This study investigates how duty-based adult learners of Korean construct, negotiate, and perform learner identities in an institutional setting where language study is mandated as part of professional roles. Grounded in Positioning Theory, Gee’s distinction between discourse and Discourses, and Norton’s investment framework (Davies & Harré, 1990; Gee, 2011; Norton, 2013), multiweek reflective writings are analyzed using a transparent coding scheme spanning identity positions (self-as-competent/struggling, role conflict), motivational orientations (instrumental, integrative, resistance, reframing), ideological alignments (institutional discourse, cultural essentialism, critical awareness), and affective stances (confidence, anxiety, ambivalence, empowerment). Findings indicate persistent tensions between institutional expectations and personal agency, with investment fluctuating according to perceived relevance and opportunities for learner choice. Learners articulate agentive strategies—including media-based engagement, kinesthetic and competitive tasks, meticulous self-regulation, and deliberate participation—that reframe obligation as meaningful practice, while disclosures of neurodiversity foreground the value of multimodal, hands-on learning. Simultaneously, deficit positioning and performance pressures surface in narratives of perfectionism, introversion, and time-constrained proficiency targets, underscoring how institutional Discourses shape identities and participation. The analysis advances an equity-oriented pedagogical agenda that validates diverse identities and learning preferences, leverages interest-driven materials, and designs participation structures that distribute opportunities without reproducing deficit labels. The contribution is twofold: theoretically, by integrating positioning, Discourse, and investment to explain identity work under constraint; and pedagogically, by outlining inclusive strategies for duty-based language programs.

Authors:
SooJin Jung, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. SooJin Jung is a Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center professor, serving under the Language, Regional Expertise and Culture(LREC) in Hawaii LTD.

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