Attitudes of Non-native Speakers of English Studying in Australia towards World Englishes

Abstract

The present study explores attitudes of non-native speakers of English studying in a reputable university in Melbourne, Australia, towards world Englishes. In particular, the study investigates different attitudes between students enrolled in a university subject, which indirectly promotes the students’ acceptance towards them and those who have not taken the subject towards world Englishes. The present study uses the direct approach, which allows informants to give an account of their attitudes (McKenzie, 2010). By adopting a questionnaire designed by Yoshikawa (2005), the present study seeks to answer two research questions: (1) Do non-native English students taking the subject have different attitudes from non-native English students who have not taken the subject towards world Englishes? (2) Do the students enrolled in Linguistic-Related majors have different attitudes from the students enrolled in Non-Linguistic-Related majors towards world Englishes? The findings of the study will contribute to the literature on world Englishes and the identification of a possible way to promote the acceptance of world Englishes. The results show that informants who are taking/have taken the subject tend to have more positive attitudes towards non-Inner Circle varieties than those who have not taken the subject. Similar results are also shown among informants grouped based on their majors in which Linguistics-Related ones are more acceptant. However, there is no significant difference regarding their attitudes toward Inner Circle English.