System 108 (2022) 102841 Available online 11 June 2022 0346-251X/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Exploring learner identity in the blended learning context: A case study of collaborative writing Jing Chen a , Jie Tan a , Jun Lei b, * a Sun Yat-sen University, School of Foreign Languages, West Xingang Road, Haizhu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510275, China b Ningbo University, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Fenghua Road, Jiangbei District, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, 315211, China A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Learner identity Blended learning Collaborative writing Infuencing factor Case study ABSTRACT While there has been much research on language learner identity in traditional face-to-face classrooms, less attention has been paid to learner identity construction and its infuencing fac- tors in the blended learning environment. To bridge this gap, this study adopted a case-study approach to investigate six Chinese university students’ learner identities constructed in the online and offine sessions of a blended English for academic purposes (EAP) course focusing on collaborative writing. Data included class observations and recordings, history logs on the writing platform, and semi-structured interviews. Different types of learner identities were identifed from participants’ verbal characteristics in offine classroom discussions (i.e., Group Leader, Spokesperson, Summarizer, and Follower) and from their writing revisions on the online writing platform (i.e., Industrious Contributor, Prudent Reader, Procrastinator, and Cooperative Writer). Both individual and contextual factors were found to infuence the construction of learner identity in the blended learning environment for collaborative writing. The study also found that some students maintained their learner identities across the two cohesive learning sessions of the blended course whereas others did not. These fndings provide implications for course design, pedagogical practice, and materials development. 1. Introduction Educational practices involve “not only construction of knowledge, but also the construction of a sense of self”, i.e., identity (Coll & Falsaf, 2010, p. 213). As a technical term, identity was originally employed to explore the process of self-recognizing and being recognized by others in certain social contexts (Gee, 2000). In educational settings, much research has centered on individuals’ gender identity and ethnic identity, and a call has been made to shift the focus to learner identity (Coll & Falsaf, 2010). The identity of a learner develops as s/he studies in new learning situations based upon her or his prior learning experiences (Sinha, 1999). The concept of learner identity has been applied to probe into learners’ participation and dynamic performance within and across various learning contexts, among which language education is an essential one. Regarded as social practices abounding with interactions (Norton, 2010), language learning and use feature the organization of experiences and the negotiation of identities (Teng, 2019). Over the past decade, a number of studies (e.g., Nasrollahi Shahri, 2018; Wearmouth et al., 2011) have explored language learners’ identity con- struction in traditional face-to-face classrooms, covering a range of topics from writer identity to second language-mediated identity. * Corresponding author. Faculty of Foreign Languages, Ningbo University, Fenghua Road, Jiangbei District, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, 315211, China. E-mail address: leijun@nbu.edu.cn (J. Lei). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect System journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/system https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102841 Received 18 August 2021; Received in revised form 4 June 2022; Accepted 8 June 2022