ABSTRACT
Language learners’ attitudes and beliefs about language are influenced by social and cultural norms and ideologies, and impact the learners’ motivations, goals, and investment in their language learning. While learners may bring pre-existing ideologies to their studies, their beliefs, attitudes, and identities can shift and develop in the process of learning and using a new language. This chapter provides readers with a comprehensive overview of core issues and key findings in the study of language ideologies and identity among KSL learners. Particular focus is placed on how different groups of Korean language learners (e.g., heritage, study abroad, immigrant) develop, negotiate, and resist language ideologies in the situated contexts of family, school, and the broader society, and in what ways these ideologies influence their identities. The chapter also reviews studies that illustrate how identity is related to language learning through detailed examinations of learners’ language practices. For example, research has shown that some immigrant KSL learners in Korea consider standard Korean a symbol of prestige and linguistic capital necessary to achieve membership in mainstream Korean society, which motivates them to abandon their regional dialect and actively invest in mastering standard Korean. Discussion of research findings on each KSL group’s language- and identity-related experiences is followed by the practical implications of such findings. The chapter ends with recommendations for further research in the field.
