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Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics
Open accessAbstract
ABSTRACT This article locates Norton's foundational work on identity and investment within the social turn of applied linguistics. It discusses its historical impetus and theoretical anchors, and it illustrates how these ideas have been taken up in recent scholarship. In response to the demands of the new world order, spurred by technology and characterized by mobility, it proposes a comprehensive model of investment, which occurs at the intersection of identity, ideology, and capital. The model recognizes that the spaces in which language acquisition and socialization take place have become increasingly deterritorialized and unbounded, and the systemic patterns of control more invisible. This calls for new questions, analyses, and theories of identity. The model addresses the needs of learners who navigate their way through online and offline contexts and perform identities that have become more fluid and complex. As such, it proposes a more comprehensive and critical examination of the relationship between identity, investment, and language learning. Drawing on two case studies of a female language learner in rural Uganda and a male language learner in urban Canada, the model illustrates how structure and agency, operating across time and space, can accord or refuse learners the power to speak.
Overview
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Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
The article revisits Norton’s foundational identity-and-investment framework and proposes an expanded model in which investment is shaped where identity, ideology, and capital meet. It illustrates the model through two contrasting learners: Henrietta in rural Uganda and Ayrton in urban Canada.
Key findings
- The authors argue that investment should be examined at the meeting point of identity, ideology, and capital, extending earlier work that distinguished investment from motivation and treated learners as socially positioned rather than unitary.
- They review how investment research has spread across North America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Brazil, including studies of Chinese learners, Ugandan digital literacy, and language-teacher identity.
- Henrietta, an 18-year-old female learner in rural Uganda with per-capita income under $1 a day, limited electricity, and no running water, participated in a digital-resources study on HIV/AIDS; her investment was tied to an imagined identity as knowledgeable and connected to Canadians, but constrained by economic, infrastructural, and ideological positioning.
- Ayrton, a 16-year-old Filipino male in a wealthy Vancouver neighborhood whose family emigrated through the Investor Class requiring at least CAN$1.6 million net worth, had multiple digital devices, seamless connectivity, and an online currency-trading course; his capital and habitus supported legitimate participation and an entrepreneurial identity.
Methods
- Conceptual and theoretical article combining a literature review with model-building; the proposed model integrates identity, ideology, and capital.
- Uses two illustrative case studies drawn from prior research: Henrietta from a Uganda HIV/AIDS digital-resources study and Ayrton from a study of digital literacies in home settings.
- Comparative qualitative analysis of structure and agency across time and space; no new large-scale empirical data or statistical analysis is reported.
Limitations
- No formal limitations section is present; the text notes that for Henrietta, whether perceived benefits become durable symbolic capital is yet to be seen.
- Evident from the text: the two cases are illustrative and come from separate prior studies, not a representative sample, so the model is not empirically tested here.
- Evident from the text: the article is largely a review and theoretical proposal relying on secondary literature and selected cases, with no systematic coding or generalizable outcome measures described.
Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.
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Claims the paper makes
14 Own result · 3 No full text of the sources · 2 Sources not found · 2 Own method · 2 No basis given
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The model recognizes that the spaces in which language acquisition and socialization take place have become increasingly deterritorialized and unbounded, and the systemic patterns of control more invisible.”
§ Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics > Abstract
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The model addresses the needs of learners who navigate their way through online and offline contexts and perform identities that have become more fluid and complex.”
§ Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics > Abstract
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“it proposes a comprehensive model of investment, which occurs at the intersection of identity, ideology, and capital.”
§ Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics > Abstract
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Not only is her own economic capital limited, but also the technological infrastructure of her local context is poorly resourced.”
§ Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics > Two case studies
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Indeed, his possession of economic, cultural, and social capital and his identity as a member of a highly industrialized country allow him to position himself as a legitimate participant and contributor in the different affinity spaces he occupies online.”
§ Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics > Two case studies
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The social position of Ayrton as part of a privileged class in a highly industrialized country has made technology natural, providing him with all the affordances of learning.”
§ Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics > Two case studies
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“As presented above, the model we propose responds to the demands and realities of the new world order, locating investment at the intersection of identity, capital, and ideology.”
§ Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics > the model in praxis
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Recognizing how power flows in different directions through these contiguous spaces, learners operating in different fields perform multiple identities.”
§ Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics > the model in praxis
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Governed by different ideologies and possessing varying levels of capital, learners position themselves and are positioned by others in different contexts.”
§ Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics > Identity
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Recognizing that they have the agency to assert their own identities, learners are able to negotiate symbolic capital, reframe relations of power, and challenge normative ways of thinking, in order to claim the right to speak.”
§ Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics > the model in praxis
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“In this respect, the concept of CBSC distinguishes from Stanton-Salazar (2011) understanding of social capital and institutional agents as well as the institutional social capital by Waters and Leung (2013), as both contain little leeway for agency and re-negotiation (Darvin and Norton 2015).”
Ugalde, L., García-Carrión, R., Intxausti, N. I., & Zubiri-Esnaola, H. (2023) · International Journal of Sociology of Education · doi:10.17583/rise.13257 · Cited by 6
“Furthermore, previous research demonstrated that the greater the access to learning opportunities in additional languages, the greater the investment the learner tends to make (Darvin & Norton, 2015).”
BackgroundYoo, J. (2023) · Journal of Language Identity & Education · doi:10.1080/15348458.2022.2163397 · Cited by 3
“The revised investment model put forward by Darvin and Norton (2015) comprises three sub-components: ideology, capital , and identity .”
Teacher and Learner Perspectives on Vocabulary Learning and Teaching (VLT)
Newton, J. (2021) · Springer texts in education · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-79143-8_26 · Cited by 4
Moharami, M., Keary, A., & Kostogriz, A. (2022) · Adult Education Quarterly · doi:10.1177/07417136221129625 · Cited by 3
“Darvin and Norton (2015) believe that investigating language learning can reflect learners’ desire to expand their identities.”
BackgroundXiao, G. (2026) · Modern Language Journal · doi:10.1111/modl.70024 · Cited by 3
“Darvin and Norton (2015) further elaborated that investment is mediated by identity, ideology, and capital, meaning a student may remain silent or speak up depending on how they perceive their identity is valued in the classroom context.”
InfluentialVocational high school students’ identity and investment in learning English in a rural area
Annisa, N., Mirizon, S., & Silvhiany, S. (2023) · Studies in English Language and Education · doi:10.24815/siele.v10i2.27167 · Cited by 8
“According to Darvin and Norton (2015, p. 36) identity is seen as “how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands possibilities for the future”. The world, in this term, relates to the learner’s surroundings and w…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialL2 Investment in the Transnational Context: A Case Study of PRC Scholar Students in Singapore
Liu, C., & Liu, G. (2023) · Journal of English and Applied Linguistics · doi:10.59588/2961-3094.1072 · Cited by 3
Jang, J. (2023) · Social Inclusion · doi:10.17645/si.v11i4.7062 · Cited by 4
“Norton (2013) further developed the concept of imagined communities (e.g., Norton, 2001; Norton & Gao, 2008; Pavlenko & Norton, 2007) and investment (Darvin & Norton, 2015, 2016).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSocial class, generative AI, and the negotiation of unequal digital literacies
Liu, G., & Darvin, R. (2026) · Language Teaching Research · doi:10.1177/13621688261441794 · Cited by 4
Self-citationExploiting multilingualism to sell a ‘monolingual’ experience: The case of language tourism in Malta
Schedel, L. S., & Highet, K. (2023) · Langage et société · doi:10.3917/ls.178.0066 · Cited by 3
Reframing Language Education in the Light of Ecological Linguistics
Novawan, A., Alvarez-Tosalem, S. M., Walker, S. A., Ismailia, T., & Budi, A. S. (2022) · Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research/Advances in social science, education and humanities research · doi:10.2991/assehr.k.220207.001 · Cited by 3
“Thus, considering the body of literature that has grown over the years, there has been an increased interest in non-status quo theories such as post-method pedagogies [15], poststructuralist theories [16] including studies of identity and investment [17], [18], [19], sociocultural theories [20], [21], multilingualism…”
BackgroundSavova, L., & Azarnoosh, M. (2024) · TESOL Journal · doi:10.1002/tesj.809 · Cited by 3
A chronotopic-scalar approach to family language policy research: the case of Azerbaijanis in Iran
Rostami, R., Mirvahedi, S. H., & Mazlum, F. (2026) · Language Policy · doi:10.1007/s10993-025-09759-1 · Cited by 3
“As such, essences such as iden - tity, power, and capital are fluid and contingent upon the shifts/moves within different timespaces (Darvin & Norton, 2015 ).”
Identity construction of multilingual parents in the context of parental engagement
Schörghofer-Queiroz, V. (2022) · European Journal of Applied Linguistics · doi:10.1515/eujal-2022-0011 · Cited by 3
Anderson, R. W. (2022) · Foreign Language Annals · doi:10.1111/flan.12652 · Cited by 5
Hajar, A. (2025) · International Journal of Multilingualism · doi:10.1080/14790718.2025.2475024 · Cited by 3
Identity in Language Learning and Teaching
Norton, B. (2021) · Springer texts in education · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-79143-8_15 · Cited by 3
Self-citationReconceptualizing Language, Language Learning, and the Language Learner in the Age of Globalization
Costa, P. I. D. (2016) · Multilingual education · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-30211-9_2 · Cited by 3
Li, Y., & Hou, J. (2024) · Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development · doi:10.1080/01434632.2024.2363912 · Cited by 3
“We have taken the post-structuralist perspective on identity and the model of investment (Darvin and Norton 2015) as an analytical framework (see Figure 1) to investigate the trajectories that EMPUs take to become multilingual university students, focusing on how they build their identities and…”
InfluentialRajagopal, H. (2025) · Language Awareness · doi:10.1080/09658416.2025.2546594 · Cited by 4
“This approach is especially important for young children learning print or new languages to represent their understanding of the world, as it supports the transformation of their identities through the process of redesigning, and renegotiating texts (Darvin & norton, 2015).”
Metadata
- Authors
- Darvin, R., & Norton, B.
- Affiliations
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Venue
- Annual Review of Applied Linguistics
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2015-03
- Volume
- 35
- Pages
- 36-56
- ISSN
- 0267-1905 (ISSN-L)
- 1471-6356
- OpenAlex
- W1995814878
- Cited by
- 1,186
- References
- 112
- Citations by year
- 2026: 182 · 2025: 152 · 2024: 146 · 2023: 93 · 2022: 141 · 2021: 136 · 2020: 102 · 2019: 72 · 2018: 56 · 2017: 58 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 8
- FWCI
- 349.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Social Sciences › Linguistics and Language › Multilingual Education and Policy
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Linguistics and Language Analysis
- Keywords
- identity, investment, Norton, ideology, capital, language learning, deterritorialization, structure and agency, online and offline learning
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