“How Difficult English Is!” (An Attitude in Learning English for Non-English Students)

Abstract

<jats:p>English is one of the foreign languages taught from elementary to university. However, English is to be unswallowed bitter pill for non-English students. This is caused by the growing concepts of negative attitude about English, “English is frightening, English is hard to study, etc.” Attitude plays a vital role in learning any disciplines of knowledge includes English. Developing competencies and skills of English will not be achieved without noticing the supporting factors. In line with, this article discusses the concept of attitude, language attitude, students’ attitudes toward English, and the factors that influence students’ attitudes toward English as a foreign language.</jats:p>

The Analysis of the Students’ English Achievement (A Case Study on the Students of Islamic Early Childhood Education of Islamic College of Auliaurrasyidin)

“…According to the document of students' English achievement, about 50% of students who got score below 75 as presented in graph 2 below. Numerous things might have an impact on them, such as attitudes, motivation, interest, learning style, and students' surroundings (Fadillah, 2014;Kurniawan & Sai'in, 2018;Anisa & Arifmiboy, 2021;Zulianti & Asari, 2022;Sanger, Rantung, & Corte_Real, 2022;Destomo, Istiatin, & Sudarwati, 2021;Pham & Huynh, 2018). Accordingly, the interview brought to light issues that students have when studying English, such as the ones listed below.…”

“…A learner with negative attitude may result in low learning achievement or achievement below their potential (Dachmiati, 2015). In the contrary, the learners with positive attitude and high self-esteem gives learners strong beliefs to get more opportunities to develop their potential to the fullest (Kurniawan & Sai'in, 2018;Sanger, Rantung, & Corte_Real, 2022). The interview revealed that confidence and self-esteem come to be issues the students should have in learning English.…”

“…Mastering more than a language, including English, becomes a phenomenon that grows rapidly now days. Kurniawan and Sai'in (2018) argue that mastering more than a language is considered to be a gateway of global progress.…”