Echoes of Heritage: Cultural Identity as a Predictor of the Indigenous Students’ Attitude Towards English Language

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the cultural identity of indigenous students, its relationship with their attitudes towards the English language, and their perceptions of immersion experiences in English. This study employed an embedded convergent parallel design as a mixed-method approach where the quantitative phase involved a descriptive-correlation design, while the qualitative phase utilized phenomenology. This study used an adopted questionnaire for the quantitative phase and an interview guide for the qualitative phase to collect the necessary data. There were 143 Program, Advocacies, and Governance for the Lumad, Association of the University of Mindanao (PAGLAUM) members representing the entire population in the quantitative and qualitative phases. Using statistical tools such as mean, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis to analyze and interpret the quantitative data further ensured the validity and reliability of the findings. The results revealed a high level of cultural identity and a positive attitude towards the English language among PAGLAUM members. Furthermore, there is a significant relationship between these variables, with affirmation/belonging being the most influential domain on indigenous students' attitudes towards English. On the other hand, in the qualitative phase, through thematic analysis, seven themes emerged: power and prestige, personal growth, opportunity, ethnic pride, discrimination, diminished self-efficacy, and communicative competence barriers. Moreover, the joint display of salient quantitative and qualitative findings demonstrated parallel, reinforcing the thoroughness and robustness of this research.