With the advance of globalization, the assumptions of homogeneity within a culture are being challenged (Giddens 2002). Moreover, through globalization, English is quickly solidifying its status as a global language (Crystal 2003; Graddol 2006). Kuwait, a country of approximately three million people, two-thirds of whom are foreigners, is particularly affected by this phenomenon. As a result of the number of foreigners who are working in the country, the use of English as a lingua franca is commonplace. While regarded as beneficial in many contexts, the significance of using English, namely as a language still mostly controlled by inner-circle countries (Kachru 1992), creates some conflicting feelings as a result of its association with Western cultures. This paper explores the role of English in Kuwait and whether adapting English as a general lingua franca in the country is acting as a force in destroying cultural identity or actually reinforcing it (Phillipson 1992 & 2009; Kramsch 1998; Pennycook 2010). In particular, this paper focuses on the different attitudes expressed by Kuwait University students in relation to learning English for academic/professional success versus the social and cultural implications of learning and speaking the language. To cope with these two arenas of their lives, these students engage in a complex negotiation process as they juxtapose their identity within the context of Kuwait’s changing sociopolitical environment. Using a qualitative, ethnographic approach, this paper is based on interviews with eight Kuwaiti students studying at Kuwait University. The interviews provide thick descriptions that illustrate the social complexities related to the development of identity in association to the spread of English in Kuwait. The respondents demonstrate that in negotiating a space that balances tradition and modernization, they have created a new language that reflects how they actively and critically engage with their environment to balance, adjust, and construct their own identity.