This article debates the findings of an empirical inquiry that examines the relationship between study‐abroad experiences, learner identity, and pronunciation. It asserts that the role of pronunciation as a personal domain of meaning‐making justifies more attention than it has hitherto had. To this end, it explores the narratives of Canadian learners, studying abroad in Germany, in relation to discourses of language learning, culture, and identity, employing a Critical Discourse Analysis approach. The data, gained from semi‐structured interviews and e‐journals, display that learners’ perceptions of pronunciation are closely related to their views of the native‐speaker ideal, affecting their self‐constructions and interpretations of learning experience. In conclusion, the study advocates a more differentiated comprehension of pronunciation and its implications for language teaching and study abroad.