Impacts of the English Language Acquisition on Language Learners’ Culture and Identity: The Iranian EFL Contexts

Authors

Sadegh Rahimi Pordanjani Monash University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34050/elsjish.v6i4.30989

Keywords:

Cultural-Linguistic-Identity Impacts, Cultural Imperialism, English Language Teaching (ELT), Linguistic Imperialism, Iranian EFL Learners

Abstract

Researchers and sociolinguists report that culture and language are inextricably intertwined by highlighting “language is culture and culture is language”, they believe that language is a crucial tool for individuals to maintain their culture and identity. Due to several functions of the English language in different sectors such as education, communication, and business, the number of language learners willing to learn this language is growing. As a result, numerous concerns have been raised in the field of sociolinguistics towards the acquisition of this language. Sociolinguists have been worried about some major effects of the English language acquisition on language learners’ mother-tongue, culture, and identity. They report that English as a major language influences many minor languages and changes the language learners' culture and identity negatively. This article aims to review various literature in order to identify some of the impacts of the English language learning which can have influential roles on the Iranian EFL learners’ culture and identity in language centers and universities.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abdollahzadeh, E., & Baniasad, S. (2010). Ideologies in the imported English textbooks: EFL learners and teachers’ awareness and attitude. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 2(217), 1-17.

Abednia, A., & Izadinia, M. (2013). Critical pedagogy in ELT classroom: Exploring contributions of critical literacy to learners’ critical consciousness. Language Awareness, 22(4), 338-352.

Ansre, G. (2017). Four rationalizations for maintaining European languages in education in Africa. In African Languages/Langues Africaines (pp. 10-17). Routledge.

Ashraf, H., Motallebzadeh, K., & Kafi, Z. (2013). On the Relation between English Textbooks and Iranian EFL Learners. Acculturation. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(9), 1658.

Aswad, M., Rahman, F., Said, I. M., Hamuddin, B., & Nurchalis, N. F. (2019). A software to increase English learning outcomes: An acceleration model of English as the second language. The Asian EFL Journal, 26(6.2), 157.

Ball, J.S. (1990). Politics and policy making in education: Explorations in policy sociology. London: Routledge.

Beltran S, L. R. (1978). Communication and cultural domination: USA-Latin American case. Media Asia, 5(4), 183-192.

Berns, M. (1990). Contexts of competence: Social and cultural considerations in communicative language teaching. Springer Science & Business Media.

Borjian, M. (2013). English in post-revolutionary Iran: From indigenization to internationalization (Vol. 29). Multilingual Matters.

Burden, R. L., & Williams, M. (1997). Psychology for language teachers: a social constructivist approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University.

Canagarajah, A. S. (2005). Accommodating tensions in language-in-education policies: An afterword. Decolonisation, globalisation: Language in education policy and practice. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Dahmardeh, D. M. (2009). A preliminary research on textbook evaluation: how to make the Iranian secondary school’s English language textbooks communicative?. VDM Publishing.

Dixon, L. Q. (2009). Assumptions behind Singapore’s language-in-education policy: implications for language planning and second language acquisition. Language Policy, 8(2), 117.

Ghaemi, F., Oghabi, M. (2015). Cultural constraints in foreign language learning in Iranian context. In-ternational Journal of Research Studies in LanguageLearning, 5(3), 67-73. https://doi.org/10.5861/ijrsll.2015.1250

Gray, J. (2000). The ELT coursebook as cultural artefact: How teachers censor and adapt. Academic.oup.

Hall, S. (1990). Cultural Identity and Diaspora'in Identity: Culture, Community, Difference, ed. Jonathan Rutherford.

Hanafiah, W., Aswad, M., Sahib, H., Yassi, A. H., & Mousavi, M. S. (2022). The impact of CALL on vocabulary learning, speaking skill, and foreign language speaking anxiety: the case study of Indonesian EFL learners. Education Research International,1-13.

Hassan, M. M. (2015). English Literary Studies: Including Islamic Perspectives in Pedagogy and Practice. The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 32(1), 1.

Hejazi, M., & Fatemi, A. H. (2015). The Impact of Linguistic Imperialism on Iranian EFL Learners’ Home Culture Detachment. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 6(1), 117-122.

Khatib, M., & Rezaei, S. (2012). The portrait of an Iranian as an English Language Learner: A case of identity reconstruction. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 2(3), 81-93.

Kramsch, C., & Widdowson, H. G. (1998). Language and culture. Oxford University Press.

Morris, N. (2002). The myth of unadulterated culture meets the threat of imported media. Media, Culture & Society, 24(2), 278-289.

Naji Meidani, E., & Pishghadam, R. (2013). Analysis of English language textbooks in the light of English as an International Language (EIL): A comparative study. International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning, 2.

Ndura, E. (2004). ESL and cultural bias: An analysis of elementary through high school textbooks in the Western United States of America.

Pennycook, A. (1995, October). Development, culture and language: Ethical concerns in a postcolonial world. In The Fourth International Conference on Language and Development (pp. 13-15).

Phillipson, R. (1992). ELT: the native speaker's burden?. ELT journal, 46(1), 12-18.

Phillipson, R. (2008). Lingua franca or lingua frankensteinia? English in European integration and globalisation 1. World Englishes, 27(2), 250-267.

Phillipson, R. (2009). Disciplines of English and disciplining by English. Asian EFL Journal, 11(4), 8-30.

Pishghadam, R., Hashemi, M. R., & Bazri, E. (2013). Specifying the underlying constructs of home culture attachment scale. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 1.

Rahman, F., Abbas, A., Hasyim, M., Rahman, F., Abbas, A., & Hasyim, M. (2019). Facebook group as media of learning writing in ESP context: A case study at Hasanuddin University. Asian EFL Journal Research Articles, 26(6.1), 153-167.

Rahimi, S. P., & Guntur, L. M. F. (2019). Investigating the Implementation of Critical Literacy Approach in the Middle-East Education Contexts: Three Main Constraints. ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 2(3), 410-418.

Rahimi, A., & Sahragard, R. (2007). Critical discourse analysis. Tehran: Jungle Publications.

Riazi, A. (2005). The four language stages in the history of Iran. Decolonisation, globalisation: Language-in-education policy and practice, 100-116.

Risager, K. (2007). Language and culture pedagogy: From a national to a transnational paradigm (Vol. 14). Multilingual Matters.

Ritzer, G. (2011). Globalization: the essentials. John Wiley & Sons.

Roohani, A., & Molana, E. (2013). An Investigation into Cultural Representation in Interchange Textbooks. Issues in Language Teaching, 2(2), 113-136.

Sarmela, M. (1977). What is cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism and cultural identity, 13-36.

Talebinezhad, M. R., & Aliakbari, M. (2003). ESL, EFL, EIL Revisited&58; Investigation, Evaluation and Justification of a Shift in the Current ELT Models in Iran. Linguistik online, 10(1), 21-28.

Tollefson, J. W. (1991). Planning language, planning inequality. New York, 12.

Zarei, G. R., & Khalessi, M. (2011). Cultural load in English language textbooks: An analysis of interchange series. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 294-301.

Downloads

Published

2023-12-02

How to Cite

Rahimi Pordanjani, S. (2023). Impacts of the English Language Acquisition on Language Learners’ Culture and Identity: The Iranian EFL Contexts. ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 6(4), 665-670. https://doi.org/10.34050/elsjish.v6i4.30989