Beliefs about Language Learning - dl.pgu.ac.irdl.pgu.ac.ir/bitstream/Hannan/193811/1/پ2047.pdfIII Declaration The undersigned Fatemeh Ashayerithe M.A. student at Persian Gulf University,

Persian Gulf University

Faculty of Literature and Humanities

ELT Department

M.A. Thesis in

English Language Teaching

The Correlation of Learners’ Attitudes towards their Teachers and their

Beliefs about Language Learning

By

Fatemeh Ashayeri

Supervisor Dr. Mohammadreza Shamsaddini

Advisor Dr. Nasim Ghanbari

March, 2017

III

Declaration

The undersigned Fatemeh Ashayerithe M.A. student at Persian Gulf University, holding student

number 6808282229, hereby declares that this thesis is the result of my own research, and

wherever in this thesis, other sources have been used, the exact references or specifications are

provided. I also assert that my research and its topic are not the repetition of others’ works. In

addition, I commit myself:

1. Not to publish all or parts of the findings of my thesis in scientific periodicals or academic

congregations such as national or international conferences or journals without the prior

permission of Persian Gulf University and my supervisor(s).

2. Not to add the name(s) of any other author(s) not included in the thesis committee to the

article(s) extracted from the thesis without the prior permission of my supervisor(s).

3. Not to add the affiliation of the co-author(s) from the organizations or institutions other

than Persian Gulf University to the article(s) extracted from the thesis without the prior

permission of my supervisor.

Following the code of practice for intellectual property rights, all the material and intellectual

rights of the present work are reserved for Persian Gulf University. If it gets clear that the

conditions of the declaration are breached, Persian Gulf University is fully entitled to take legal

action in order to secure its rights at any time and in due order.

Fatemeh Ashayeri

March, 2017

Persian Gulf University

Faculty of Literature and Humanities

English language and literature Department

The Correlation of Learners’ Attitudes towards their Teachers and their

Beliefs about Language Learning

By

Fatemeh Ashayeri

Thesis

Submitted to Persian Gulf University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts (M.A.) in English Language Teaching

Evaluated and Approved by the Thesis Committee as:

Excellent Very good

March, 2017

Mohammad Reza Shamsaddini (Supervisor), Asst. Prof of

English language teaching, Department of English language

and literature Nasim Ghanbari (Advisor), Asst. Prof of English language

teaching, Department of English language and literature

Abbas Abbasi ( (Referee), Asst. Prof of English language

teaching, Department of English language and literature

Fatemeh Nemati (Referee), Asst. Prof of General linguistics,

Department of English language and literature

III

Acknowledgments

I should express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Shamsaddini my honorable supervisor and

Dr.Ghanbari my dear advisor, for their meticulous attention and informative comments during the

writing process. This study would not have been possible without their directions and comments.

In addition, I should thank Ms. Nouroozi for her precious helps and advice in helping me

administering the questionnaires. My sincere thanks also go to my family, for their constant

support and encouragement through this research, especially my sister at Azad University of

Bushehr.

Fatemeh Ashayeri

Boushehr

March, 2017

IV

Dedicated to

My Dear Parents

Abstract

Learning a language appropriately has been the concern of almost all learners and teachers from

the beginning of the process of language learning, and teachers and students are the most effective

members in the process of learning. There are studies that have considered the influence of factors

that are important in second and foreign language learning. Among these factors, learners’ attitudes

towards their teachers and their beliefs about learning a language are important. This research was

going to examine if there was any correlation between different components of learners’ beliefs

about language learning and their attitudes towards their teachers in a particular EFL context in

Iran. A qualitative design was used to achieve the objectives of this study. Thirty-five university

students from Persian Gulf University and Forty-eight university students from Azad University

of Bushehr took part in this study. Findings of the study showed that there was no correlation

between the learners' beliefs about language learning and their attitudes towards their teachers.

Regarding the components of their beliefs, it was shown that there was only a low, positive and

significant correlation between the motivation and expectation of the learners and their attitudes

towards their teachers.

Keywords: Beliefs, Attitudes, Learners, Perceptions, Motivation, Correlation

Table of contents

Contents page

Abstract…………………………………….……………............……...…...…...........…..…….. VI Table of contents………………………………………………………………..………………. VII List of tables…………………………………………...………………………..………….……. X Chapter One ............................................................................................................................................... X

1.1. Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 2

1.2. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 2

1.3. Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................................... 4

1.4. Objectives of the Study ........................................................................................................................ 5

1.5. Significance of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 6

1.6. Research Question ............................................................................................................................... 7

1.7. Research hypothesis ............................................................................................................................. 7

1.8. Definition of Key Terms ...................................................................................................................... 7

1.8.1 Attitude ............................................................................................................................................ 7

1.8.2. Language learning ........................................................................................................................... 9

1.8.3 Language learners' beliefs ............................................................................................................... 9

1.9. Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 10

Chapter two ............................................................................................................................................... 11

2.1. Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 12

2.2. Theoretical Background .................................................................................................................... 12

2.2.1 Attitudes......................................................................................................................................... 13

2.2.1.1.Behavioral Aspect of Attitude ..................................................................................................... 17

2.2.1.2.Cognitive Aspect of Attitude ....................................................................................................... 17

2.2.1.3.Emotional Aspect of Attitude ..................................................................................................... 17

2.2.1.4. Attitude and Language Learning ................................................................................................ 17

2.2.1.5.Attitude towards Self .................................................................................................................. 18

2.2.1.6.Attitude towards Teacher ........................................................................................................... 18

2.2.1.7.Institutions and Student Study Attitudes ................................................................................... 19

2.3.Perception and Belief .......................................................................................................................... 20

2.3.1. Studies on Beliefs about Language Learning ................................................................................ 20

2.3.2. Teacher Beliefs and Student Beliefs.............................................................................................. 22

2.4. Practical Background ........................................................................................................................ 22

2.4.1 Attitudes......................................................................................................................................... 22

2.4.2 Perception and belief ..................................................................................................................... 23

2.5. Related studies .................................................................................................................................... 25

2.6. Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 27

Chapter Three ........................................................................................................................................... 28

3.1. Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 29

3.2. Design .................................................................................................................................................. 29

3.3. Participants ......................................................................................................................................... 29

3.4. Instrumentation .................................................................................................................................. 30

3.4.1 Student's Attitude Questionnaire .................................................................................................. 30

3.4.2 Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning Questionnaire .............................................................. 30

3.5. Pilot Testing ........................................................................................................................................ 31

3.6. Data Collection Procedure ................................................................................................................ 32

3.7. Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 32

3.8. Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 33

Chapter Four ............................................................................................................................................. 34

4.1. Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 35

4.2. Restatement of the Research Question ............................................................................................. 35

4.3. Results ................................................................................................................................................. 35

4.4. Discussion............................................................................................................................................ 38

4.5. Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 42

Chapter Five .............................................................................................................................................. 43

5.1. Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 44

5.2. Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 44

5.3. Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 45

5.4. Pedagogical Implications ................................................................................................................... 47

5.5. Limitations of the Study .................................................................................................................... 47

5.6. Suggestions for further research ...................................................................................................... 48

5.7 Summary .............................................................................................................................................. 48

References .................................................................................................................................................. 50

Appendix .................................................................................................................................................... 62

List of Tables

Lists

Page

Table 3.1 Item Types and Related Questions in the BALLI Questionnaire ............ 31

Table 3.2 Reliability Statistics of the Student's Attitude Questionnaire ................. 32

Table 3.3 Reliability Statistics of the Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning

Questionnaire (BALLI) ............................................................................................ 32

Table 4.1 Correlation between the Participants’ Beliefs about Language Learning

and their Attitudes towards their Teachers .............................................................. 36

Table 4.2 Correlation between Components of Participants’ Beliefs about

Language Learning and their Attitudes towards their

Teachers...................................................................................................................36

Chapter One

2

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1. Overview

Among variables influencing foreign language learning, this research discusses

the learners' beliefs about language learning and learners' attitudes towards their

teachers and the possible correlation between these two. This chapter will discuss

the related studies and models used in this area of research. Next, it presents the

objectives of the study, research questions, research hypotheses and significance of

the study. Finally, upon defining the key terms in this study, the chapter ends with a

summary section.

1.2. Introduction

In recent decades, different researchers in the field of language learning and

acquisition have attended to the subject of beliefs and attitudes of learners and

teachers. They have studied beliefs of the learners about language learning and their

attitudes towards learning a language and towards their own teachers. They also have

studied the factors that are important about beliefs and attitudes of the learners and

can influence them positively or negatively, because these individual characteristics

of the learners are proved to be important and affective in the process of learning,

especially language learning. Researchers believe that second language learners

come to the language class holding preconceived notions or beliefs about language

and language learning and that these beliefs may represent what expectations the

learners have and what actions in their language learning they will take (Holec, 1987;

Abraham & Vann, 1987; Wenden, 1986 Horwitz, 1987;). So, it is important for

researchers and specialists of the field to study and consider these beliefs and

3

attitudes and also the factors that influence these two.

There are studies which claim that belief is a central construct in every discipline

that concerns human behavior and learning (Ajzen, 1988; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).

Studies show that learners’ beliefs and attitudes can affect the learners’ performance

and their language learning in general. Different researchers have been studying the

teachers' belief development through teacher education programs by considering the

possible effects of teachers’ instructional practices influenced by their beliefs and

and find out that it can affect learners’ learning experiences. There are some ideas

that the teacher’s beliefs may inhibit their learning of new techniques and approaches

in the teacher education programs (Dole & Sinatra, 1994; Horwitz, 1986) which

might restrict their instructional practice choices.

There are a great number of studies that investigate teachers’ beliefs about

teaching and learning within their teacher education programs, but a few studies

have been conducted over beliefs of ESL/EFL teachers. Only a few researchers

(Almarza, 1996; Brown & McGannon, 1998; Cabaroglu & Roberts, 2000; Johnson,

1997; Peacock, 2001) focused on ESL/EFL teachers’ belief development during

their teacher education programs. Peacock was interested in the development of EFL

teachers’ beliefs over the course of TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language)

methodology courses, and did his study in an EFL context.

Breen (2001) states some significant contributory factors of the students that

they bring to the classroom context, and these factors play an important role in the

learning process and their ultimate success. These factors are beliefs, perceptions,

metacognitive knowledge and attitudes.

4

1.3. Statement of the Problem

We use language to express ourselves, communicate with people, plan our lives,

share our ideas, etc. The ability to do and use all these functions with another

language makes it more useful and more widespread, and gives more people the

chance to experience all these uses and even master them as well as advance their

job chances. Learning a language like other learnings is the process of absorbing

new information in a meaningful way and putting it in to use. There are many factors

making foreign language learners different from one another namely, attitudes,

motivation, learning style, age, gender, and aptitude. (Victori & Lockhart, 1995, p.

224)

Most of the psycholinguists in a second language learning context claim that the

learners’ attitudes and beliefs are among the most important factors affecting

language learning. Here we have a glimpse at the major theories of language

acquisition to prove our claim.

Most of the learners have definite beliefs about learning a foreign language.

When people want to talk about learning foreign languages, a great deal of them

seems eager to share their opinions about language learning. Omaggio (1978) in his

study referring to the beliefs about language learning claims that good students have

"insight into the nature of the task."

Students’ beliefs about learning a language can affect their performances in

class. For example, if a student has this belief in mind that he/she is not qualified or

talented enough to learn a language, he/she is not eager to do his/her own best to be

successful in learning that language. In order to know whether students have positive

or negative attitudes about learning a language, a teacher should pay close attention

to them to see what is going on with them in class or even out. If students have

5

unrealistic beliefs about learning a language, it can be a destructive and negative

point in the process of learning. For example, if a student thinks to himself that he

must learn a language in less than two years, he may concentrate on one aspect of

language learning, for example focusing on grammar or vocabulary alone, and this

is a negative point in the process of learning appropriately (Hosenfeld, 1978;

Wenden, 1986).

The impact of students’ beliefs about learning a language is something

undeniable. Teachers as significant parts of any language learning process definitely

affect the way learners view language learning. In addition, English is the medium

of instruction in most of the universities, and students have to learn and use it for

their success. Recent studies show that learners’ interest, aptitude and motivation for

learning English and their success in foreign language policy depend to a large extent

on their attitudes towards their teachers. Also, an extensive literature survey suggests

that beliefs of undergraduate students about learning English have not been studied

before in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to find if there was any correlation

between these beliefs and learners’ attitudes towards their teachers

1.4. Objectives of the Study

The objective of this study was to see the possible correlation between the

learners’ beliefs about learning a language and their attitudes towards their teacher

among some university students of Iran. Also, finding the possible correlation

among components of learners' beliefs about learning a language and their attitudes

towards their teachers was the secondary aim of the present study; detecting those

6

facilitative and debilitative attitudes and beliefs provide a more useful and helpful

situations for learners to learn a language more adequately.

1.5. Significance of the Study

As we know, English has been taught for many years in institutes, universities,

schools and private schools as a foreign language. Studies show that to make

students motivated for learning a language was an important problem for most

teachers, institutes, and even parents.

Most teachers and researchers would like to learn more about the factors which

may improve or facilitate students’ deep involvement in learning. This study intends

to pave the way for families to ease learning and help teachers to come up with a

high appreciation of students' achievements and attitudes. This research also intends

to help teachers have a better understanding of themselves and their abilities in

increasing students’ enthusiasm and also be able to understand learners with

different learning styles.

So far, students' beliefs, to a large extent, have not been considered seriously in

teaching English as a second language; thus, no serious examination has been done

of the students’ beliefs in detail. This thesis may end up with a change of negative

attitude towards learning in the classroom. Having studied this research, a teacher

will pay more attention to his students' attitudes for improving his performance in

the class. No identical or similar research conducted in Iran was found by this

researcher. Only few researches were related to the effects of the learners' beliefs

and teachers' behaviors on learners' attitudes.

7

1.6. Research Question

As referred to earlier, this study intended to discover the possible relationship

between learners’ beliefs about learning a language and their attitudes towards their

teachers in Iran. Therefore, the present study would seek to answer the following

research question.

RQ1: Is there any correlation between learners’ attitudes towards their teachers and

their beliefs about language learning in Iran?

1.7. Research hypothesis

With regard to the raised research question as well as the problem of the study it

is hypothesized that:

H01: There is no correlation between learners’ attitudes towards their teachers and

their beliefs about learning a language in Iran.

1.8. Definition of Key Terms

Attitude, language learning, language learners' beliefs, and learners' attitudes

constitute the key terms of this study, which are defined in the following sections.

1.8.1 Attitude

Psychological theories on attitudes refer to an evaluative, emotional reaction (i.e.

the degree of dislike or like connected with attitudinal object) comprising three

components: affection, cognition, and behavior (Zimbardo & Lieppe, 1991). These

components demonstrate change if there is a disagreement between them (Mantle-

Bromley, 1995, p. 372-386). Beliefs have been defined as "mental constructions

experience" (Sigel, 1985, p. 351) which are thought to be true and control behavior

8

(White, 1999, p. 443). Beliefs about language learning consist of "general

assumptions that students hold about themselves as learners, about factors

influencing language learning and about the nature of language learning and

teaching" (Victori & Lockhart, 1995, p. 224). In spite of being a controversial

definition, the consideration on these beliefs has been named metacognition.

Having affective and cognitive elements, attitude includes emotional reactions,

beliefs and behavioral tendencies related to the object of the attitudes (McGroarly,

1996). It has an evaluative aspect, the way someone thinks or behaves. Attitudes,

nevertheless, being dynamic are likely to change through identifying the sources of

negative attitudes and correcting them.

According to Brown (2007) it is a large proportion of emotional involvement

such as feelings and relationships in community that makes up attitude. Kirimsoy

emphasizes "the power of culture thereby shaping our life and feeling" and therefore

our attitudes towards external world” (1997).

Gardner (1985) claims that attitude is an evaluative reaction to some attitude

object( attitude objects are what you make judgement about and/or what you have

feelings toward; attitude objects could be places, food, ideas, oor virtually anything

you could feel good or bad about) based on the individual' s beliefs about the object.

Based on the most accepted definitions of her scholars, Eveyik (1999) in her MA

thesis points out to attitude as the condition in which one is ready to respond to a

situation and behave in a stable manner towards an object.

Briefly, attitude is considered as our shapes and feelings of our behaviors

towards anything including learning and specifically language learning.

9

1.8.2. Language learning

Schumann (2009) believes that childeren are born with a natural tendency to

attach, bond and affiliate with caregivers to learn their primary language through

their innate interactional instict. He believes that childeren essentially have a drive

to become like members of the same species. And so he published this as a theory

called 'the interactional instict'. But later on he claims that this theory works only for

first language acquisition and for foreign languages it is different. He then says that

the motivation for second language acquisition varies across individuals'

aptitude,talent and the opportunity for learning it. And threfore we don' t have the

same results or the same success in second language acquisition like that primary

language acquisition.

There are studies that show the classification of motivation. For more than 50

years ago specialists have classified motivation into the terms integrative and

instrumental. And we should consider the fact that these types of motivation are

closely connected to each other.

Studies show that learners of English have more motivation than other languages

because there are more materials for them in English to learn, and these materials

make them motivated for learning English.

1.8.3 Language learners' beliefs

We can generally say that language learners have beliefs about their language

learning, but as Horwitz (1987) says, these beliefs are considered not to be always

clear. Such beliefs about language learning have sometimes been called mini

theories of second language acquisition (Hosenfeld, 1978; Wenden, 1986). They are

10

sometimes defined as "psychologically held understandings, premises or

propositions about the world that are felt to be true" (Richardson, 1996: 103) and

"general assumptions that students hold about themselves as learners, about factors

influencing learning and about the nature of language learning" (Victori & Lockhart,

1995).

The role of learners’ beliefs in language learners’ experience and their success or

failure is something undeniable. By considering the importance of beliefs in this

way, learners show higher degrees of enthusiasm and perseverance in their learning

tasks, and several researchers have noticed that (see, e.g., Pintrich & De Groot, 1990;

Cotterall, 1999). In this way, knowledge of their learners’ beliefs about language

learning may help language teachers come to a better understanding of their

students’ success in, commitment to, expectations of and satisfaction with their

English classes (Horwitz, 1988). Taking these considerations into account makes

educators able to make clearer choices about teaching and take a more perceptive

approach to the learning opportunities in their lessons (Cotterall, 1999; Bernat &

Gvozdenko, 2005)

1.9. Summary

This introductory chapter provided an overview of this research to give readers

directions about what they expect to read in the following chapters. It introduced a

research background and the value of the research, and then aims and research

questions were outlined. Also, the key terms are defined to help the readers to

understand the thesis better while they are going forward in reading such as the

definition and characteristics and principles of communicative language teaching.

11

Chapter two

12

Chapter Two

Review of Literature

2.1. Overview

This chapter includes theoretical background and empirical studies. Firstly there

are some concepts and definitions about attitudes and achievements; then

perceptions, beliefs and behavior will be reviewed comprehensively.

2.2. Theoretical Background

There are some studies that have been conducted in past decades to examine

beliefs about language learning of different groups of second language learners who

are native English speakers studying foreign languages (Horwitz, 1988; Kern, 1995;

Mori,1999), ESP learners (Cotterall, 1995; Horwitz, 1987; Wenden, 1986), and EFL

learners (Peacock, 1999; Sakui and Truitt 1995 Gaies, 1999; Wen and Johnson,

1997;Yang, 1999). In some other studies, the relationships between learners’ beliefs

about learning a language and factors that can affect language learning success were

investigated. Some of these factors are motivation, attitude, aptitude, anxiety and so

on. Also, some beliefs about language learning have been found to correlate with

English proficiency.

Most of these researches suggest that second language teachers, by knowing

learners’ beliefs about language learning, can help to enhance their learners’ success

in language learning in two ways: by promoting their students’ beliefs which are

facilitative to language learning and by removing those that are debilitative. As

experts hope to find ways to adjust learners’ beliefs, the studies about teachers’

beliefs have become another interest of researchers and are the focus of some studies.

13

The studies are based on the hypothesis that learners expand their beliefs about

language learning from their experiences (Horwitz, 1987; Mori, 1999) and that

teacher beliefs influence their classroom practices which can in turn influence their

students’ learning (Johnson, 1992; Richards & Lockhart, 1996). The investigations

of teachers’ beliefs about learning a language aim to examine 1) the relationships

between teacher beliefs and student beliefs (Kern, 1995; Peacock, 1999; Samimy

and Lee, 1997) and 2) the effects of teacher beliefs on their classroom practices

(Burns, 1996; Johnson, 1992, 1994; Smith, 1996). The information gained from

these studies help us to understand how learner beliefs are developed.

2.2.1 Attitudes

In general, attitudes are what we think and what we feel. In other words, attitudes

are the product of the related beliefs and values. If a person believes that his teacher

is consultative, and he values consultation, he/she might have a favorable attitude

towards the teacher. On the other hand, if he/she thinks that his/her teacher has no

control over the class and he values that control, his/her attitude towards the teacher

would be unfavorable.

Today, we know that not only the authorities but parents, media, peers and

students themselves play an important role in the development of attitudes. we

should consider that parents’ attitudes can play a much more important role in the

study of their children.

Attitude can be positive (value) or negative (prejudice). Kreitner and Kinicki

(2007) believe that components of attitude are affective, cognitive and behavioral.

The affective component is an emotion or a feeling one has about an object. The

cognitive component is the beliefs or ideas one has about an object or situation, while

14

the behavioral component of attitude reflects how one intends to act or behave

towards someone or something (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2007).

Ellis (2008) claims that affecting learners' attitudes is a way that social settings

can influence L2 acquisition. The target language, the target language culture, target-

language speakers, the value of learning the L2, particular uses of the target language

can make different attitudes in learners. Ellis also believes that the attitude of

learners , their L2 proficiency and their success have influence on each other.

Brown (2007) believes that in early childhood the attitudes of childeren

develope and are the result of peers' and parent's attitudes, of relationship with people

who are different in any number of ways, and of interacting different factors in the

human experience. He points out to Gardner and Lambert’s (1972) extensive studies

on the effect of attitudes on language learning and that they believe that motivationis

a factor made up of certain attitudes.

Wenden (1985, cited in Al-Tamimi & Shuib, 2009) presented a definition of the

term ‘attitudes’. According to his definition, ‘attitudes’ have three components:

affective, behavioral, and cognitive.

Regarding Wenden’s theory of attitudes, Van Ellis et al. (1984, cited in Al-

Tamimi & Shuib, 2009, p. 33) claims that "it does not really matter whether all or

only one of the three components are measured; the relationship between these

components is so close that sufficient information on an attitude can be acquired by

measuring only one component, no matter which".

Kumaravadivelu (2006) claims that social psychologists believe that attitudes

are a matter of individual differences. It means that different individuals have

different attitudes towards “the same stimuli” (Eiser, 1987 cited in Kumaravadivelu,

15

2006, p. 39). And that attitudes are considered to be a social factor which are

influenced by the events in the external world.Lightbown and Spada (2006) have a

definition of motivation as “a concept that explains how and why people behave as

they do” (Csizer & Dornyei, 2005, p. 20).

Chowdhri and Ansari (1990) in their study claim that attitudes of learners and

their habits are important factors, and have a close relationship with the success of

students in their academic work.

Attitude is one of the most important factors that has played an important role in

the description of social behavior. A general definition of attitude is a desire and

inclination to respond favorably or unfavorably to an object, institution, event, or

person.

Allport (1960)' definition of attitude is a mental state of readiness, organized

through experience, exerting a directive effect on the individual’s responses to all

objects and situations with which it is related.

According to some other studies, attitude can be defined as an enduring

categorization of perceptional, emotional, and motivational cognitive processor with

respect to individual’s world. For example, someone who has an anti-American

attitude perceives the American as bad while a pro-American will not perceive him

as bad.

Choudhri (1995) claims that attitude is a state of readiness that arises from

motives. Attitude is identified as an implicit response that changes in intensity and

tends to lead an individual’s responses to issues. Individuals have attitudes towards

everything and in varying intensity, which may be positive or negative. Attitude is

considered as organization of related beliefs around a common object. Bem (1970)

defines attitudes as simply likes and dislikes. Oskamp (1977) has a general definition

16

of attitudes as disposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable manners to

objects.

Attitude based on Eiser (1987) is a subjective experience involving an evaluation

of something or somebody. Something or somebody here is represented within the

experiences. Direct and indirect experiences can guide us to have particular attitudes

towards an attitudinal object. Learning appropriate attitudes and behavior can be

achieved throogh attitudinal experiences, and relatives, peers, media and teachers

all can provide these attitudinal experiences.

Kaballa & Crowley (1985) as cited in Weinburg (1998) believe that attitude

towards language learning and teachers are important and influence behaviors such

as reading books and speaking in a foreign language. Riley (1986) as cited in

Weinburg (1998) reported that there is support for the proposition that attitudes have

effects on achievement rather than achievement influencing attitudes.So there is a

relationship between attitudes and achievment

There are studies that shows both negative and positive attitudes have a strong

effect on the success of language learning. Almost all studies prove that affective

variables have significant impacts on language learning, (Eveyik, 1999; Gardner,

1985; Skehan, 1989; Spolsky, 1989). Knowing students' attitudes about language

will help both students and teachers in the teaching-learning process. Therefore, we

should consider the important role of affective domain.

Values, interest and tendency are the features of affective domain and most of

these features shape our attitude. Saracaloğlu (2000) refers to valuing, belief, interest

and expectation as affective characteristics. He then claims that students’ attitudes

are generally restricted, but in fact measuring attitude is achieved more successfully

than defining it as a term. Bloom (1973) points out that the affective features have

a very noticeable impact on learning as well.

17

2.2.1.1.Behavioral Aspect of Attitude

Shaffer, D (2000) claims that the behavioral aspects of attitude deal with the

behavior and reactions of a person in particular situations. In fact, the successful

language learning helps the learners to identify themselves with the native speakers

of that language and acquire various aspects of behavior which belongs to the

members of the target language community.

2.2.1.2.Cognitive Aspect of Attitude

This aspect engages the beliefs of the language learners about the knowledge that

they receive and their comprehension in the process of learning a language. McGilly

(1996) claims that the cognitive aspect of attitude can be classified into four steps of

connecting the former knowledge and the current one, creating new knowledge,

checking new knowledge, and applying the new knowledge in many situations.

2.2.1.3.Emotional Aspect of Attitude

Feng and Chen (2009) believed that language learning is an emotional process,

and different emotional factors can affect it. Attitudes help the learners to show

whether they have feelings towards the objects or surrounding situations or not.

Choy & Troudi (2006) state that the inner feelings of learners affect their attitudes

and their perspectives towards the target language.

2.2.1.4. Attitude and Language Learning

Some studies have shown that people’s aims can powerfully influence how they

react to a task (Lamb, 2004). So finishing a task can be related to the aim of the

participants in that matter. Oxford & Shearing (1994) say that the reactions and

18

attitudes towards a task can also be influenced by the degree of the participants'

motivation.

Holmes (1992) claims that in learning a foreign language, learners can be

motivated by the people who speak the language or the context in which the language

is spoken.

Brown (2007) believes that second language learners benefit from positive

attitudes, and negative attitudes may decrease their motivation. But, he states that

negative attitudes can be changed, for example, by speaking or meeting people from

other cultures.

Truitt (1995) claimes that cultural backgrounds and former experiences can

change students' beliefs and attitudes towards learning. So, we can say that there are

some reasons behind the emergence of positive or negative attitudes, and they are

not accidental.

2.2.1.5.Attitude towards Self

Gutkin (1990) believes that in the field of social psychology, attitude has taken

a major position, and remains a famous topic of study. McGuire (1985) found that

studies of attitude change have been accumulating at the rate of over 13200 per year,

with over 7000 publications appearing in the applied literature in the decade

preceding his review.

2.2.1.6.Attitude towards Teacher

Hamachek (1998) claims that the students’ feeling about themselves and their

performance can powerfully be influenced by teacher's anticipation of any student's

19

academic performance. Teachers like to interact with the students that they think are

brighter or have more academic performance, and this attitude of teachers can affect

students' attitudes towards themselves and so have positive effect on brighter

students' performance and negative effect on less brighter students.

Borich (1977) states that teachers should consider this fact that students have

many instuctors.Their parents, their peers, institutions' teachers and others that have

always been training them to react to things for a long time. These other people may

have shown them a lot of times that they could break out with anything just by giving

lip service to what the teacher says. So they keep on doing what they like. If that is

the case, you should try hard to build up new different experiences with these

students. You should show them that their old attitude won’t be a good one in their

relationship with you.

2.2.1.7.Institutions and Student Study Attitudes

Stockard and Mayberry (1992) claimed that the quality of a physical

environment is related to attitude towards school. These results may eventually relate

to higher academic achievement. Christopher (1995) concluded that human nature

makes people feel better about themselves when their surrounding environments are

desirable. Students who have better attitudes towards their surroundings usually

work harder and learn more. He also found that students in good and beautiful classes

of institutions have more energy and expressed feelings of engoiment, comfort,

importance, pleasure, energy, and a desire to continue their activities. So, if a child

has positive attitudes towards his institution and looks forward to attend there, it

means that he will do better in the class.

20

2.3.Perception and Belief

Schommer (1990) claims that based on a growing body of evidence the role of

learners’ beliefs in different disciplines play an important role in learning experience

and achievements and have a powerful impact on the outcomes and learning

behavior.

Schoenfeld (1983) shows that belief systems, social cognitions and

metacognitions are a great force in rational performance, and that students may be

directly influenced by their perception of success in learning and levels of

expectancy. High expectations helping to build confidence, and low expectations

leading to de-motivation and disappointment (Puchta, 1999). Puchta found that

positive beliefs help to solve the problems and so increase the motivation, and on

the other hand negative beliefs can decrease motivation.

Pintrich (2003) states that as students go to higher levels of education, their

motivation in study decreases. Wigfield, Eccles, and Rodriguez (1998) found that as

students go to higher level, they feel that ability and intelligence are unchangeable,

ans so their motivation for more efforts decreases.

2.3.1. Studies on Beliefs about Language Learning

According to the assumptions about possible effects of beliefs, researchers have

made various claims about how studies on beliefs about language learning may

contribute to the second language acquisition field. Understanding about learners'

beliefs can help adjusting learners' attitudes and behavior. As Horwitz (1987) and

Holec (1987) suggest, teachers, by knowing the beliefs of students about language

learning and giving new ideas and informations to them can cause resistance to

some instructional approaches or activities.

21

Horwitz (1987) claimed that learners may lose confidence in the instructional

approach and their ultimate achievement can be limited when there is a contradiction

between learners’ preconceived ideas about learning and teachers’ teaching

approaches and/or instructional activities. Furthermore, learners may be less

receptive to new information if their previous beliefs are in disagreement with the

new information received from school and that this conflict can prevent learners

from learning the new information (Cotterall, 1995; Dole & Sinatra, 1994).

Therefore, by refining learners’ beliefs, it is hoped that teachers can promote

learners’ confidence in their teaching approaches and activities and will enhance

learners’ motivation and attempts in learning (Horwitz, 1987).

As Wenden (1986) and Rubin (1987) claim, insights about learners’ beliefs may

help promote the use of effective language learning strategies

An investigation of learners’ beliefs about language learning may help teachers

design and prepare a course or program for particular purposes. For example,

Cotterall (1995) says that an understanding about beliefs can help develop a

language program that enhances learners’ autonomy.

A great number of studies on beliefs about language learning have been

conducted involving various groups of foreign and second language learners and

teachers. American students learning foreign languages (Horwitz, 1988; Kern, 1995;

Mori, 1999; Samimy and Lee, 1997), ESL learners from different backgrounds

(Abraham and Vann, 1987; Cotterall, 1995; Horwitz, 1987; Wenden, 1986), and

EFL students in various countries (Huang, 1997; Kunt, 1997; Peacock, 1999, 2001;

Sakui and Gaies, 1999; Truitt, 1995; Wended and Johnson, 1997; Yang, 1999), and

in-service and pre-service second and foreign language instructors (Horwitz, 1988;

Kern, 1995; Peacock, 1999, 2001). These researchers concluded that an investigation

of beliefs about language learning of foreign and second language learners is

22

worthwhile and the insights gained from such study can help foreign and second

language teachers enhance their students’ capability in language learning. Some

researchers claim that teachers can help refine students’ beliefs but the others say

that teachers raise students’ awareness about their beliefs.

2.3.2. Teacher Beliefs and Student Beliefs

Based on almost all studies, we can say that, in general, there is a relationship

between students’ beliefs and teachers’ beliefs about language learning (Kern, 1995;

Samimy and Lee, 1997; Peacock, 1999). And this relationship is almost

contradictory. In almost all of these studies we see that the students tended to speak

with excellent pronunciation, and cared about vocabulary and grammar more than

the teachers.

2.4. Practical Background

2.4.1 Attitudes

Ngidi (2007) found that educators of English in selected schools in South Africa

have a negative attitude towards English language in schools but their parents have

a positive attitude towards the use of English as a language of learning and teaching

in schools.

In a project done by Peacock (1998), the impact of authentic materials on the

attitudes of EFL learners were studied and showed that authentic materials were less

absorbing than artificial materials to the learners. Soleimani (2010) investigated a

group of Iranian medical students' attitudes towards foreign language learning and

found that Iranian medical students have highly positive attitudes towards English

23

language. It is suggested that teachers should pay attention to learners’ attitudes

because it can affect their success in foreign language learning.

Buschenhofen (1998) found that the attitudes of 12 year learners and final-year

university students towards English language were positive, and there were some

significant attitudinal differences in relation to specific English language contexts.

Chalak et al. (2010) investigated the different socio-psychological orientations

of Iranian undergraduates towards learning English language. Its focus was on the

motivation of the students and their attitudes towards the target language and its

community. The results revealed a highly positive attitudes towards learning English

language and that the Iranian speakers of English learn the language for both

instrumental and integrative reasons.

Alzwari (2001) found that secondary school students have negative attitudes

towards learning English, and also there were significant attitudinal differences

regarding gender and field of study.

2.4.2 Perception and belief

Yang (1999) investigated the relationship between EFL college students’ beliefs

about language learning and their use of learning strategies. The study revealed a

relationship between learners’ self-efficacy beliefs about learning English and all

types of learning strategies, especially functional practice strategies. Also, learners’

beliefs about nature of learning and the value of spoken English were closely linked

to their use of formal oral-practice strategies. The results showed that there are

cyclical relationships between students’ beliefs and strategy use and their

achievement in learning English.

24

Horwitz (1988) claimed that the differences between teacher and learner beliefs

probably result in negative outcomes for students. Horwitz also said that a gap

between teacher and learner beliefs can reduce students’ confidence and make them

unsatisfied with the class and unwillingly to participate in communicative activities.

She then concluded that teachers have both enabling and detrimental beliefs to

language learning, and by ignoring those negative beliefs, they can expect their

students to be open to particular teaching methos and to recieve the maximum benefit

from them.

Mantle-Bromley (1995) found a number of her students’ beliefs concerning

learning differed from teacher beliefs. Within the study, learners believed within the

existence of foreign language aptitude.

Mori (1999) found that there are differences in beliefs between beginners and

advanced language learners of Japanese in two aspects of beliefs, belief about the

simplicity of knowledge structure, and beliefs about the difficulty of one linguistic

system of Japanese. He found that advanced learners of Japanese in this study

believe that the knowledge structure was not simple, and that Japanese was not

easy,unlike the beginners that like to think differently. Mori then suggested that this

changeability could have resulted from the different amounts of instruction the

learners have received. And that the advanced learners which have recieved more

amount of complex instruction, their beliefs about it cannot be simple, and beginners

which had a simple instruction cannot think of that as something difficult.

Kern (1995) found that there is no relationship between learners’ belief about

language learning and teachers’ beliefs. Therefore, he wanted to check out the

beliefs of the learners with their own language teacher, and in the end he concluded

that learners’ beliefs can be changed by the beliefs of their teachers but advanced

25

learners’ beliefs, who had more learning experience, may be more resistant.

Truitt (1995) studied the beliefs of university students learning English as a

foreign language in Korea, and found that the Korean learners have some different

beliefs about language learning from American learners (Horwitz, 1988), EFL

students in Taiwan (Yang, 1999), and a group of ESL students (Park, 1995). In this

study, we can also see that some other factors such as living in an English –speaking

country or the major of the learners can have an influence on the learners’ beliefs

about learning a language.These findings reveal the fact that learners’ beliefs about

learn studeing a language can be changed by factors such as their previous

experiences and cultural backgrounds (Horwitz, 1987).

Suwanarak (1999) investigated the perceptions about English language learning

of 200 Thai graduate students, and found that a lot of students rated themselves to

be unsuccessful English language learners whereas only a few students, with better

use of learning strategies, rated themselves as high achievers. Significant

correlations between students’ use of beliefs about English language learning and

their learning strategies indicate that the beliefs are related to strategy use. This

results can be considered as suitable ways of using learners’ perceptions to develop

English teaching and learning practice.

2.5. Related studies

There are a lot of studies related to the learners’ attitudes towards language

learning all over the world. For example, Shams (2008) investigated the attitudes of

students towards English learning, and found that students’ attitudes towards foreign

language learning were mostly positive. Another study by Momani (2009) indicated

nearly the same positive results. Chalak and Kassaian (2010) in their study

26

investigated the attitude of Iranian EFL learners towards learning a foreign language

and the target language community, and found that their attitude towards the foreign

language community was highly positive. Dehbozorgi (2012), on the other hand

investigated the effects of attitude towards language learning on Iranian EFL

students’ proficiency. He showed that there were no significant correlation between

attitude of learners towards English language learning and their proficiency in

language. Al-tamimi and Shuib (2009) also claimed that EFL students’ motivation

in language learning is affected by their attitudes towards language learning.

Latif, Fadzil, Bahroom and San (2011) found that there is a correlation between

variables such as anxiety, motivation, instrumental orientation and attitude of the

learners, and their performance in the class, and attitude has a positive impact on

that.t Shokrpour (2010) investigated the Iranian students’ attitudes towards learning

English and found the mostly positive attitudes of the learners towards learning

English.

Al-Tamimi and Shuib (2010) in Kenya showed that the most affective and

psychological factor in learners’ performance is the attitudes of learners towards

English language learning.

In general, we can say that all these studies show the importance of students

'attitudes and beliefs about their teachers and the language learning. And indicating

the elements that can have an influence on these attitudes are important and can pave

the way for other language learning strategies.

The subject of attitude is not studied and investigated specifically and sufficiently

in Iranian students, and there is a gap about the issue of attitude of language learners

especially undergraduate students about their instructors and their teachers in Iran.

27

And this study would help to understand this important issue in Iran. The next part

presents how the current study was carried out.

2.6. Summary

The role of belief not only in English language learning but also in other

languages learning is very significant and crucial. The majority of studies which

was mentioned and indicated in this study revealed that the learners have positive

beliefs about the language, but they are not successful in their classrooms. The

causes for unsuccessfulness are psychological elements such as anxiety, self-esteem,

motivation, etc. According to Ellis (1994) attitudes of learners have been known as

important variable. The attitudes are shaped by the social factors which influence

learner outcome. Therefore, more researches are needed to be conducted in this area.

The next chapter sketches out the methodology which was used to conduct this

study.

28

Chapter Three

29

Chapter Three

Methodology

3.1. Overview

This chapter consists of four sections. The first section provides information

about the design, participants of the study and the instruments used to collect data

and answer the research question. In the second section, data collection

procedures followed in the study are explained step by step. Also, the related data

analyses will be discussed.

3.2. Design

The design of the study is a qualitative correlational design. It follows the data

collection procedures and analysis of quantitative method. The data collection

method for the quantitative mode was questionnaires. The correlation between the

participants’ beliefs about language learning and their attitudes towards their

teachers was investigated.

3.3. Participants

The participants of this study were chosen randomly from Persian Gulf

University and Azad University of Bushehr. All of the candidates were native

speakers of Persian. They were students of B.A (Bachelor of Arts) in English

Literature. Most of them were in upper intermediate level. Their age ranged from

20 to 29 years old. The sample of the study was made up of 35 university students

30

from Persian Gulf University and 48 students from Azad University of Bushehr.

There were both male and female students in the sample.

3.4. Instrumentation

Two instruments were utilized in this study. The first one was the Attitude

Questionnaire developed by Clement and Kruidenier (1985). The second one was

the Belief Questionnaire developed by Horwitz (1987). For gaining more accurate

responses, the Persian translation of the questionnaires was given to the students.

3.4.1 Student's Attitude Questionnaire

Student's attitude questionnaire contains some questions demonstrating the

students' attitude towards their educators. The Student's attitude questionnaire was

developed by Clement and Kruidenier (1985) (See Appendix 1) include 35 items,

which are rated on a 5-point scale ranging from “never =1” to “always =5”.

3.4.2 Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning Questionnaire

To examine the participants' beliefs about English language learning, this study

utilized Horwitz's (1987) Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) as

an instrument (See Appendix 2). The BALLI questionnaire is used to evaluate

beliefs about five language learning areas, namely (1) Foreign language aptitude, (2)

learning and communication strategies, (3) the difficulty of language learning, (4)

the nature of language learning and (5) motivations and expectations. The BALLI

has 34 items 32 of which offer 5-point Likert-type responses. These thirty two items

range from "strongly agree =5" to "strongly disagree =1". The other two items; 4

and 14, are related to the learners' rating of the difficulty level of English. These two

31

range from very difficult to difficult, medium, easy, and very easy, and the amount

of time needed to learn English very well. As an example, five language learning

areas along with their related numbers presented in BALLI have been presented in

the Table below:

Table 3. 1

The item types and related questions in the BALLI questionnaire

Language Learning Areas Item numbers Number

of items

Foreign language aptitude 1 – 2 – 5 – 10 – 29 – 15 – 22 – 32 – 34 9

Difficulty of language learning 3 – 4 – 6 – 14 – 24 - 28 6

Nature of language learning 8 – 11 – 16 – 20 – 25 - 26 6

learning and communication strategies 7 – 9 – 12 – 13 – 17 – 18 – 19_21 8

Motivations and expectations 23 – 27 – 30 – 31 – 33 5

3.5. Pilot Testing

A small group of English university students (N=10) were selected randomly for

the pilot testing, in order to make certain that the questionnaires work properly. For

gaining more accurate results, the translated version was used for pilot testing.

Cronbach's Alpha analysis was used to find the reliability of the questionnaires.

Before piloting the questionnaires, there were some clarifications about the main

reason of the study. Tables 3.2 and 3.3 show the related results.

32

Table 3. 2

Reliability statistics of the student's attitude questionnaire

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.916 35

The reliability coefficient of the student's attitude questionnaire (translated

version), in line with Table 3.2, was found to be .916 which is a high level of

reliability.

Table 3.3

Reliability statistics of the beliefs about foreign language learning questionnaire (BALLI)

Cronbach's Alpha N of Items

.910 34

As shown in Table 3.3, it can be inferred that the BALLI questionnaire ( translated

version) is highly reliable (reliability coefficient = .910).

3.6. Data Collection Procedure

The data was collected through two questionnaires. The questionnaires were

translated in to Persian. Then, the learners were clarified about the main purpose of

the study. First, the translated copy of the attitude questionnaire about their teacher

and then the translated copy of BALLI questionnaire were given to them to be

answered. There was no time limit for answering the questionnaires.

3.7. Data Analysis

The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the statistical

analyses of the data. To find the correlation between the participants’ beliefs about

33

language learning and their attitude towards their teachers, the researcher used the

Pearson product moment correlation coefficient to find the correlation between the

five components of the participants’ beliefs about language learning and their

attitudes towards their teachers.

3.8. Summary

This chapter explained the methodology pursued in this study. First, there was an

overall explanation about the chapter. Then, the design and method which was used

in the study was discussed . Afterward, the exact details about the participants were

revealed . Next, the instruments which were utilized in the study and, consequently,

the procedures of data collection were discussed. At last, how the data was analyzed

to find out the final results were mentioned.

34

Chapter Four

35

Chapter Four

Results and Discussions

4.1. Overview

This chapter provided the study results obtained from the statistical analysis of

the collected data. The aim of this study, as previously stated, was to examine the

relationship between beliefs of students about language learning and their attitudes

towards their teachers.

4.2. Restatement of the Research Question

As mentioned before, the present study aimed to answer the following research

question:

RQ1: Is there any relationship between learners’ attitudes towards their teachers and

their beliefs about language learning in Iran?

The next section presents the related results of this question.

4.3. Results

According to the obtained results which are shown in Table 4.1, there was no

relationship between learners’ beliefs about language learning and their attitudes

towards their teachers.

The researcher applied a thirty five Likert items to find the attitudes of participants

towards their teachers. The responses were coded as “Never =1”, to “Always =5”.

36

Table 4.1

Correlation between Participants’ Beliefs about Language Learning and their Attitudes towards their

Teachers

The researcher applied the correlation analysis in order to answer the research

question. The results obtained from correlation between the five components of the

beliefs of participants about language learning and their attitudes towards their

teachers are demonstrated in Table 4.2.According to the obtained results which are

shown in Table 4.2, there was only a low, positive and significant relationship (r

=.17, sig. =.02, p

37

Learning and Communication

Strategies

Sig. (2-tailed) .759

N 83

Motivation and Expectations Pearson Correlation *.171

Sig. (2-tailed) .029

N 83

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

The results of a study by Soleimani (2010) revealed that Iranian medical students

have highly positive attitudes towards English language,and recommended that

teachers should pay attention to learners' attitudes and beliefs because it can affect

their success in foriegn language learning.

There are alot of studies investigated the relationship between the learners' beliefs

about language learning and some other factors related to language learning such as

proficiency level, beliefs of the teachers about language learning, the environment

of the learning and so many other factors related to that.

There are alot of reports that shows both positive and negative beliefs and

attitudes towards language learning and their high or low relationship with other

factors.

This study was going to find if there were any correlation between the learners'

beliefs about language learning and their attitudes towards their teachers, and as we

saw there was a low, positive and significant relationship between motivation and

expectations of the learners and their attitudes towards their teachers.

The same results is reported by Lan (2010) who have studied Taiwanese 7th

grades foreign language learners, and found that the motivation and expectations of

the learners was the strongest of the five factors concerning language learning

beliefs.

38

4.4. Discussion

In this part, the research question and all discussions related to that will be

presented.

Concerning the correlation of learners’ beliefs about learning a language and

their attitudes towards their teachers, the findings generally showed that there is no

relation between learners’ beliefs about learning a language and their attitudes

towards their teachers. However there is a low significant relation between one

component of belief and attitude. There is a low and positive relationship (r =.17)

between the students’ motivation and expectations and their attitudes towards their

teachers.

There are some other studies that inestigated these components of beliefs of the

language learners and its relation to some other factors such as proficiency level of

the learners and some other related factors. The results of most of these

investigations showed that the component of motivation and expectations had the

most positive and significant results. In this study we saw that there is a low and

positive relationship between the students' motivation and expectations and their

attitudes towards their teachers.

Five questions of the BALLI questionnaire ( 23, 27, 30, 31, 33) are related to

learners' motivation and expectations. Item number 23 says that I want to speak

English well. As there is a low and significant correlation between these items and

their attitudes towards their teachers, we can say that the learners' motivation and

expectations to become fluent in English and speak it well, have a positive

relationship with their attitudes towards their teachers, and the higher motivation and

expectations they have for speaking it well can lead to more positive attitudes of

them towards their teachers and vice versa.

39

The next question says that if I learn to speak English very well, I will have better

opportunities for a good job. Barron and Harackiewicz (1984) suggested that

students who like to take proficiency exams for finding a job or living in a foreign

language country ( with performance goals), do their best in learning a language and

gain more short-term results, but those who want to learn a language with mastery

goals, are likely to love a task and have more positive beliefs about it. But as Barron

& Harackiewicz (2001) found, in some situations, performance goals can lead to

more interest than mastery goals. Oxford & Shearing (1994) suggested that the

reactions and attitudes towards a task can be influenced by the degree of the

participants' motivation. And here in this study we found that there is a low and

positive correlation between this beliefs of learners that if they learn to speak English

very well, they will have better oppotunities for a good job, and their attitudes

towards their teachers. So, if they have positive attitudes towards their teachers, they

will have positive beliefs about reaching proficiency levels in speaking and finding

better oppotunities for a good job. Also, if the learners have good and positive

attitudes towards their teachers, their motivation and expectations for learning

English increases and they will have more positive beliefs for learning to speak

English in order to have better opportunities for a good job.

Based on the data gathered in this study, the learners believe that people in their

country feel that it is important to speak English and this belief have a low, positive

and significant relationship with their attitudes towards their teachers.

If the people of your country feel the importance of speaking English, it will have

an influence on you and can change your beliefs about language learning and

increase your motivation for learning it. Consequently, when your belifs changed,

your attitudes towards your English techers will change, too.

40

Krech & Crutchfield(1948) stated that people can have different attitudes for

varying degrees of favorability towards themselves, and towards any aspect of their

environment.

If the beliefs of the learners and their feelings about learning a language is

positive and they think that it is important to learn English in order to speak it well,

it can influence their motivation and expectaations for learning it and this will have

positive impact on learners' attitudes towards their English teachers.

And finally, if the learners are highly motivated to know Americans or find

American friends, then it is significant to have positive beliefs about language

learning and also positive attitudes towards their English teachers for fulfilling their

expectations.

As Oxford & Shearing (1994) suggested, the reactions and attitudes towards a

task can be influenced by the degree of the participants' motivation. So the more

the learners are motivated for fluency in English or the people of their country have

positive feelings about learning English or they think of English as an important

factor for finding jobs or American friends, the more positive attitudes they will have

for learning English and this can change their attitudes towards their teachers.

Holmes (1992) suggested that in learning a foreign language, learners can be

motivated by the people who speak the language or the context in which the language

is spoken. So, we can say that if the learners like the Americans or like to speak their

language and be fluent in speaking in it and feel that speaking English is important,

they will have more motivation for learning it. And they will have more positive

attitudes towards their teachers.

As Truitt (1995) mentioned , positive or negative attitudes do not expand

accidentally but they have some reasons for their emergence.

Based on Malallah (2000) Arab learners of English have positive attitudes and

beliefs towards learning Engish and their proficiency in tests was positively related

41

to their attitudes towards English. Since Arab people have positive attitudes towards

learning English and English is useful for them for their job and for finding

American friends, and the good feelings that they have towards it and also the fact

that English is useful because of the attendance of tourists, Arab people have enough

motivation for learning English and so they will have positive attitudes towards their

English teachers.

There are some elements that have influence on learners' beliefs about language

learning, but only a few of them have relationship with the learners' attitudes towards

their teachers.

As the finding of this study indicated, only those beliefs that are related to

motivation and expectations of the learners have a low, positive and significant

correlation with their attitudes towards their teachers. And other components of the

learners' beliefs like foreign language aptitude, difficulty of language learning,

nature of language learning and learning and communication strategies have no

significant correlation with the learners' attitudes towards their learning teachers.

There are some beliefs about language learning that have no relationship with the

learners' attitudes towards their teachrs. If a learner have a special ability for learning

foreign languages, it has no relationship with their attitudes towards their teachers.

When a language is easier to learn than others, the belief about learning it is positive,

but based on this study, this has no relationship with the learners' attitudes towards

their teachers.

In general, we saw that the learners have both positive and negative beliefs about

language learning but only the belifs of motivation and expectations had a low,

positive and significant relationship with the learners' attitudes towards their

teachers.

42

4.5. Summary

This section discussed the results of the study. It included a descriptive

statistics of the respondents’ attitudes followed by a discussion on the beliefs about

English language of the undergraduate students. Then, empirical evidence was

mentioned in support of the hypotheses about the relationship between attitudes and

beliefs.

43

Chapter Five

44

Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusions, Pedagogical Implications, and Suggestions

5.1. Overview

This chapter will begin with a review and summary of the research question,

the procedures employed and the related findings. Then, the results obtained from

the data analysis will be compared to those of the related studies in the literature.

Later, the current study’s implications for language educators, material developers,

and syllabus designers shall be introduced. After that, the limitations of the study

will be presented. And, finally some suggestions and prospects for further research

will be offered to those taking an interest in following the same track in their

language studies.

5.2. Summary

The most important aim of this study was to discover if there were any

significant relationship between the learners’ beliefs about foreign language learning

and their attitudes towards their teachers. To this end, the researcher conducted data

analysis, including correlation analysis, to investigate the relationship between the

learners’ beliefs about foreign language learning and their attitudes towards their

teachers. Findings, for the purpose of finalizing the data analysis and interpretations

related to the study, are provided in the form of a summary and also placed with the

research question.

A qualitative correlational research design was applied to meet the study’s aim.

83 university students from Persian Gulf University and Azad University of Bushehr

made up the research participants.

Two instruments were utilized to gather the data necessary for the study. Students'

45

attitude questionnaire developed by Richard Clement and Bastin G. Kruidenier

(1985) and Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) developed by

Horwitz(1987).To gain more accurate results, a persian translation of these two

questionnaires were given to the students with no time limits for answering the

questions. To come to answers of the research question, the quantitative data analysis

was undertaken.The correlation results demonstrated a low yet positive and

significant relationship between the participants’ motivation and expectations and

their attitudes towards their teachers. And no relation was found between the

participants’beliefs about language learning and their attitudes towards their

teachers.

5.3. Conclusions

In this part, first the research question of the study will be restated. It, then,

shall be responded on the basis of conclusions drawn from the results.

1. Is there any relation between learners’ attitudes towards their teachers

and their beliefs about language learning in Iran?

The data analysis results seen in Table 4.1 shows no relationship between

learners’ beliefs about language learning and their attitudes towards their teacher.

Regarding the average of five components of beliefs about language learning, the

results revealed that the relationship between learners’ beliefs about learning a

language and their attitudes towards their teachers is not significant and

considerable. Although there was only low relation between one component and

their attitudes. The data analysis results seen in Table 4.2, show that there was a low

and positive relationship (r =.17) between the participants’ motivation and

expectations on the one side, and their attitudes towards their teachers on the other

side is significant (sig. =.02, p

46

The findings of the present study were in line with those reported by Sayadian

and Lashkarian (2012), who concluded that Iranian university learners were highly

oriented (91.86% and 89.87% respectively) with respect to their attitudes towards

English language learning. Furthermore, the results of a study by Ahmed (2010) on

Yemeni petroleum engineering students revealed that they held positive attitudes

towards the English language. These students, in addition, hold significant positive

attitudes to the academic condition of English in Yemeni schools.

Kassaian and Chalak (2010) studied one hundred and fifty three Iranian

undergraduate students studying at Malaysian universities and majoring in English

translation. In this study, these students’ beliefs about English language learning

were investigated. Findings of the study suggested that the students’ beliefs were

found to be positive. Ansari and Chowdhri (1990) studied on a representative sample

of 220 students in Malaysia revealed that they had positive attitudes to the English

language community and its members. Alongside these studies, Sarwar (2002)

reported in his study that most of the university students held positive attitudes and

found the English language for specific purposes interesting to learn. Johnson

(1997), in another study, explored the attitudes of Japanese non-English major EFL

learners. The students showed a range of attitudes to learning English. There was a

correlation between their positive attitudes and their proficiency levels, meaning

higher level students possibly with the weakest dislike for English. Quite shockingly,

the results of a study by Yang and Lau (2003) indicated that EFL major students’

attitudes towards English language learning did not significantly correlate with their

overall English language proficiency.

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5.4. Pedagogical Implications

Findings of this study will help teachers, parents, and learners to b