Culture and Identity in Study Abroad Contexts

Abstract

Chapter Five Cultural Identity IssuesThis chapter focuses on cultural identity issues which have grown out of the data analysis of chapters three and four.The re-negotiation of cultural identity during intercultural transitions, from the perspective of the participants of this study is of paramount importance as the ramifications of identity remodelling may dramatically affect the future of these young sojourners.This is because their selfconcept and self-esteem have been altered to varying degrees, irrevocably in some instances, and the way they perceive their new cultural identity during the difficult re-entry transition back into France may have lasting personal and social consequences.An important issue has emerged.In France, as in many other nations, there is evidence of an innate fear of the hegemonic effects of English for its undesirable influence on the cultural identity of the young generation.Therefore, the link between language, culture and identity increases in significance during the transitional processes of adaptation and readjustment.Language, after all, has been considered a part of humans' unique cognitive endowment (Erard, 2005).It stands to reason that language is an intrinsic marker of one's cultural and national identity (eg.Hill, 2002;Liddicoat et al., 2003).Liddicoat (2002) argues culture is entrenched in even the simplest language and is perceived as inseparable from the way we live our lives and use our language.The complexity of culture becomes apparent when one considers it in its sociolinguistic context, that is, how it shapes the things we say, when we say them and how we say them, from the simplest utterances to the most eloquent speeches.He argues it is fundamental to the way we speak, write, listen and read.This chapter will analyse how French sojourners represented their cultural identity and to what extent they remodelled it as a result of the various interactions between the multiple groups involved.Further, it will evaluate the impact this transformation has had on their re-entry processes.The foci of this chapter concern first and foremost the perception that the French sojourners had of their cultural identity initially, with special emphasis placed on the ensuing remodelling of their identity subsequent to their Australian sojourn.These perceptions centred on aspects of their national identity, which appears to have become for them the salient aspect of their identity as the result of their experiences living and studying in a new culture.Secondly, analysis of the identity experiences of this group of sojourners will focus on their interactions in the sociocultural settings of Australia and France.Both the acculturation and repatriation processes can be expected to impact significantly on the identity orientations of this French group.This is because identity transformations occur in response to temporal, cultural and situational contexts (Ward et al., 2001). Berry's (1991) modes of acculturation and Kim's (2001) communication theory of intercultural adaptation will be employed as templates for assessing the emergent identities of this group in the context of Australia.Sussman's (2002) conceptualisation of the cultural identity model will assist in determining the resultant identity orientation of the returnees in France and Switzerland based on the cyclical process of adaptation abroad and readjustment to their country of origin.Whilst identity issues, which are closely tied to self-concept, are more salient during adolescence (Phinney, 1992), one cannot deny the implications of modifications of one's identity during intercultural