Choosing to Study Abroad, Work Abroad, or Stay Home: Do Socioeconomic Status, International Posture, and Language Proficiency Make a Difference?

Embracing “the political economy turn,” applied linguistics has increasingly examined socioeconomic class as a central construct in language learning. Prior research highlights links between socioeconomic status (SES) and learning outcomes, often contributing to divides such as the English Divide in South Korea. Yet few studies have systematically incorporated perceived SES as a predictor of learners’ language learning choices. Two additional constructs—international posture and initial proficiency—also remain underexplored despite their potential to shape learners’ selection of learning contexts. To address these gaps, this study examines three groups in Korea ( n = 207)—study abroad sojourners, working holidaymakers, and at‐home students—with respect to their perceived SES, initial proficiency, and international posture, using the Douglas Fir Group's three‐level framework. Mixed‐methods data were collected through surveys, elicited imitation tasks, and interviews, and analyzed through a multinomial logistic regression and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that perceived SES, initial proficiency, and posture collectively predicted learners’ choices across micro‐, meso‐, and macro‐levels. This study demonstrates how individual difference variables interact with meso‐level structures and broader macro‐level sociocultural ideologies, ultimately shaping learners’ decision‐making processes and language learning trajectories.