The complexity within the same cohort of international students-three Taiwanese students' identity transformations

Although the complexity of Chinese-speaking international students’ (CHISs) identity transformation has been emphasized in previous research, there is a perceived linear and causal pattern between studying abroad and being intercultural. This pattern of thinking results in the risk of treating all the CHISs as the same in each cohort of students. Drawing on Bourdieu’s notion of habitus, this auto/ethnographic study followed three Taiwanese international postgraduate students’ lives over one year to elucidate the complexity of their identity transformation. The findings suggest a variety of identity changes resulting from the participants’ evaluation of their past, present and future situations.