Structure and agency in the development of plurilingual identities during study abroad

In this chapter, we place centre stage the notion of plurilingual identity as the result of a dialectical relationship between agency and structure. In the light of these three notions, we critically discuss existing European SA research, thus suggesting a new research avenue around two relatively recent interests in applied linguistics: identity and multilingualism. The chapter can be seen as the initial stage in the elaboration of a principled platform for future research on the constitution and evolution of plurilingual identities by taking into account the individuals’ interactions with their contexts and how these interactions can be affected by and affect their linguistic repertoires. The chapter can also be considered as a useful preliminary step to reassess learners’ experiences of SA programmes, showing the need to take into account (i) students’ communicative repertoire as a whole, including both the development of their plurilingual skills and attitudes, and (ii) the structural opportunities and constraints with which students are confronted in the process of deploying their agency