‘They have a go at me, that I’m a good English guy. Well, I’m Polish as well’: how bilingual Polish adolescents in the UK negotiate the position of ‘linguistic expert’

This paper explores the position of ‘linguistic expert’, and how being positioned as an expert affects linguistic ethnic identity construction a group Polish-English bilingual adolescents living in UK. Findings indicate that while participants are often experts English and/or Polish, this may not correspond with their own feelings competency. In UK, engage language brokering, practice which presumes knowledge each do always feel they possess. At school, resist regarded fluent English; when visiting Poland, find Polish lacking. Closer examination participants’ narratives suggests concept ‘expert’ is open to negotiation, both challenge exploit notions expertise negotiate identities.