Examining the Effects of the Globalization of English on the Cultural Identity of University Level Students in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

After the announcement of Vision 2030, English has become an increasingly dominant language in Saudi Arabia and is now the language of choice for many aspects of everyday life. As the language of international business, education, and communication, English has had a major influence on the way people communicate, interact, and construct their cultural identity. As a result, there is a need to explore how English as a global language has affected the cultural identities of Saudis, and how it may have potentially impacted their sense of cultural belonging. This study investigates the effects of the globalization of English on the cultural identity of university level students in Saudi Arabia. Through a qualitative phenomenological approach, this study employs semi-structured interviews on a sample of 6 participants. The primary objective of this study is to understand participants' perspectives and feelings towards the globalization of English and how it may have influenced their sense of cultural identity. Additionally, the study investigates participants' attitudes towards English-speaking cultures and the spread of the English language, aiming to uncover the relationship between their attitudes towards Saudi and English-speaking cultures and how these factors shape their cultural identity as Saudi individuals. The findings of this study illustrate that there is a potential effect on cultural identity, depending on the age of acquisition, method of acquisition, and affiliation with culture. The limitations in this study were in the generalizability of its findings due to the small sample size. In addition, the findings of this study are potentially culture specific. Therefore, further research on a sample of different cultural backgrounds is encouraged. Moreover, the complexity of the concepts investigated, in addition to the language boundaries, limited the findings of this study.