Learning Korean and Imagined Gendered Identities in the Autobiographical Narratives of Marriage Migrant Women in South Korea

Abstract

This study explores the ways in which the identities of migrant women married to Korean men in South Korea interact with their commitment to learning Korean as a Second Language (KSL) as seen in their autobiographical narratives. Through a qualitative content analysis of a selection of stories based on purposive sampling and by drawing upon Norton's notions of "investment" and "imagined communities," this study attempts to present the complex interplay between KSL learners' identities and their commitment to language learning. The findings demonstrate that migrant women's L2 learning identities are deeply interwoven with their gender identity and their sense of membership in the imagined communities. A migrant woman's imagined gender identity is based on their notion of "becoming a good mother," a mother who is responsible for bringing up her children to become good citizens in the host country they have newly settled in. Furthermore, their narratives on learning Korean indicate that Korean language learning serves as a conduit for them to earn cultural and social capital, allowing them to exercise their agency in the process of building up a transnational identity. Finally, some pedagogical implications for teaching KSL are provided.