An exploration of Chinese students’ academic discourse socialisation through portfolio assessment at a UK university

Research on academic discourse socialisation (ADS) has predominantly focused either on a broad spectrum of learning throughout university life or on specific tasks that treat oral and written academic discourse as separate entities. Less is known about how ADS unfolds within alternative data sources that integrate multiple modalities and multiple socialising agents across sequenced subtasks within a single assessment. This multiple-case study investigates how Chinese students experience ADS through a portfolio assessment at a UK university. Drawing on relational maps and semi-structured interviews, the study finds that portfolio amplified ADS through its staged, multi-agent, and feedback-rich design, although the focus and quality of feedback were different. Early low-stakes written tasks scaffolded students’ entry into disciplinary discourse and lower task anxiety, while later collaborative written and oral tasks created more spaces for identity (re)construction. Throughout this process, participants (re)interpreted classroom silence as a negotiation of intercultural differences and attributed academic and emotional support to different socialising agents, including L1 and L2 peers, Chinese peers, and the tutor. The study highlights the value of culturally responsive portfolio design in supporting recognition and fostering positive identity construction for international students in multilingual classrooms.