The present study examines how the interplay of fear and desire plays a role in the imagination of English learners’ future, and in the construction of accessible and imagined communities. The study employs a multimodal analytical framework to uncover how multiple modes are orchestrated to establish symbolic and representative values.
Alongside the advancement of technology and globalisation, English has consolidated its status as a global language functioning as an index for desired personnel. In the climate of change and the reshaping of local and global communities, questions arise as to how individuals can make sense of themselves in relation to English, and how they view the impact of English on their life and career. Although many studies have attended to the notions of desire and motivation, there has been less discussion of how fear plays a role in the pursuit of language learning and imagination for the future. Grounded in the understanding that fear as a primary, foundational emotion can impact learning, the study explores how these English learners envision themselves when confronted with the fear of failing to acquire and become proficient in English. In doing so, the study examines in which ways does emotion, particularly the notion of fear and desire, play a role in the formation of imagined English-speaker identities and communities. This study investigates the imagined ELL identities and communities in comparison with the construction of ‘past/current’ identities. Grounded on the notion of imagined communities and identity (Pavlenko & Norton, 2007), the study explores the drawings and written descriptions of 35 Korean undergraduate students who present their expected or desired transformation of identity and communities taking place through English learning. A multimodal analysis was employed to unravel the multiple and fluid attributes of ELL identity from its visual and narrative elements (Jewitt, 2009; Kress, 2010). The findings yield insights into the goals, orientations, and dispositions of ELLs towards English learning and themselves. With primary emotions including happiness and fear, the study captures how such emotional facets play a role in the shaping of learner identity and further influence learners’ decisions and their pursuit of language learning.
