Mohammadi، Amal

English Language Learning as a Means to Reproduce Social Class: An Analysis of Teachers’ an​d Students’ Perceptions

ABSTRACTThe social reproduction theory Bourdieu 1977 1984 1991 argues that educationalsettings are not institutions of equal opportunity but rather are forces that perpetuatesocial hierarchy From this perspective it is argued that education as a source of culturalcapital gives us power and helps us achieve goals become successful and rise up thesocial ladder without necessarily having wealth or financial capital The purpose of thisstudy was to apply the social reproduction theory to explore how English languageteachers and students perceive English language as a means of reproducing social status To collect the required data the study relied on a qualitative and quantitative mixeddesign First a questionnaire was developed using the indices related to the reproductiontheory Following the questionnaire construction with appropriate statistical indexes ofvalidity and reliability it was administered to 100 English language teachers and 100students supplemented by interviewing 18 of the same participants selected purposefully The findings of this study revealed that English language teachers and students believethat there is a significant correlation between English language learning and social classmobility In their opinions skills to learn and also to teach English language have securedfor them symbolic meaning and marketable value that are in high demand in manysocieties The participants perceptions revealed that English competency andpedagogical skills associated with it are a cultural capital that have symbolic values andare greatly esteemed as the reinforcement of social mobility by both teachers andstudents From among the identifying features of reproduction studied including income occupation social status education level values lifestyle patterns of consumption taste aesthetic values life chances and self perception the indicator patterns ofconsumption was not perceived by both students and teachers as having a significantlink with English language learning The results are discussed with regard to the Englishlanguage status and pedagogy Keywords Social Reproduction Cultural Capital English Language Social Mobility Language Learning vi