Regardless of which aspect of identity you start with, the idea of intersectionality can seem overwhelming at first glance. At its core, intersectionality examines the multiple facets of identity that make up each person's life and shows how these different aspects overlap to affect how people interact with the world around them and how they impact levels of power and discrimination each person experiences. Popularized as a specific concept by Crenshaw (1998), she describes intersectionality through one example of Black women who lost a discrimination lawsuit because the company hired Black people and the company hired women, though failed to consider that the company did not hire Black people who were also women. These overlapping identity factors meant they faced two layers of oppression, which had been falsely considered mutually exclusive.

But, not all immigrants learn a new language, and not all language learners are immigrants. Brutt-Griffler (2020) notes that "the most prevalent conditions throughout recorded history as well as today have been those of multilingualism; monolingualism always has been and remains the exception" (p. 156). In many cultures, knowing two or more languages is the expectation and accepted social reality. The trend in the United States, among other areas, of monolingualism is amplifying the power gap and biases against language learners. There are multiple factors contributing to this trend. One is, as Brutt-Griffler describes, the common use of English as a lingua franca, supported by nationalist ideals of only knowing English (2020). This form of nationalism has close ties to linguicism and racism, indicating power of one language over another.

For English speakers who are learning another language, there is also a level of power inherent in the system. For many native English speakers, foreign languages are often a part of required curriculum in high school and/or college and university. Once they graduate, however, they have the privilege to be able to forget what they learned due to the bias of English being the only language they "need." Parrish discusses how those in the higher class have the money to pay for learning whatever language they want at as high of a quality they want, while those in lower classes are left to learn languages based on the resources provided by or emphasized by the government (2023). This has many impacts, both among heritave learners and English learners. Diao and Wang (2021) discuss how heritage learners can face feelings of inauthenticity, particularly if they are learning or speak a dialect other than the "standard" one. Qin and Li (2020) similarly discuss how English as a Second Language (ESL) students have to navigate complex interactions between many cultures, saying "the ESL classroom is not a neutral site of language learning, but a gendered and racialized space in which language learners constantly negotiate the complex interactions of different identity inscriptions" (p. 1047).

Because of the inherent nature of intersectionality as being overlapping, it is impossible to succinctly summarize every potential form of intersectionality a language learner might experience. But, by examining some of the reasons for language learning, barriers language learners face, and how language learning is evolving, one can begin to identify places where the onion peels back to reveal even more layers underneath. This post is not the end-all, be-all to intersectionality within language learning; rather, it is a simple overview of the topic, focusing on some of the aspects studied most frequently. I encourage you to explore the references I have used in this post, as well as find additional resources on the topic, explore how your own identities intersect with each other, and explore other intersectionalities language learners might possess.