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SooJin Jung, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, United StatesAbstract
This study examines how duty-based adult learners of Korean construct and negotiate learner identities in an institutional setting where language study is mandated as part of professional roles. Drawing on Positioning Theory, Gee’s discourse/Discourse distinction, and Norton’s investment framework (Davies & Harré, 1990; Gee, 2011; Norton, 2013), the study analyzes multiweek reflective writings from adult learners in a Korean language program linked to occupational assignments. Using discourse-analytic coding, the analysis focuses on four domains: identity positions (self-as-competent or self-as-struggling, role conflict), investment and motivation (instrumental, integrative, resistant, reframed orientations), Discourses and ideologies (institutional performance discourses, cultural essentialism, critical awareness), and emotional and affective stances (confidence, anxiety, ambivalence, empowerment). Findings reveal persistent tensions between institutional expectations and personal agency, with investment fluctuating according to perceived relevance, modality, and opportunities for learner choice. Learners articulate diverse forms of agency—strategic use of Korean media, preference for kinesthetic and competitive activities, meticulous self-regulation, and deliberate participation—which reframe obligation as meaningful practice. Simultaneously, deficit positioning and performance pressures emerge in narratives of perfectionism, introversion, neurodiversity, and time-constrained proficiency targets, illustrating how institutional Discourses shape participation and self-understanding. The study contributes theoretically by integrating positioning, Discourse, and investment to explain identity work under institutional constraint, and pedagogically by outlining equity-oriented, multimodal, and asset-based strategies for designing more inclusive duty-based language programs.
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Conference: IICE2026Stream: Foreign Languages Education & Applied Linguistics (including ESL/TESL/TEFL)
This paper is part of the IICE2026 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Jung S. (2026) Negotiating Obligation: Investment, Positioning, and Identity in Duty-Based Korean Language Learning ISSN: 2189-1036 – The IAFOR International Conference on Education – Hawaii 2026 Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 253-263) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-1036.2026.24
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2189-1036.2026.24
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