Globalisation and Second Language Identity: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Importance of Morality

This book focuses on how globalisation influences and affects second language (L2) identity, including both benefits and caveats of globalisation. The author takes a philosophical perspective to the topic, drawing on the theoretical foundations of Kant and Hegel to explore positive and negative impacts of issues related to globalisation such as human rights and identity reconstruction, and argues that morality should be considered as a key component in fostering L2 identity. Since L2 autonomy - the capacity to control the psychological and socio-cultural dimensions related to L2 learning (Benson, 2001) - is an integral part of L2 identity and contributes to successful language learning, the author considers how to reconceptualise and foster L2 autonomy in the age of globalisation. He finds that globalisation has created new challenges and demands for L2 teachers, and explores how far they must transform their identity for effective teaching, including recommendations for the future. This book will be of particular interest to students, teachers and academics in fields including applied linguistics, language education, language teacher training, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics, as well as scholars of sociology and philosophy.

Manfred Man-fat Wu is affiliated with the Institute for Research in Open and Innovative Education, School of Open Learning, Hong Kong Metropolitan University. His publications are mainly on Hegel covering topics such as language learning, aesthetics, mental illness, and education. Manfred has been editor of Theory and Practice in Language Studies since 2010, and has been an Outstanding Reviewer of the Emerald Literati Awards for 2018-2022. He is active as a reviewer of academic journal articles.