Constructing Identities through Multilingualism

This work explores multilingualism among college students in Ghana, and illustrates how multilingualism influences the construction of identity. Using ethnographic methods such as interviews, observations, field notes and diary logs, the language behaviors of eight focal students are discussed at length. The work reveals how the participants learned and used various languages within different communicative contexts, how their choices of specific languages were indicative of their varying perceptions toward English and Ghanaian languages, and also how they constructed multiple identities in their everyday communicative practices. Finally, it points to research implications for educators, researchers and language policy makers, and recommends efforts necessary for maintaining different languages in multilingual contexts.