The current study, by focusing on a group of university‐level learners of Korean in the United States, explores the various ways in which Korean American students position themselves in and around the language and ethnicity. Over the course of 3 years, data for this study were collected through several methods, such as formal and informal interviews, participant observation in class meetings, and collection of students' work samples and other documents as a part of the participatory action research model. Through the diasporic life stories of Korean Americans, this study demonstrates how different notions of ethnicity restrict or create possibilities of constructing and negotiating ethnic identities. This study sheds light on the complex link between language and ethnicity by highlighting how different views of ethnicity are interrelated with language learning experiences and ethnic identities. It demonstrates how a dichotomous view of ethnicity as either primordial or instrumental limits possibilities of negotiation and construction of ethnic identities by positioning Korean American students into an either/or position. It highlights that a view of ethnicity as a continuum, as an alternative to the dichotomy, opens up space for the negotiation and construction of new ethnicities. This study draws attention to the need to pay attention to ethnicity in language education. Educators need to encourage learners to develop perspectives that acknowledge and recognize the role of ethnicity in the language learning process.
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