Students' and teachers' perceptions of the relation between the multiplicity of identities and language learning in Lebanon

النوع : Mémoire

The aim of this study is to investigate students’ and teachers’ attitudes and perceptions toward the multiplicity of identities in Lebanon in relation to language learning. Eighty-five students completed a 20-item questionnaire, which assessed their attitudes toward identity and language learning. Six English language teachers of the English Language Department at the University of Balamand were interviewed. These interviews were taped, transcribed and later profiled. The results drawn from the interviews and questionnaires indicated that the multiplicity of identities in the Lebanese context is perceived as a determining factor in language acquisition. Results also revealed that the overwhelming majority of the students and all the teachers allotted English the status of a global and modern language. Arabic was believed to be the mother tongue and the mark of the Lebanese identity. French, on the other hand, was given importance for its cultural significance and its effectiveness in facilitating the acquisition of English. The study revealed no indicative difference between the attitudes of the Christian and Muslim students toward the multiplicity of identities in relation to language learning.