Beyond language policies: students’ positioning in the efl learning experiences

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive and interpretive study was to describe how students position themselves as EFL learners and interpret how they position others throughout their learning processes. To understand these disputes, the concepts of identity and positioning theory are explored and placed in context. The research was carried out at a private university in Bogotá, Colombia. Participants were visual design and marketing and advertising students who were assigned to my english class. Qualitative data were collected through individual interviews and focus groups. The analysis of the data showed that the students were positioned as followers of the linguistic policy, contributors of their experience in their fields, and as investors. In addition, they placed others based on the role they had played in their lives as EFL students. The findings also reveal that EFL learning experiences have influenced the positioning of students as students and that their identities were shaped and reformed according to their life experiences as EFL trainees. These findings allow teacher-researchers to reflect on the effect that language policies have had on students' perceptions of language and their own conception as EFL learners.