Learning English as a Foreign Language: A Vehicle to Another Self? A Multiple Case Study of Saudi Female University Learners of English

Research on the relationship between language learning and identity has received more attention in recent years. It is argued that there is a two-way relationship between language learning and identity i.e., one’s sense of self; as a learner’s identity affects his/her learning, and learning a new language has implications on a learner’s identity. Most studies within this field have focused on how learner identity affects the learning process and its outcomes in second language settings. Not as much attention has been paid to if and how language learning may influence how a person views himself/herself. In this study, the goal is to explore how Saudi female learners of English as a foreign language view themselves and the factors affecting them during the learning process. The study uses second language socialization as a theoretical framework because it is a comprehensive approach that acknowledges the dynamic nature of identity and the social cultural nature of language learning. A multiple case study design was used in this investigation. Interviews, diaries, field notes and a background information form were used to gather data from six Saudi female university students of English. Cross-case comparison of the results of thematic analysis revealed that participants’ identities were dynamic as they associated learning English with being different in the areas of knowledge and culture, confidence and power, acceptance and understanding, self-expression and lifestyle. The results also revealed the complexity of the participants’ identities as they described their identities as Western, hybrid and multiple. Through learning English, learners appeared to create images of how they wanted to be in the future i.e., imagined identities. The findings also revealed that the learners’ experience of learning English was affected by internal factors, such as investment and agency, and external factors, such as people’s attitudes toward English and media and social media