What's in a Name? A look at the adoption of English names by Korean learners of English

There is a common practice within South Korea of learners of English adopting Anglicized names as part of their language learning process. This article reports on the findings of a month-long study of six adult Korean learners of English, plus two personal narratives written by two Korean teachers of English just prior to their graduation from an MA TESOL program. Using the notions of identity and investment as a framework, this paper focuses specifically on the participants' reasons and motivations behind choosing, accepting, or rejecting English names as part of their language learning or professional identities. The analysis shows the competing discourses surrounding this practice, which have been paradoxically normalized and resisted by the eight participants considered in the study.