investigates how three Chinese economic immigrants’ identity construction is influenced by their acculturating experiences in Australia and how the process of their identity construction mediates their investment in English learning/use and cross-cultural practices. The study employs multi-case study research and narrative enquiry as merged methodologies drawing on a semi-structured interview with each participant. Thematic analysis reveals that while they exerted agency to strike a balance between the host culture and their heritage culture, they seemed to strongly identify with their heritage culture, namely as Chinese, rather than hyphenating or hybridising their identity. In addition, the Chinese immigrants’ investment in English language and cross-cultural practices seemed to be mediated by their perceptions of the interplay between capital and their different identities, including their Chinese identity. The findings have significant theoretical, pedagogical, and policy implications.