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 v 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. vi 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. vii 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 viii 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 ix 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 x