Potential Phases of Multilingual Writers’ Identity Work 1

Although it is commonly known now that multilingual writers’ identities are multiple, complex and dynamic, much remains unknown about how autobiographical writing in a second language mediates the writers’ identity work. Taking a transnational perspective to language and identity, this chapter analyzes a Chinese university student’s autobiographical writing in English and its multiple drafts in a writing circle over nine months in light of the student writer’s drawings and interviews. The study reveals three potential phases of identity work, i.e., performing, reflecting and re-visioning, that multilingual writers may experience as they engage in autobiographical writing in a second language. Pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.