STUDY ABROAD IN EGYPT

407 Pages·2012·1.42 MB·English

by  Emma Trentman Mahmood

STUDY ABROAD IN EGYPT:
IDENTITY, ACCESS, AND ARABIC LANGUAGE LEARNING
By
Emma Gale Trentman
A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Second Language Studies
2012
ABSTRACT
STUDY ABROAD IN EGYPT:
IDENTITY, ACCESS, AND ARABIC LANGUAGE LEARNING
By
Emma Gale Trentman
Study abroad is often viewed as an ideal setting to improve target language proficiency
due to opportunities for extensive contact with locals in the target language. However, research
on study abroad demonstrates that this local contact and target language use can be quite limited,
and that there is considerable variation in the linguistic outcomes of study abroad (Freed 1998;
Kinginger, 2009). This study uses mixed methods to examine target language use and access to
locals during study abroad in two different locations in Egypt: the Middlebury program at the
University of Alexandria, and the study abroad and intensive Arabic programs at the American
University in Cairo (AUC). Questionnaire, interview, and observation data were gathered from
54 Arabic learners, 10 Arabic teachers, and 13 Egyptian associates of the learners.
The quantitative data demonstrate that while students in the Middlebury program used
more Arabic on average than students studying at AUC, there is a great deal of individual
variation within each program. Drawing upon identity theory (Norton & McKinney, 2011) and
the qualitative data, I demonstrate how students' investment in Arabic related to their desired
participation in an imagined community of study abroad to the Middle East. However, the reality
of the communicative contexts they encountered abroad at times resulted in a mismatch with this
imagined community, particularly regarding access to Egyptians and Arabic language use.
Examining the ways in which students responded to this mismatch, particularly through the use
of individual agency, sheds lights on the extensive variation in their access to locals and Arabic
language use. Identity theory also provides crucial insights into the roles played by western
foreigner, gender, and religious identities abroad. This study finds that particular identity
categories (i.e westerner, female) can both help and hinder access to locals in the target language
depending on how they are negotiated within the socio-historical context. Finally, the
experiences of six case study students highlight the variety of experiences abroad as well as how
these students were able (or unable) to negotiate their identities abroad in order to gain access to
Egyptians and use Arabic. The results of this study have important implications for research on
study abroad, identity theory, and study abroad program design.
Copyright by
EMMA GALE TRENTMAN
2012
DEDICATION
ةﺓﺮﺤﻟاﺍ ﺮﺼﻣوﻭ يﻱﺮﺼﻤﻟاﺍ ﺐﻌﺸﻟاﺍ ﻰﻟإﺇ
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are many people without whom this dissertation would not have been possible. I
would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Debra Friedman, for her support throughout the dissertation
process. From my initial research plan, through the many modifications it underwent during
fieldwork, to the analysis and writing of this dissertation, Debra provided the guidance and
insights necessary to develop and complete this dissertation. I am especially grateful to her for
allowing me to pursue a project that at times seemed unmanageable, for pushing me to be
theoretically rigorous, and for helping me through. I would also like to thank the rest of my
committee, Drs. Brahim Chakrani, Susan Gass, Senta Goertler, and Xiaoshi Li for their valuable
comments and advice. My colleagues in the Second Language Studies program also provided a
tremendous amount of guidance and support. In particular, I would like to thank Sara Hillman
for always being there for me in person or on chat.
In Alexandria, I would like to thank Dr. Nehad Heliel, Paul Wulfsburg, Shurouq Swaitti,
and Elizabeth Huntley for facilitating my research with the Middlebury Program. In Cairo, I
would like to thank Drs. Zeinab Taha, Jehan Allam, and Mahmoud Sami Mousa for supporting
my research at AUC and Mariam Hamdy and Sameh Elmoghazy for conducting pilot Arabic
interviews. This project would not have been possible without all of the participants in Cairo
and Alexandria, and in particular the case study students (Meron, Mita, Jennifer, Thea, Isabelle,
and Holly). I am truly grateful for their time and assistance. Alf Shokr!
I would also like to acknowledge the financial assistance I received from the following
sources to help me undertake this research: an MSU pre-dissertation fellowship, an MSU
University Distinguished Fellowship, a CASA II fellowship, and a Fulbright-Hays DDRA grant.
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My parents, Ann and Henry Trentman, are the best there are, and I would like to thank
them for always supporting me in following my dreams. Finally, I would like to thank my
wonderful husband, Rashad Mahmood. His calming influence, love, and tasty meals were
essential throughout the data collection and dissertation writing process.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................................xii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................1
American Views of Study Abroad.......................................................................................1
The Changing Nature of Study Abroad...............................................................................2
Non-traditional Destinations and Critical Languages..........................................................3
Literature Review.................................................................................................................6
Linguistic Gains of Study Abroad...........................................................................6
Language Contact..................................................................................................10
Factors Affecting the Study Abroad Experience...................................................14
Cognitive processing..................................................................................15
Program duration.......................................................................................15
Language variety........................................................................................16
Proficiency.................................................................................................17
The classroom............................................................................................18
Internet and travel......................................................................................19
Living situation..........................................................................................21
Agency.......................................................................................................22
Identity.......................................................................................................23
Nationality......................................................................................24
Race and ethnicity..........................................................................27
Gender............................................................................................29
Research questions.............................................................................................................33
CHAPTER 2
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND CONTEXT................................................................... 34
Theoretical Framework.....................................................................................................34
Identity...................................................................................................................35
Imagined Communities..........................................................................................36
Investment..............................................................................................................38
Power, Access, Agency, and Resistance................................................................39
Socio-historical Context.....................................................................................................41
Modern Egypt.........................................................................................................41
Egyptian Views of America...................................................................................42
Language Use in Egypt..........................................................................................45
Arabic in the United States.....................................................................................48
CHAPTER 3
METHOD......................................................................................................................................51
Settings...............................................................................................................................52
Sampling............................................................................................................................55
Role of the Researcher ......................................................................................................56
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Instruments.........................................................................................................................59
Level 1: Survey and Interview...............................................................................59
Study abroad questionnaire............................................................59
Background questionnaire.............................................................60
Study abroad interview..................................................................60
Arabic interview.............................................................................60
Level 2: Technological Observations....................................................................61
Level 3: Participant Observation...........................................................................61
Participants........................................................................................................................62
Data Analysis.....................................................................................................................69
CHAPTER 4
QUANTITATIVE RESULTS REGARDING LANGUAGE USE...............................................71
CHAPTER 5
INVESTMENT, IMAGINED COMMUNITIES, AND COMMUNICATIVE CONTEXTS.......86
Investment in Arabic..........................................................................................................88
Study Abroad to the Middle East as an Imagined Community.........................................89
Characteristics of American Study Abroad Students.................................91
Cross-cultural Mediators............................................................................95
Dedicated Language Learners....................................................................98
Vacationers...............................................................................................102
Party Animals...........................................................................................106
Communicative Contexts of Language Use.....................................................................111
AUC.....................................................................................................................111
Educational Setting..................................................................................111
Living Situation........................................................................................121
Dormitories..................................................................................121
Apartments...................................................................................126
Families........................................................................................129
The Location............................................................................................131
Extracurriculars........................................................................................133
Middlebury...........................................................................................................139
Educational Setting..................................................................................139
Living Situation.......................................................................................142
Dormitories...................................................................................142
Families........................................................................................143
Extracurriculars.......................................................................................156
Shared Communicative Contexts.........................................................................159
Non-program Extracurriculars.................................................................159
Prior Connections....................................................................................162
Informal Encounters................................................................................164
Limitations on informal encounters.............................................169
Proficiency........................................................................170
Unfamiliarity with Arabic diglossia.................................171
Responses in English........................................................174
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Conclusion.......................................................................................................................178
CHAPTER 6
THE ROLE OF IDENTITY.........................................................................................................181
"Western" Foreigners in "the East"..................................................................................182
Physical Appearance............................................................................................183
Indexed as foreigners..............................................................................184
Passing as Egyptian.................................................................................192
Morally Loose Westerners...................................................................................198
Representative of American Politics....................................................................201
Fascinating Westerners........................................................................................205
Tourists.................................................................................................................208
Wealthy Foreigners..............................................................................................211
Foreign Guests......................................................................................................213
English Speakers..................................................................................................219
Gender..............................................................................................................................223
Gender Roles in Egypt.........................................................................................224
Traditional Good Girls.........................................................................................226
Loose Foreign Women.........................................................................................232
Targets of Sexual Harassment.............................................................................240
Female Interlocutors............................................................................................252
Guests of the Family............................................................................................254
Romantic Partners................................................................................................256
Religion............................................................................................................................259
Non-Muslims.......................................................................................................262
Muslims...............................................................................................................264
Jews.....................................................................................................................265
CHAPTER 7
CASE STUDIES..........................................................................................................................272
Meron...............................................................................................................................273
Mita..................................................................................................................................283
Jennifer.............................................................................................................................293
Thea..................................................................................................................................305
Isabelle.............................................................................................................................314
Holly................................................................................................................................328
CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................342
Research on Study Abroad...............................................................................................345
Theoretical Implications..................................................................................................347
Study Abroad Program Design........................................................................................350
Living Situation...................................................................................................351
Language Pledge..................................................................................................354
Technological Access..........................................................................................356
Language and Dialect Preparation.......................................................................357
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