台灣外籍人士語言與文化身分認同感跟雙語或多語意識之間的關係: 以一個宗教社群為例

This research investigates the language and cultural identities of international expatriates in regard to the relationship of bilingualism or multilingualism in a default bilingual religious community in Taiwan. Although research has indicated that language learners’ identities are related to their language development, little attempts have been made to unravel the relationship of international expatriates’ language development in Taiwan. This study hence bridges this gap by exploring their language and cultural identities and language development in a religious community where it is bilingual by default. Our semi-structured interviews, open-ended questionnaire, weekly observation, and researcher journal were utilized for data collection together with a phenomenology framework for data analysis. The findings reveal a multitude of themes including their multilingual and multicultural development that has further underpinned their enhanced intercultural communication in this religious community. We also presented their detailed identity transformation both linguistically and culturally from their joined Community of Practices.