The ELT Preparatory Class Students’ Strategy Using Profiles and Attitudes towards Foreign Language Learning: Amasya University Sample

Abstract

The unsatisfactory language performance of L2 is among very common complaints voiced by the language teachers and educators for many years. These complaints push the applied researchers in the field of learning and teaching L2 searching for the causes of these kinds of problems and offering recommendations for solutions. Therefore, the need for this attempt dates back to the early years of 1970s as the majority of the research focused on developing the teaching methods and instructional materials. Parallel to the great efforts to understand the nature of the learning and teaching, since the early years of 1970s, great emphasis has been placed on social, psychological and affective factors that enhance or inhibit L2 success and achievement. Motivation, personality, learning style is among these variables that sound important places in different research. Taking a further step, this research aims to investigate the role of strategies and attitudes in L2 learning and teaching settings where English language has a role of foreign language as well. For this purpose, this research seeks the answers of what strategies the ELT preparatory class student use, whether the students’ achievement differs according to the strategy they use or not, what the students’ attitudes towards foreign language learning are, whether the students’ achievement differs according to the attitudes towards foreign language learning and there is a meaningful relation between the students’ strategy using profiles and attitudes towards foreign language learning or not. 22 Amasya University ELT preparatory class students, enrolling in 2014- 2015 academic year, consist the scope of this research. The data provide basis for this research have been collected via two different data collection instruments which are labelled as SILL (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning) and a questionnaire on attitudes towards learning a foreign language. The strategy inventory for Language Learning (SILL) is for the students of a second language developed by Oxford (1990). This inventory consists of 5 parts aimed to define the students strategy profiles in terms of remembering more effectively, using all mental process, compensating for missing, organizing and evaluating, managing emotions, learning with others. The inventory comprises 50 items each of which is labelled with the options that range from ‘‘1= Never or almost never true for me’’, ‘‘2= Usually not true of me’’, ‘‘3= Somewhat true of me’’, ‘‘4= Usually true of me’’ and ‘‘5= Always or almost always true of me’’. The questionnaire on attitudes towards foreign language learning was adopted by Tuncok (2010) from Horwitz’s (1988) Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) and the Attitude/ Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) by Gardner (1985) adding eight more items. The questionnaire consists of 31 items and the answers are labelled as 7 point likert-type format sequencing from 1(totally disagree) to 7 (totally agree). In the study, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were applied together. For the data analysis of this study, SPSS 17.00 package program for social sciences was used throughout the whole process. According to the findings, this research shares the information and insight that learners’ strategy using profiles and attitudes towards foreign language learning should be kept in mind during the applications of all classroom activities especially in the foreign language learning settings. Moreover, the findings have significant implications for research on classroom instruction, material design and teacher education as well