A day in the life: Mapping international students' language learning environments in multilingual Sydney

Abstract

The challenges of gaining access to opportunities to use the target language in contexts of study abroad, international education and migration are well-documented. In this Sydney-based study, these are reconceptualized as challenges of access to English in an English-speaking, but increasingly multilingual, city. The notion of "context" in overseas study is also reconceptualized in spatial terms as the environmental circumstances of students' everyday lives, which are partly fixed in advance of their arrival but also shaped by their agency. A narrative case study of a recently arrived international student' daily activities and language use draws on online diary and stimulated recall interview data. The case study illustrates both the importance of the spatial dimensions of her everyday life to her use of languages and the how she manages these spatial dimensions to enhance her access to opportunities for English language use and learning.