Studio dell’impatto sociopolitico sull’apprendimento e l’uso della lingua inglese dalla pratica scolastica alla pratica lavorativa in Italia e nel Libano

The progress of physical and virtual communication is multiplying the meeting points of cultures in the world. Whether at an individual level or at a governmental one, the process of globalization is reducing the differences between countries. Languages are found in the heart of cultural domains hence they are indispensable vectors for communication and expression of identity. The diversity of languages assures the pluralism and the wealth of representations. This thesis examines the impact of the educational policies and the social components on the linguistic attitude of people who learn and use English at work and in social life in two sample countries: my country of birth, Lebanon and the country of my actual residency, Italy. It provides a sociolinguistic profile of both countries and focuses on the learning policies and the use of English (and French and Arabic to a lesser extent). This study also examines the Lebanese and the Italian attitudes toward using the English language for social and professional purposes. The project used diverse methods (observational accounts, field notes, and questionnaire) to describe the presence of foreign languages in both societies. Primary data includes results from a questionnaire (445 participants) and three years’ worth of observational accounts and field notes. Findings from this study suggest that language learning does not initiate in the English class but in the mind of people which is strongly conditioned by the necessities of life. The more the constant challenges and varied the linguistic opportunities, the more and better the chances to learn and use English are. The study concludes with some implications for the use of English in school practice and in work practice.