How perceived rights and duties influence identity positions in an international TESOL graduate program

The continued push to internationalize Korean higher education means that international and Korean students are enrolling in courses that are undergoing dynamic changes that neither group may be prepared for. This research investigated how the experiences of international students and Korean students who attended the same TESOL graduate school assigned identity positions to each other and their professors during such courses. Using positioning theory allowed this qualitative study to illustrate how participants assigned perceived rights and duties to act, know, or believe in accordance with who they believed they, and other people were, on their program. Violations of these perceived rights and duties resulted in assigning negative identity positions that previously were limited in description to vague “tensions” which impacted international student performance. Findings explain how cultural differences connected to language, participation, hierarchy, and friendships were keenly felt by all participants, and the perceived rights and duties that were violated due to these differences reinforced the marginalized identity position some international students felt.