How EFL Learners Navigate Language-Learning Complexities Through Their Imagined Communities and Imagined Identities: Cases of Spanish and Iranian Learners

Mobaraki, Melika; Adel, Seyyed Mohammad Reza; Ghaniabadi, Saeed; Rosca, Andreea; Davoudi, Mohammad

doi:10.22077/ali.2026.10561.1222

How EFL Learners Navigate Language-Learning Complexities Through Their Imagined Communities and Imagined Identities: Cases of Spanish and Iranian Learners

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Melika Mobaraki ¹

Seyyed Mohammad Reza Adel ²

Saeed Ghaniabadi ³

Andreea Rosca ⁴

Mohammad Davoudi ⁵

¹ Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Linguistics, Department of English Language and Literature, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

² Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English Language and Literature, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran/Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of ‎Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

³ Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English Language and Literature, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

⁴ Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English and German Philology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

⁵ Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of English Language and Literature, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

10.22077/ali.2026.10561.1222

Abstract

Learning language as a social process can be shaped by learners’ imagined communities and imagined identities. This study explores the strategies EFL learners use in navigating the complexities of language learning in a foreign cultural context. The participants were sixteen senior university students (eight from Spain and eight from Iran). The instruments used to collect the data were semi-structured interviews, written narratives, and focus groups. After applying qualitative content analysis, three themes emerged: intercultural negotiation and communicative adaptation; identity construction and transformation; and strategic resource use to build imagined communities and future opportunities. It was found that the participants exercised different strategies to navigate their identity-related challenges. Spanish learners mainly used pragmatic and stylistic adaptations based on cultural interests, whereas Iranian learners engaged in deeper identity construction shaped by professional aspirations. This highlights that language education should be culturally sensitive considering learners’ imagined communities and identities to enhance sociocultural adaptability.

Keywords

imagination

intercultural negotiation

identity construction

learner agency

language learning strategies

Subjects

Second Language Learning

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