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.