Abstract
The purpose of this study is examining the language identity among male and female language learners in Iran. 1268 English language learners from different parts of the country from different ages and Iranian ethnicity and English language proficiency levels participated in this research. Validated and reliable scales of measuring language identity was used. The results of this study revealed that male and female English language learners are significantly different in their language identity and Iranian English language learners are in a moderate level of language identity. Moreover, the majority of the participants in each gender (male: 35.52%, and female: 50.88%) chosen American English as their favorite pronunciation kind, females (41.04) prefer Persian English more than males (20.94), and the lowest percent among male learners is related to Australian English (7.05) and among female learners is related to Canadian (1.54).
Highlights
“The language we use forms an important part of our sense of who we are – of our identity” (Edwards, 2009, p. 1). Khatib & Rezaei (2013) understood “language as an identification badge provides one of the best telling clues for people’s identity and where they belong to” (p.690)
Male and female English language learners are significantly different in their language identity in general
This study has been done with the aim of distinguishing the language identity in male and female language learners in Iran context
Summary
“The language we use forms an important part of our sense of who we are – of our identity” (Edwards, 2009, p. 1). Khatib & Rezaei (2013) understood “language as an identification badge provides one of the best telling clues for people’s identity and where they belong to” (p.690). In another study, Khatib & Rezaei, & Baleghizadeh (2014) carried out a nationwide survey of language identity among English language learners in Iran and indicated that there were significant differences in the language identity of participants across different age groups and language proficiency levels. “With the rise of globalization and the importance of English as an international language, the majority of people in the whole world have felt the urge to learn English. This gradual but consistent desire to learn English has raised certain potential sociolinguistic and sociological concerns, one of which is pertinent to the identity of language learners after being exposed to English as a Foreign/Second language” (Khatib & Rezaei, 2012, p.2). In Iran, the native language of people is Persian and with the rise of globalization and technology most people have preferred to learn English as their
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