The Influence of Investment, Agency, and Imagined Communities on Second Language Learner Identity: A Narrative Case Study

Abstract

Whereas the educational and career path of men is routinely covered in studies around the world, very little research exists on the topic of women in Saudi Arabia who are admitted to medical school and study English simultaneously. Further, the overlay of emotional decisions required before choosing that academic path is also under-documented. In a restrictive working environment, the women who choose to study and practice medicine must fight social taboos, personal doubts, educational bias, and discouraging attitudes from their family and friends. This project aims to be the first study to investigate the sociological aspects of being a female Saudi student studying English to gain entrance in her imagined community, a profession requiring participants to have a high level of English to study and to become a member.

Choosing to focus on the relationship between investment, agency, and identity during language learning, I retell the narrations of the selected participants obtained through semi-structured conversationalized interviews. I wanted to understand how each student renegotiated their identity at stages of their education to enable them to enter their imagined community of medical practitioners. Each meeting was conducted in an unpressured atmosphere, allowing the students to share their thoughts on the importance of acquiring the target language, thus increasing their cultural capital and social power.

Careful screening of potential candidates revealed three exceptional students willing to create a background landscape by sharing their personal life stories before entering medical school. Each student shared challenges with the curriculum and unique approach for absorbing English and their medical studies. They also expressed how they felt about the requirement to learn English to enable them to practice medicine. Follow-up interviews with the three participants indicated that they believed their stories had been accurately portrayed.

This collaborative effort between researcher and participants has opened the door to previously unknown struggles amongst female medical students in Saudi Arabia who are also studying English to attain necessary fluency.