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Towards a gendered model of second language investment: insights from language learning narratives

ABSTRACT This paper explores the relationship between gender and second language (L2) learning through a narrative case study. Drawing on the construct of investment in understanding language learning, the present study investigates the role of gender ideologies and gendered identities in a female L2 learner’s English learning experiences in an English-medium university in Hong Kong. Findings reveal that multiple gender ideologies mediated the learner’s access to L2 use opportunities and her participation in in-class and out-of-class contexts in complex yet contradictory ways. In particular, gendered expectations influenced the learner’s agency in investing in L2 practices in specific contexts and accumulating particular forms of (gendered) capital. Her L2 investments were also shaped by her negotiation of gendered identities and her pursuit of imagined identities related to her professional aspirations. Based on the findings, a gendered model of L2 investment is proposed. It illustrates the complex interplay between gendered capital, gender ideologies and gendered identities in shaping L2 investments and foregrounds the role of gendered agency in mediating the impact of gender ideologies and gendered identities on L2 investments. The study also suggests the need for contextualized and personalized approaches in understanding the gendered nature of L2 learning in future research.