Open AccessImagined Communities and Identities in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Learning: A Literature Review
Author(s) -
Vu Anh Luong,
Thao Quoc Tran
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
jet (journal of english teaching) adi buana
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2614-4050
pISSN - 2502-2121
DOI - 10.36456/jet.v6.n02.2021.4360
Subject(s) - identity (music) , ideal (ethics) , linguistics , relation (database) , english language , psychology , sociology , pedagogy , mathematics education , epistemology , computer science , aesthetics , art , philosophy , database
Imagined community and identity have been recognized as critical aspects in English language learning. Imagined community refers to the ideal community that learners wish to get engaged in, while imagined identity refers to the ideal self that language learners wish to become in the future. However, there is a scant research on these two notions in relation to English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. To that end, this paper aims to present the literature review of the contemporary theories on imagined communities and identities in EFL learning. It first discusses the imagined communities regarding the functions, community of practice, notions of imagined communities and concepts of imagined EFL classroom communities. It then scrutinizes imagined identities in terms of poststructuralists’ theory, English language learners’ identities, notion of imagined identity and EFL learners’ imagined identity. This paper is hoped to provide a timely and needed conceptual framework for other relevant constructs (e.g., English language learning investment) in English language learning.