UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL IDENTITY AND MOTIVATION OF PAKISTANI ESL LEARNERS

Abstract

This study deals with understanding the relationship between ESL learners social identity and motivation to learn English. Second language learners’ social identity is a complex product of various factors such as parental influence, religious values, sociocultural elements and pedagogical effects. This study investigates this intricate relationship of various factors on learners’ social identity and motivation to learn English through mixed method approach. Data was collected by using survey questionnaire and semi structured interviews. The survey was administered to 345 undergraduate students across various universities in Pakistan. To support survey findings researcher conducted semi structured interviews with ESL educators having at least five years of experience teaching ESL learners. The results of the study show that Learners identity (LER) and parental involvement (Par_Fa) have a strong positive correlation (r = 0. 496 p 0. 01). Learners identity and religious influence (REL) have a moderately positive correlation (r = 0. 454 p < 0. 01). With respect to societal factors and learner identity, sociocultural factors (Soc_cul) exhibit a moderate correlation with LER (r = 0. 349 p < 0. 01) suggesting that identity construction is influenced by external societal factors. The results show that there is a moderate correlation between pedagogy (PEDG) and LER (r = 0. 312 p < 0. 01) suggesting that instructional methods have an impact on how learners form their identities. With respects to the learner identity and motivation, the strongest correlation between LER and MOT (r = 0. 518 p < 0. 01) is found among all variables. This suggests that learners who have a strong sense of self are much more motivated to learn English. Qualitative findings further supports this correlation of various factors on learners’ social identity and motivation to learn English language, ESL educators emphasize on inclusive ESL learning environment where learners develop a positive sense of identity, which foster motivation of learners.