Research has shown that late-arriving teen English language learners (ELLs) are deeply rooted in the sociocultural and educational system of their home country for a majority of their schooling time (Duff, 2001; Minichello, 2001). In their transition to a new society in North America, this group encounters sociocultural and linguistic differences in their daily lives. Through a lens entitled Critical Multiple Social Spaces, which combines the Multiple Worlds Model (Phelan et al., 1991), the concept of Third Space (Bhabha, 1994) and a sociocultural perspective on language use (Fairclough, 2001; Pennycook, 2010), this qualitative case study focuses on 10 Chinese ELL adolescents who came to Canada after the age of 15, and examines their cross-trajectory experiences of English practice in their daily lives and their language identities. At the time of this study, they were at the stage of completing high school and applying for admission to higher education institutions. Findings showed that this group’s language use in daily life is full of conflicts, negotiation and consolidation, not only at school as a usual space of contested language practice, but also at home, with peers and in other spaces. At school, social division existed both in and out of class, yet such social division was not merely due to ELLs’ reluctance to integrate. Participants positioned themselves differently in English Literature courses and core classes in accordance with their perceived proficiency. Home, generally regarded as a traditionally stable space of language practice, became another site of complex dynamics. Peer networks also emerged as embodying similar complications. In addition to racial and ethnic factors, age on arrival and length of residence played a significant role in social interaction, impacting both same-ethnic and cross-ethnic peer networks. Based on these findings, four categories are identified pertaining to participants’ cross-trajectory language experiences, in which English spaces are positioned differently in relation to other spaces. Equally noteworthy are the dynamics between social spaces, social relations and language use, which shape – and are shaped by – symbolic power, investment and language identities. The implications of these findings on ELL adolescents’ language use in a broader migration space are also discussed.

Research has shown that late-arriving teen English language learners (ELLs) are deeply rooted in the sociocultural and educational system of their home country for a majority of their schooling time (Duff, 2001; Minichello, 2001). In their transition to a new society in North America, this group encounters sociocultural and linguistic differences in their daily lives. Through a lens entitled Critical Multiple Social Spaces, which combines the Multiple Worlds Model (Phelan et al., 1991), the concept of Third Space (Bhabha, 1994) and a sociocultural perspective on language use (Fairclough, 2001; Pennycook, 2010), this qualitative case study focuses on 10 Chinese ELL adolescents who came to Canada after the age of 15, and examines their cross-trajectory experiences of English practice in their daily lives and their language identities. At the time of this study, they were at the stage of completing high school and applying for admission to higher education institutions. Findings showed that this group’s language use in daily life is full of conflicts, negotiation and consolidation, not only at school as a usual space of contested language practice, but also at home, with peers and in other spaces. At school, social division existed both in and out of class, yet such social division was not merely due to ELLs’ reluctance to integrate. Participants positioned themselves differently in English Literature courses and core classes in accordance with their perceived proficiency. Home, generally regarded as a traditionally stable space of language practice, became another site of complex dynamics. Peer networks also emerged as embodying similar complications. In addition to racial and ethnic factors, age on arrival and length of residence played a significant role in social interaction, impacting both same-ethnic and cross-ethnic peer networks. Based on these findings, four categories are identified pertaining to participants’ cross-trajectory language experiences, in which English spaces are positioned differently in relation to other spaces. Equally noteworthy are the dynamics between social spaces, social relations and language use, which shape – and are shaped by – symbolic power, investment and language identities. The implications of these findings on ELL adolescents’ language use in a broader migration space are also discussed.