"A Privilege and a Weapon": Saudi Undergraduate Students' Beliefs About Bilingualism

Bilingualism has become the norm-not the exception-in today's globalized world. The development of bilingual proficiency in English and other languages is increasing worldwide. Saudi Arabia is one of many countries within the expanding circle of nations in which English (although with no official status) enjoys a special position as the sole foreign language taught in public schools. This study examined Saudi university students' beliefs about issues surrounding bilingualism, particularly about their first language (L1), second language (L2), and potential benefits of being bilingual. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion with 15 university students. The findings showed that all students explicitly self-identified as bilingual based on their perceived linguistic repertoire and daily bilingual practices. Self-identification seems to have an empowering effect, which positively influences beliefs about bilingualism and language learning. As members of the dominant Arabic-speaking group, the students were able to achieve sequential additive bilingualism. Overall, the students saw bilingualism as an advantage and highlighted its perceived benefits, the instrumental importance of English, and the vital role of Arabic as a marker of their ethnoreligious identity. Saudi undergraduate students' beliefs about bilingualismThe development of bilingual proficiency in a person's first language (L1) and English is increasing globally. In this regard, Saudi Arabia is one of many countries within the expanding circle of nations where English has no official status. However, English is widely used in domains such as academia, science, technology, international business, and tourism as the country has started to welcome an increasing number of tourists as part of the ambitious goals of Vision 2030. There has been little research on the beliefs that bilingual youth acquire as well as the influence of such beliefs on the dynamics of bilingual language development. In this study, I investigated the language-related experiences and beliefs of a group of Arabic-English speaking university students regarding bilingualism. The participants were 15 undergraduate students from a Saudi university enrolled in a 4-year English-language bachelor's program. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion with 15 university students. The findings showed that all students explicitly self-identified as bilingual based on their perceived linguistic repertoire and daily bilingual practices. Self-identification seems to have an empowering effect, which positively influences beliefs about bilingualism and language learning. There are some limitations to this study, including its small sample size. In addition, owing to the context-specific nature of learners' beliefs, the results should not be generalized to other contexts. Hence, future research should examine Saudi learners' beliefs about bilingualism in other contexts, such as studying abroad.