The Impact of Microsystems in Shaping Students’ Representations of English as Foreign Language: A Case Study on Bir Ali Middle School of Tunisia

Abstract

This paper aimed to analyze the effect of Microsystems (family, school, peer group and media) on shaping students’ representations of English as foreign language. This case study was a quantitative and qualitative research. It was carried out to establish and to distinguish causality and dependency relationships between examined variables. This study was conducted in a village called Bir Ali in the south of Tunisia. It targeted 70 middle school students aged 12 to 15 years old. To come up with fruitful findings, we resorted to the mixed methodological approach. We used the questionnaire as a quantitative instrument to statically measure the impact of microsystems on shaping students’ representations of English. At the same time, we resorted to the interview: the observation and the content analysis as qualitative instruments to collect qualitative data that help us understand well the mechanism of microsystems and their impact on shaping students’ representations of English as a foreign language. Results showed that family, school, peer groups and media shaped positive students’ representations of English. The majority of students strongly believe that the acquisition of English is a sign of superiority and it helps them communicate better with the rest of the world enabling them to guarantee good jobs in the future. However, students' outcomes in English remain below expectations.