A study of the relationship between Iranian learners' sociocultural identity and English as a foreign language (EFL) learning proficiency

Abstract

Due to the development of English as an international language and dominance of fever of it, researchers were interested in the influential factors in learning English as a foreign or second language, and their relationship with English learning, such as; gender, different kinds of identity, religion, and etc. However, there are few studies on the relationship between sociocultural identity and EFL learning. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Iranian learners' sociocultural identity and their EFL learning. In this correlational study, 360 intermediate and advanced English students from four institutes in Zanjan Province, Iran, were selected based on the cluster sampling method. The Oxford Quick Placement Test was used to check the EFL learning proficiency and make homogeneous groups. Aspects of Identity Questionnaire Cheek (2013) was utilized to check the level of learners' sociocultural identity. The normality of data was checked based on Skewness and Kurtosis normal test, therefore, Pearson Correlation Coefficient was applied in this study. The result has indicated that there was a negative significant (-678) relationship between learners' sociocultural identity and their EFL learning. This finding will be beneficial for syllabus designers, language learners, their parents, and language teachers.