EFL Learners’ Identity Transition Styles in an Iranian Context: Identity Status and the National Identity of Iranian EFL Students; A Study of Identity Paradigm in the Context

This study contrasts global identity statuses, domain-specific identity statuses, and the national identity subscales of Iranian EFL learners (students of English) and non-EFL learners (students of humanities). In a cross-sectional survey, ۹۰ EFL learners and ۹۰ non-EFL learners from two Iranian state universities (Tehran University and Kharazmi University) completed Extended Objective Measure of Ego IdentityStatus-۲ (EOMEIS-۲) and CSES national identity subscales. The context of EFL education at Iranian state universities is used to understand the role of foreign language learning context in university students’ identity formation. Results showed that although EFL and non-EFL learners were similar in their general identity status, they were not the same in their ideological and interpersonal domain-specific identities, and national identity subscales. There were also significant relationships between each group's general identity status and national identity subscales. The findings promise some pedagogical implications for identity planning in the current Iranian EFL education and help to remove threats to learners’ identities.

کلیدواژه ها:

“Identity” ، “identity status” ، “domain-specific identities” ، “national identity” ، “EFL learners” ، “non-EFL learners