Language as a Sociocultural Instrument of Power Characteristics of Foreign Students' Identity Construction Exemplarily Identified Using the Concept of Selbstnarration

Discursive sensemaking is a dynamic process, which depends on semiotic constructions of the inner world and the outer world (MILES woo). Situationally, people think of themselves as individuals, however linguistically, they also refer to a collective. There seems to be an interdependence of the "inner me" of the individual and the "outside all" of the respective collective. Verbal/nonverbal communication serves as a means of mediation between the inner world and the outside world. In a study investigating foreign students, stigmatization effects by language use were revealed. These effects are interpreted using the concept of Selbstnarration (KEUPP et al. 2002).