How Do I Satisfy the General Education Language Requirement? University Students' Attitudes Toward Language Study

Abstract

This study aims to identify the two principal reasons why college students choose a certain language to satisfy a general education second language requirement by polling 172 students enrolled in first‐year language courses in 13 languages at a large Northeastern research university. Students answered a questionnaire and chose the two main reasons from 10 choices articulated in sentimental, value, instrumental, and communicative dimensions. Cross‐tabulations by SPSS showed significant statistical relationships between the attitudinal factors and the language studied. Spanish students strongly favored an instrumental orientation for both first and second choices. Danish, Dutch, French, Arabic, Russian, and German students also indicated instrumental preferences, but their second choices fell into other domains. Portuguese, Italian, Hebrew, Japanese, and Korean students favored communication factors, while Chinese students selected sentimental and communication reasons for their first and second choices, respectively.

An Analysis of Learners’ Motivation and Attitudes toward Learning English Language at Tertiary Level in Turkish EFL Context

“…The studies demonstrate that learners in different contexts attributed a mixture of feelings toward English language and inconsistent attitudinal profiles have been revealed in the previous studies conducted on this crucial issue (Bidin et al, 2009;Cortes, 2002;Friedrich, 2000;Hang, 2009;Thomas, 2010;Young, 2006). Different factors influence attitudes of learners such as social environment, peers, instrumental reasons, culture, age, gender and achievement.…”

Learner Attitudes, Perceptions, and Beliefs in Language Learning

“…These priorities were largely based on factors related to whether or not the students had some background knowledge of the language, which was more common for the students learning the commonly taught languages (see also Brown, ; Loewen et al, ). Thomas (), in a questionnaire study that asked U.S. university students to rank their reasons for choosing a language, offered evidence that learners’ general reasons for learning languages correlated with the languages that they ended up taking; for instance, learners largely expressing a desire to fulfill the requirement selected Spanish, while those with more of an interest in communication sought out Hebrew, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. Learner attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs relating to the teaching of different languages in the language classroom have been vital issues for many stakeholders in FL education in the United States, and further investigations of the reasons behind some of these beliefs are warranted.…”

Fostering Integrative Motivation among Introductory‐Level German Students through a Language Partners Program

“…Gardner & Lambert (1959) claim that integratively oriented language learners are more successful than instrumentally‐oriented learners. Numerous empirical studies (e.g., Gardner, Masgoret, Tennant, & Mihic, 2004; Masgoret & Gardner, 2003; and Thomas, 2010) demonstrate as well that integrative motivation plays a stronger role than instrumental motivation in predicting achievement in language learning, proficiency, and enrollment retention, regardless of age or environment. Masgoret and Gardner (2003) conclude there is “strong support for the proposition that integrative motivation supports successful second language acquisition” (p. 154).…”

“…Thomas (2010) concludes that those who study languages because of integrative motivation, which he calls “sentimental attitudes” (p. 548), are more likely to welcome a rigorous curriculum and continue future study. Because of such strong evidence, it is clear that language instructors should be on the lookout for strategies that will increase and/or create integrative motivational situations for their students.…”