Abstract
There is growing recognition that study abroad is seen as a resource for shaping neoliberal subjects who possess the skills to join a mobile, globalised workforce. While existing research has explored the advantages study abroad offers sojourners in their careers, less attention has been accorded to how individuals experience return contexts in light of these social imaginaries of study abroad. This paper utilises theories of scale and positioning to examine the return experiences of 12 Japanese high-school students who spent a year abroad in various locations. Through qualitative analysis of interviews conducted a year after their return, our findings illustrate how the linguistic resources acquired by the informants abroad were marginalised within the local scale of the return classroom, particularly in languages other than English. Further, the results show how upon return, the informants struggled to occupy legitimate Japanese identities and were instead positioned as outsiders. We therefore argue that the tensions between globalising imaginaries of study abroad and local imaginaries of identity create a disjuncture, with ramifications for sojourners’ desire and ability to maintain multilingual repertoires cultivated abroad. This has implications for both individuals who elect to study abroad and for wider policy aims to develop globally competent workers.
