This articlereportson a qualitativemultiplecase studythatexplored the academicdiscoursesocializationexperiencesof L2 learnersin a Canadian Groundedin thenotionof of university. "community prac- tice"(Lave&Wenger1,991,p.89),thestudyexaminedhowL2learners negotiatedtheirparticipationand membershipin theirnewL2 class- roomcommunities, in classdiscussionsT.he particularly open-ended included6female studentfsrom and10of participants graduate Japan theircourseinstructorSst.udent interviewasn,dclassroom self-reports, observationwserecollectedoveran entireacademicyeartoprovidean ofthestudents' abouttheir in-depthl,ongitudinaalnalysis perspectives classparticipationacrossthecurriculumT.hreecase studiesillustrate thatstudentsfaced a major challengein negotiatingcompetence, identities,and power relations,which was necessaryfor them to and be as and membersof participate recognized legitimate competent theirclassroomcommunitiesT.he studentsalso attemptedto shape theirown learningand participationby exercisingtheirpersonal and their whichwere agency activelynegotiating positionalities, locally constructedin a classroom. forclassroom given Implications practices and futureresearchare also discussed.