English Language Learning and Imagined Communities in the Iranian EFL Context

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Sadjad University, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

The present paper reports a study conducted among Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, addressing the critical issue of imagined identity/community within a globalized world. The concepts of “imagined identities” and “imagined communities” (ICs) refer to the internalized self-conceptions learners develop regarding who they aspire to be and the broader social groups they envision themselves as part of in the context of language learning, respectively. Drawing on Norton’s (2000, 2001) framework of ICs, this study focused on the diverse imaginations that Iranian EFL learners possess while learning English. The study involved five participants, aged between 13 and 36, and employed a qualitative approach utilizing semi-structured interviews for data collection. Through these interviews, rich narratives illustrating the learners’ unique perspectives emerged. The findings revealed that while the imagined identities/communities differed among participants, a common thread was their significant influence on guiding learners through the language learning process. Moreover, the research indicated that a lack of awareness regarding learners’ desired membership in their ICs could detrimentally impact their engagement and commitment to language learning, often resulting in various forms of non-participation in the classroom. Pedagogical implications of the study for EFL teaching practices, emphasizing the importance of creating classroom environments that validate and support learners' ICs and foster their imagined identities/communities as essential components of effective language instruction, are discussed. The study also offers recommendations for future research endeavors to further explore the dynamic interplay between imagined identities/communities and language learning outcomes.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Anderson, B. (1991). ICs: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. London: Verso.
Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Barkhuizen, G. (2016). A short story approach to analyzing teacher (imagined) identities over time. TESOL Quarterly, 50(3), 655-683. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.311
Block, D. (2003). The social turn in second language acquisition. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Block, D. (2007). Second language identities. London, UK: Continuum.
Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Chamani, F. (2023). Alternative futures of English language education in Iran in the era of globalization. Linguistics and Education, 73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2023.101146

Chang, Y. (2011). Picking one’s battles: NNES doctoral students’ ICs and selections of investment. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 10, 213-230. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2011.598125
Cui, Y., & De Costa, P. (2022). I never knew I could have so many future possibilities: a case study of an ethnic minority student in mainstream higher education in China. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. https://doi/10.1080/01434632.2022.2126846
Dagenais, D. (2003). Accessing ICs through multilingualism and immersion education. Journal of Language, Identity, & Education, 2(4), 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327701JLIE0204_3
Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2015). Identity and a model of investment in applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 36-56. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190514000191
Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2018). Identity, investment, and TESOL. In S. Nero, & J. Liontas (Eds.), Sociocultural aspects of English language teaching, The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching. Wiley.
Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2019). Collaborative writing, academic socialization, and the negotiation of identity: Authors, mentors, and gatekeepers. In P. Habibie, & K. Hyland (Eds.), Novice writers and scholarly publication: Authors, mentors, gatekeepers (pp. 177-194). London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2021). Investment and motivation in language learning: What's the difference? Language Teaching, 56(1), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444821000057
Dawson, S. (2017). An investigation into the identity/imagined community relationship: A case study of two language learners in New Zealand. Language, Discourse & Society, 5(1), 15-33.
Gao, F. (2012). Imagined community, identity, and Chinese language teaching in Hong Kong. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 15(3), 343–353.
Gao, Y., Jia, Z., & Zhou, Y. (2015). EFL learning and identity development: A longitudinal study in 5 universities in China. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 14(3), 137-158. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2015.1041338
Holstein, J., & Gubrium, J. J. (2003). Inside interviewing: New lenses, new concerns. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Hu, G., & McKay, S. L. (2012). English language education in East Asia: Some recent developments. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 33(4), 345-362. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2012.661434
Iranmehr, A., & Davari, H. (2018). English language education in Iran: A site of struggle between globalized and localized versions of English. Iranian Journal of Comparative Education, 1(2), 94-109. https://doi.org/10.22034/IJCE.2018.87725
Kanno, Y. (2003). ICs, school visions, and the education of bilingual students in Japan. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 2(4), 285-300. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327701JLIE0204_4
Kanno, Y., & Norton, B. (2003). ICs and educational possibilities: An introduction. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 2(4), 241-49. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327701JLIE0204_1
Kharchenko, N. (2014). ICs and teaching English as a second language. Journal of Foreign Languages, Cultures, and Civilizations, 2(1), 21-39.
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. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2013.796958
Kramsch, C. J. (2013). Afterword. In B. Norton, Identity and language learning: Extending the conver­sation (2nd ed.). Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters.
Liu, G., Zhang, Y., & Zhang, R. (2023). Bridging imagination and informal digital learning of English: a mixed-method investigation. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2023.2173214
Meihami, H. (2023). Exploring the role of professional learning community in EFL student-teachers’ imagined identity development. Journal of Language, Identity, & Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2023.2193336
Mohammadian Haghighi, F., & Norton, B. (2017). The role of English language institutes in Iran. TESOL Quarterly, 51(2), 428–438. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.338
Morady Moghaddam, M., & Murray, N. (2019). English language teaching in Iran: A case of shifting sands, ambiguity, and incoherent policy and practice. International Journal of Society, Culture, & Language (IJSCL), 7(1), 96-105.
Muir, C., Dörnyei, Z., & Adolphs, S. (2021). Role models in language learning: Results of a large-scale international survey. Applied Linguistics, 42(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz056
Murray, G. (2013). Pedagogy of the possible: Imagination, autonomy, and space. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 3(3), 377-396. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2013.3.3.4
Norton, B. (1997). Language, identity, and the ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 31(3), 409- 429. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587831
Norton, B. (2000). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity, and educational change. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Norton, B. (2001). Non-participation, ICs, and the language classroom. In M. Breen (Ed.), Learner contributions to language learning: New directions in research (pp. 159-171). Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Norton, B. (2013). Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation. (2nd ed.). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Norton, B. (2016). Identity and language learning: Back to the future. TESOL Quarterly, 50(2), 475-479. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.293
Norton, B. (2019). Identity and language learning: A 2019 retrospective account. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 75(4), 299-307. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.2019-0287
Norton, B. (2020). Identity and second language acquisition. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The concise encyclopedia of applied linguistics (pp. 561–570). Wiley.
Norton, B. & DeCosta, P. (2017). Research tasks on identity in language learning and teaching. Language Teaching, 51(1), 90-112. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444817000325
Norton, B., & Kamal, F. (2003). The ICs of English language learners in a Pakistani school. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 2(4), 301-317. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327701JLIE0204_5
Norton, B., & McKinney, C. (2011). An identity approach to second language acquisition. In D. Atkinson (Ed), Alternative approaches to second language acquisition (pp. 73-94). New York: Routledge.
Norton, B., & Pavlenko, A. (2019). ICs, identity, and English language learning in a multilingual world. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second handbook of English language teaching (pp. 703-718). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Norton, B., & Toohey, K. (2001). Changing perspectives on good language learners. TESOL Quarterly, 35(2), 307–322. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587650
Norton, B., & Toohey, K. (2011). Identity, language learning, and social change. Language Teaching, 44(4), 412-446. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444811000309
Norton Peirce, B. (1995). Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 9-31. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587803
Pavlenko, A. (2003). I never knew I was a bilingual: Reimagining teacher identities in TESOL. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 2(4), 251-268. https://doi.org/ 10.1207/S15327701JLIE0204_2
Pavlenko, A., & Norton, B. (2007). ICs, identity, and English language teaching. In J. Cummins, & C. Davison (Eds.), International handbook of English language teaching (pp. 669- 680). New York: Springer.
Pennycook, A. (2006). Global Englishes and transcultural flows. Routledge.
Przymus, S. D. (2016). Imagining and moving beyond the ESL bubble: Facilitating communities of practice through the ELL ambassadors program. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 15(5), 265–279. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2016.1213133
Przymus, S. D., Lengeling, M. M., Mora-Pablo, I., & Serna-Gutiérrez., O. (2020). From DACA to Dark souls: MMORPGs as sanctuary, sites of language/identity development, and third-space translanguaging pedagogy for Los Otros dreamers. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 21(4), 248-264. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2020.1791711
Rezaei, S. (2017). Researching identity in language and education. In K.A. King, Y-J. Lai, & S. May (Eds.), Research methods in language and education (pp. 171-182). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG.
Riley, P. (2006). Self-expression and the negotiation of identity in a foreign language. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 16(3), 295-318. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2006.00120.x
Shahidzade, F., & Mazdayasna, G. (2022).The identity construction of Iranian English students learning translated L1 and L2 short stories: Aspiration for language investment or consumption? Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.972101
Simon, R. (1992). Teaching against the grain: Texts for a pedagogy of possibility. New York: Bergin & Garvey.
Soltanian, N., & Ghapanchi, Z. (2021). Investment in language learning: an investigation of Iranian EFL learners’ perspectives. English Teaching & Learning, 45(3), 263-281. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-021-00089-z
Soltanian, N., & Ghapanchi, Z. (2024). An investigation into Iranian English language learners’ investment in imagined communities. MEXTESOL Journal, 48(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/ 10.61871/mj.v48n2-2
Song, J. (2018). She needs to be shy: Gender, culture, and non-participation among Saudi Arabian female students. TESOL Quarterly, 53(2), 405-429. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.488
Sung, C. C. M.  (2019). Investments and identities across contexts: A case study of a Hong Kong undergraduate student’s L2 learning experiences. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 18(3), 190-203. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2018.1552149
Tajeddin, Z., & Chamani, F. (2020). Foreign language education policy (FLEP) in Iran: Unpacking state mandates in major national policy documents. Journal of Teaching Language Skills (JTLS), 39(3.1), 185-215. https://10.22099/jtls.2021.38870.2904
Tajeddin, Z., Mostafaei Alaei, M., & Moladoust, E. (2021). Learners’ perspectives on imagined community of practice in English as an international language. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 44(10), 893-907. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2021.1921784
Talmy, S. (2011). The interview as collaborative achievement: Interaction, identity, and ideology in a speech event. Applied Linguistics, 32(1), 25–42. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amq027
Trentman, E. (2013). Imagined communities and language learning during study abroad: Arabic learners in Egypt. Foreign Language Annals, 46(4), 545–564. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12054
Ushioda, E. (2009). A person-in-context relational view of emergent motivation, self and identity. In Z. Dörnyei, & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 215–228). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Wenger, E. (2010). Communities of practice and social learning systems: The career of a concept. In C. Blackmore (Ed.), Social learning systems and communities of practice (pp. 179–198). Springer.