The Prospective Foreign Language Teacher and the Culturally and Linguistically Different Learner

Abstract

ABSTRACT The author hypothesized that prospective foreign language teachers would profess significantly more positive attitudes toward American English dialect differences than would prospective teachers of other subject‐matter areas (English, mathematics, and social studies). A secondary purpose of the study was to examine the interaction of the prospective foreign language teachers' attitudes with three additional variables: (1) urban background, (2) experience abroad, and (3) university attended. The subjects (N = 472) were preservice teachers enrolled in institutions representing five different geographical regions. The instrument used was the Language Attitude Scale. It was found that the prospective foreign language teachers (N = 116) did not differ significantly as a function of the three variables considered; however, significant relationships between the major variable, ‘teaching field,’ and the subjects' attitudes were revealed. The significant differences favored the more positive English group over the more negative social studies group. Certain social and educational trends which may be related to the formation of more positive attitudes are discussed, and recommendations for further language attitude research are suggested.