Motivational Orientation and Language Acculturation Experienced by English Speaking Adults Learning Arabic in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study aimed to explore in-depth the process of second language acquisition in a broader context than classrooms and gain a greater understanding of language acculturation process abroad. It mainly examined the influence of various factors on the language acculturation strategy adopted by L2 learners, including socio-demographic data, language proficiency level, motivational orientation for learning L2, and perceived language acculturative stress. The study targeted a sample of fifty English-speaking bilingual female adults learning Arabic as a second language in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected with the use of three scales: motivational orientation for learning Arabic as an L2, language acculturation within the hosting society, and language acculturative stress. Also, a semi-structured interview was used to gain a deep understanding of the language acculturation process as experienced by the research sample. Quantitative results proved that, first, participants’ integrative orientation to learning Arabic was higher than instrumental motivation; second, participants were more adjusted to their native culture with the majority having a little of language acculturative stress. Regression analysis revealed that only age and nationality had a statistically significant effect on the language acculturation level. The results of the interview showed parallelism with some of the quantitative results of the study. Some pedagogical implications and future research issues are discussed.