International Journal of English Linguistics; Vol. 9, No. 3; 2019 ISSN 1923-869X E-ISSN 1923-8703 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 268 Yemeni EFL Learners’ Identity Conflicts: An Exploratory Case Study Rais Ahmed Attamimi 1 , Nasser Omer M. Al-Tamimi 2 & Jon Andrew Chittick 1 1 English Language Center, Salalah College of Technology, Sultanate of Oman 2 Department of English, College of Education, Seiyun University, Yemen Correspondence: Rais Attamimi, North Sa’ada, Salalah, Dhofar Governorate, Oman. E-mail: rais_attamimi@yahoo.com Received: March 19, 2019 Accepted: April 15, 2019 Online Published: May 8, 2019 doi:10.5539/ijel.v9n3p268 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v9n3p268 Abstract The importance of the concept of “identity” in the context of language learning is unassailable. Stemming from this premise, the current study is intended to explore the identity conflicts of a group of Yemeni learners who were studying English, as well as the techniques and strategies used to mitigate and/or lessen the conflicts between their actual identity and the identity associated with the target language, i.e., English. This research project used a qualitative exploratory case study research design with a sample of 20 students who were requested to write their journal diaries. Following that, semi-structured interviews were conducted using the double-sampling technique to select 10 of the previously sampled students who were proven to have written the most stimulating and intriguing journal entries. From the results of the study, tangible identity conflicts between the Yemeni culture and society at large and the implied behaviors and conventions accompanying the intensive study of the English language became apparent. The students exhibit a high level of motivation and they also exert their efforts using different techniques and strategies to excel at the learning and/or acquisition of the speaking skill of the English language. These conflicts may be consciously or subconsciously realized by the language learners, but what has been proven is that their attitudes, motivation and general inclinations towards the goal of speaking with a native or a native-like accent are unquestionably genuine. Lastly, the study suggested or recommended a revamp of the current textbooks giving teachers more training sessions in order to improve their individual repertoire, as well as a higher degree of awareness upon the part of the Yemeni society at large that these conflicts can interfere with the strong motivations, both aspirational and actual, to achieve the learning outcomes of the nation’s most promising future leaders and pioneers. Keywords: identity, conflicts, language, learning, motivation, investment, imagined communities, Hadhramout Identity is your uniqueness shining like the sun’s rays through the dark clouds of society. (Salazar & Reyes, 2015) 1. Introduction The Middle Eastern nation of Yemen has drawn a riveting degree of attention in recent times due to the unfortunate conflicts that have afflicted the daily lives of its beleaguered citizenry. In spite of these circumstances, educational endeavors combined with the heartfelt desire of learners to participate in and achieve desirable outcomes based upon different levels of motivation have kept teaching methods and prerogatives at least somewhat in the spotlight of educational research. Turning to the geographical outpost of the Hadhramout Valley and Desert Region, itself a part of the Hadhramout Governorate, it is possible to ascertain the circumstance that Yemeni students seem to have a generally strong impulse to learn English, as well as to exert all their energies into making their current lives better (Attamimi & Abdul Rahim, 2011). Succinctly stated, this study established that Yemeni students are motivated to learn the English language based upon their internal incentives and their social, economic, and cultural backgrounds. It has been demonstrated that, in spite of the several varieties of social and economic stratification that prevails, the students appear to exhibit comparatively high levels of motivation in which to integrate themselves and to learn English within a group of speakers who can then go on to procure high-paying jobs in the oil and petroleum industries upon graduating from their educational institutions. The underlying process involves the