Developing Multiple Identities in the EFL Class: A Study on Romanian Highschool Students

Abstract

There is a close relationship between language and identity, and, consequently, any process of foreign language acquisition will exert a certain influence on the learners’ overall sense of identity. In the case of English learning, the situation is even more complex, since this foreign language is commonly perceived as a key to global access. The paper will discuss the role played by the English instruction in the process of developing multiple identities in a multicultural Europe and beyond, taking into account research data based on both the input offered by the English textbooks meant for high school level, and the Romanian students’ perceptions in this respect.

Keywords

• “big c” culture
• english instruction
• “little c” culture
• multicultural identity
• textbooks