Effect of Attitude on Foreign Language Acquisition: Arabic Pronunciation as Case Study

Abstract

This study aims at investigating how attitude influences foreign language acquisition. In fact, the present study focuses on the relationship between the pronunciation proficiency of some of the American students learning Arabic at the Georgetown University, and their attitude toward Arabic speakers. The study also reveals and points out some fundamentally related elements, such as the exposure to Arabic Language and Arabic environment, to eliminate, or at least to reduce, the students' negative attitudes that may hinder the process of pronunciation acquisition. The sample of the study consisted of 6 students (4 females and 2 males) randomly chosen from Georgetown University. A five-point likert scale attitude questionnaire and an achievement test were used to collect data from the students who participated in this research. Results showed that the students who have good attitudes towards Arabic speakers, and have visited or stayed in an Arabic-speaking country, have the best pronunciation performance, while those who have neither good attitudes nor stayed a long time in an Arabic-speaking country, have the poorest performance.