EFL Learning and Globalization: Can Learning English Motivate People to be Globalized Citizens ?

This paper is an attempt to analyze the role of learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in motivating EFL students to be globalized citizens . The data comes from 10 semi-structured interviews withadvanced Iranian EFL learners in the Iran Language Institute (ILI), Kermanshah, Iran. The participantswere asked to express their ideas on three issues: (1) the relationship between EFL learning and globalization, (2) whether learning English has changed their ideas about globalization and (3) theadvantages and disadvantages of being a globalized citizen in the 21st century. Then, the interviewswere thematically coded and analyzed using the analytic induction and constant comparison procedures. The results of the study show that most of the participants believe in the close relationship between EFL learning and globalization and their important interactions. They also believe that Englishindirectly imposes some global norms which motivates them to be globalized citizens . Thus, the researcher argues how EFL learning acts as a facilitator in motivating EFL students towards getting involved in the globalization process. Also, it is argued how the analysis of different types of metanarratives can be meaningful in the globalization process.