Using autobiographical experiences as a framework for inquiry, this article sets out to question the often unexamined assumptions that surround the definition of 'proficiency' in second/foreign languages. In so doing, it opens up possibilities of inquiry into the power-laden relationships between speaker agency, cultural belonging and self-expression that are equally relevant to intra-linguistic contexts. Recasting our linguistic identities as performative acts that respond to a number of personal and social agendas, the article concludes by considering some general implications of speaker agency and the emotional stakes inherent in language use for the teacher of English in the multilingual classroom.