Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate Turkish students’ (n=462) motivation and attitudes toward learning English as a foreign language at a state university in Turkey and the relation between their attitudes, motivation and the variables such as gender, parental involvement, their fields of study at university, and academic achievement. It was important to explore and comprehensively look at the issue through a range of variables because the findings of the previous studies have revealed inconsistent attitudinal profiles toward learning English language. The study adopted quantitative research paradigm and used a questionnaire for data collection. The results indicated that the participants’ instrumental and intrinsic motivation were at moderate level while the mean of parental involvement was at a high level. It was also shown that the learners’ attitude changed according to their gender, fields of study and academic achievement. Alternative solutions at individual and institutional levels have been proposed in order to develop motivation and more favourable attitudes toward learning English language, and to prevent the generalization of stereotypes, which may have great impact on the success of learning English language at tertiary level.
Highlights
1.1 Introduce the ProblemOne important characteristic of learning a foreign language is the degree of variation in the levels of proficiency learners eventually reach
The results indicated that the participants’ instrumental and intrinsic motivation were at moderate level while the mean of parental involvement was at a high level
As Mantle-Bromley (1995) mentions, if attitudes affect the endeavours of learners to learn another language, teachers of foreign languages should be knowledgeable about this concept, so that they can deal with issues regarding attitudinal handicaps in language classrooms
Summary
One important characteristic of learning a foreign language is the degree of variation in the levels of proficiency learners eventually reach. Factors such as quality and quantity of input, age, aptitude and attitude have been proposed to account for this variation (Bidin et al, 2009; Friedrich, 2000; Fırat, 2009; Gömleksiz, 2010). The attitudes of learners, teachers, parents, and native speakers of the language are quite significant and determine the ultimate level of success in the learning process. Chambers (1999:25) clarifies that “pupils do not come to the foreign languages classroom as tabulae rasae They bring with them some attitudes born of conversations shared with family, friends, the media and personal experience of the target language community.”. They bring with them some attitudes born of conversations shared with family, friends, the media and personal experience of the target language community.” It becomes quite crucial to investigate whether and what factors affect the attitudes of language learners positively or negatively
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