Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

English Language Department, Faculty of Humanities, Imam Khomeini International University (IKIU), Qazvin, Iran.

Abstract

The two most important defining aspects of L1 national identity are language and social belonging that are manifested through the individual’s inclinations toward the mother tongue or the official language and the sociocultural heritage of the country in which people are living. Moreover, based on the available literature, L2 identity may also exert an influence over the L1 national identity; however, this claim has not been securitized through valid large-scale and comprehensive surveys. Therefore, this study sought to shed light on the relationship between various second language identity dimensions (SLID) and L1 national identity. A sample of 1018 Iranian EFL learners who were selected based on the purposive snowball sampling filled out a researcher-made and validated Multidimensional L2 Identity Questionnaire (MLIQ) and a National Identity Questionnaire (NIQ). Data analysis using multiple regression revealed that the constructed SLID model could significantly contribute to the L1 national identity. The results also showed that the following four dimensions of SLID were significant predictors of national identity: transitive vs. intransitive, convergent vs. divergent, homogeneous vs. heterogeneous, and active vs. passive dimensions. Among these, active vs. passive and convergent vs. divergent dimensions had strong contributions to explaining the degree of the L2 national identity. These findings can help EFL teachers and learners develop a positive L2 identity with balanced dimensions that also promotes L1 national identity

Keywords

Main Subjects

Aliakbari, M., & Amiri, M. (2018). Foreign language identity and Iranian learners’ achievement: A relational approach. System, 76, 80–90.
Balam, O. (2013). Overt language attitudes and linguistic identities among multilingual speakers in northern Belize. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics, 6(2), 247–277.
Barkhuizen, G. (2017). Language teacher identity research: An introduction. In G. Barkhuizen (Ed.), Reflections on language teacher identity research (pp. 1–11). New York, NY: Routledge.
Beacco, J. C. (2005). Languages and language repertoires: Plurilingualism as a way of life in Europe. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
Benson, P., Barkhuizen, G., Bodycott, P., & Brown, J. (2013). Second language identity in narratives of study abroad. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Block, D. (2006). Multilingual identities in a global city: London stories. London: Palgrave.
Boussebaa, M., & Brown, A. D. (2016). Englishization, identity, regulation and imperialism. Organization Studies, 38(1), 7–29.
Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2004). Language and identity. In A. Duranti (Ed.), A companion to linguistic anthropology (pp. 369–394). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Chiang, L.-H. N., & Yang, C.-H. S. (2008). Learning to be Australian: Adaptation and identity formation of young Taiwanese-Chinese immigrants in Melbourne, Australia. Pacific Affairs, 81, 241–258.
Chiesa, L. (2007). Subjectivity and otherness: A philosophical reading of Lacan. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2015). Identity and a model of investment in applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 64–84.
De Costa, P. I., & Norton, B. (2017). Introduction: Identity, transdisciplinarity, and the good language teacher. The Modern Language Journal, 101(S1), 3–14.
Ellinger, B. (2000). The relationship between ethnolinguistic identity and English language for native Russian speakers and native Hebrew speakers in Israel. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 21(4), 292−307.
Eslamdoost, S., King, K. A., & Tajeddin, Z. (2019). Professional identity conflict and (re)construction among English teachers in Iran. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 19(5), 327–341.
Fitriati, S. W., & Rata, E. (2020). Language, globalisation, and national identity: A study of English-medium policy and practice in Indonesia. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 19(1), 1–14.
Giles, H. (1980). Accommodation theory: Some new directions. York Papers in Linguistics, 105(9), 345–360.
Haque, E., & Patrick, D. (2015). Indigenous languages and the racial hierarchisation of language policy in Canada. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 36(1), 27–41. 
Higgins, C. (2014). Intersecting scapes and new millennium identities in language learning. Language Teaching, 48(3), 373–389. 
Hobsbawm, E. J. (1990). Nations and nationalism since 1780. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hobsbawn, E. (1996). Language, Culture, and National Identity. Social Research, 63(4), 1065–1080.
Jackson, J. (2008). Language, identity and study abroad: Sociocultural perspectives (studies in applied linguistics). Sheffield: Equinox Publishing Limited.
Karam, F. J., Kibler, A. K., Johnson, H. E., & Molloy Elreda, L. (2019). Identity, positionality, and peer social networks: a case study of an adolescent refugee background student. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 19(3), 208–223.
Khatib, M., & Rezaei, S. (2013). A model and questionnaire of language identity in Iran: A structural equation modeling approach. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34(7), 690–708.
Kramsch, C. (2009). The multilingual subject: What foreign language learners say about their experience and why it matters. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kubota, R. (2002). The impact of globalization on language teaching in Japan. In D. Block, & D. Cameron (Eds.), Globalization and language teaching (pp. 13–28). London: Routledge.
Kulyk, V. (2011). Language identity, linguistic diversity and political cleavages: Evidence from Ukraine. Nations and Nationalism, 17(3), 627–648.
Little, D. (2020). Language learner autonomy: Rethinking language teaching. Language Teaching, 53(1), 1–10.
Maeder–Qian, J. (2018). Intercultural experiences and cultural identity reconstruction of multilingual Chinese international students in Germany. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 39(7), 576–589.
McKee, R., & McKee, D. (2020). Globalization, hybridity, and vitality in the linguistic ideologies of New Zealand Sign Language users. Language & Communication, 74, 164–181.
Mitchell, R., Tracy–Ventura, N., & Huensch, A. (2020). After study abroad: the maintenance of multilingual identity among Anglophone languages graduates. The Modern Language Journal, 104(2), 327–344. 
Morgan, B. (2004). Teacher identity as pedagogy: Towards a field-internal conceptualisation in bilingual and second language education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 7(2), 172–188.
Morgan, B., & Clarke, M. (2011). Identity in second language teaching and learning. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (Vol. 2) (pp. 817–836). New York: Routledge.
Mostafaei Alaei, M., & Ghamari, M. R. (2013).  EFL learning, EFL motivation types and national identity: In conflict or in coalition. Issues in Language Teaching, 2(2), 85–111.
Nasrollahi Shahri, M. N. (2017). Constructing a voice in English as a foreign language: Identity and engagement. TESOL Quarterly, 52(1), 85–109.
Norton Pierce, B. (1995). Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 9–31.
Norton Pierce, B. (2013). Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation (2nd ed.). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Pallant, J. (2010). SPSS survival manual: a step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS. Maidenhead: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill.
Pavlenko, A., & Norton, B. (2007). Imagined communities, identity, and English language learning. In J. Cummins, & C. Davison (Eds.), International handbook of English language teaching (pp. 669–680). New York: Springer.
Phillipson, R. (2018). Linguistic imperialism and NNESTs. In J. I. Liontas (Ed.), The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching (pp. 1–7). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Pyle, K. B. (2007). Japan rising: The resurgence of Japanese power and purpose. New York: Public Affairs.
Pew Research Center. (2017). What it takes to truly be “one of us.” Retrieved from http://assets.pewresearch.org/wpcontent/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/14094140/Pew-Research-Center-National-Identity-Report-FINAL-February-1-2017.pdf
Razmjoo, S. A. (2010). Language and identity in the Iranian context: The impact of identity aspects on EFL learners' achievement. The Journal of Teaching Language Skills, 2(2), 99–121.
Rezaei, S. (2013). A longitudinal investigation of EFL learners’ identity construction in the Iranian context. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran.
Smith, A. M. (2006). Inclusion in English language teacher training and education. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Lancaster University, UK.
Rivers, D. J. (2020). Contributions of national identity and personality to foreign language communication and contact attitudes in Japan. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 19(6), 379–394.
Sbiri, K. (2017). Worlds of transitive identities. Open Cultural Studies, 1(1), 380–390.
Tabouret-Keller, A. (1998). Language and identity. In F. Coulmas (Ed.), The handbook of sociolinguistics (pp. 316–326). Oxford: Blackmail.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Taylor, F. (2010). A quadripolar model of identity in adolescent foreign language learners. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Nottingham.
Taylor, D. M., Meynard, R., & Rheault, E. (1977). Threat to ethnic identity and second language learning. In H. Giles (Ed.), Language, ethnicity and intergroup relations (pp. 99−116). New York: Academic Press.
Trofimovich, P., & Turuševa, L. (2019). Language attitudes and ethnic identity: examining listener perceptions of Latvian-Russian bilingual speakers. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 19(1), 9–24.
Trudell, B., & Schroeder, L. (2007). Reading methodologies for African languages: Avoiding linguistic and pedagogical imperialism. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 20(3), 165–180.
Woolard, K. (1998). Introduction: Language ideology as a field of inquiry. In B. Schieffelin, K. Woolard, & P. Kroskrity (Eds.), Language ideologies: Practice and theory (pp. 3–47). New York: Oxford University Press.
Zapryanova, G., & Surzhko-Harned, L. (2015). The effect of supranational identity on cultural values in Europe. European Political Science Review, 8(4), 547–566.
Zheng, X. (2017). Translingual identity as pedagogy: International teaching assistants of English in college composition classrooms. The Modern Language Journal, 101(S1), 29–44.