Exploring the Relationship between Language Learning and Identity Reconstruction at the University of Lahore, Pakistan

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how the language learners of The University of Lahore (UOL) perceived the connection between English language learning and reconstructing their identities. Twelve undergraduate English as a foreign language (EFL) students were the participants of focus groups that were conducted in order to collect data. Norton’s poststructuralist and Social Identity theory was used as a theoretical framework to explain the impact of foreign language learning on students’ identities on the basis of social factors that affect a person’s identity after learning a language through this qualitative research. The overwhelming majority of students believed that their perception of their identity was significantly influenced by studying English. The vast majority of those who participated in the interviews indicated a high level of gratitude for this particular influence, appreciating its enormous worth and support throughout their language-learning journeys. Those interviewed had also shown a strong drive to assimilate and a desire to conform to the target language and its associated cultural norms. The results emphasize the significance of motivation and the crucial role that English as a world language plays in influencing how one perceives, redefines, and reconstructs their identity.