Teachers’ Perceptions of Islamic Self-Identity Formation through ‎Language Learning among Students in Selected Religious ‎Secondary Schools ‎

The relationship between Islamic values and foreign languages in the school environment offers a relatively good example of the challenging aspects of Islamic identity formation amongst the students. Via focused group interviews, this study aimed to explore the teachers’ perceptions with regard to the influence of English language learning and the environment in the process of Islamic self-identity formation among religious secondary school students in Terengganu, Malaysia. The study employed a qualitative approach in which 15 religious secondary school teachers in the Terengganu State of Malaysia were selected using purposive sampling technique. The study found that the school environment is influential in the process of Islamic self-identity formation among the students, and English language learning does not have a negative influence on the process. Instead, certain virtues, such as respect, self-confidence, diligence, and decency are inculcated in the students’ self-identity during the English language teaching and learning process. Teachers and educational administrators should put more effort toward the best educational provisions for the students’ religious identity through exposure to the values of self-identity beyond the scope of textbooks.