Facing Rootlessness: Language and Identity Construction in Teaching and Research Practices Among Bilingual Returnee Scholars in China

This qualitative study examines Chinese returnee scholars’ language practices in teaching and research their identity construction during early career years. Using interviews drawing upon poststructuralist theory, it the adaptations of twelve bilingual scholars to new academic communities English departments, publishing choices, throughout this process. The findings showed these constructed professional identities through negotiating as a ways interwoven with students’ needs, institutional policies, past experiences. were found be “rootless” terms possessing inadequate social cultural capital locally, resulting limited collaboration difficulties developing sufficiently robust competency publish bilingually. Some scholars, however, employed accumulated exercise agency bringing about changes environments. Implications for university policymakers are discussed.