scholarly journals Attitudes of Saudi Non-English Major Students Towards Learning English

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1622-1629
Author(s):  
Nawaf J. Alsubaie

The present study aims at investigating the attitudes of Saudi non-English major students towards learning English at the University of Bisha, Bisha, Saudi Arabia. In addition, the study attempts to identify how the students view the culture of English, English native speakers, and the importance of English in the present time. The data were collected from 80 Saudi non-English major students at the University of Bisha through a three-point Likert scale questionnaire with 13 closed-ended items. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS. The results of this study show that the students have overall positive attitudes towards learning English. Apart from this, it was found that the students are aware of the importance of English in the present time. Interestingly, the students reflected positive attitudes towards the culture of English and English native speakers. Finally, some implications for teachers and recommendations for future research are presented.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 174-185
Author(s):  
Khaled Salem Aldossary

No previous studies have employed sociocultural theory and the notion of collaborative dialogue to examine collaborative writing in Saudi Arabia, where students favor writing individually. Exploring this topic is significant because of the importance the Saudi education system places on learning English, especially at the university level. Therefore, this longitudinal classroom-based study tested how collaborative writing affected the development of university students learning English as a foreign language in Saudi Arabia. The 46 participants were evenly divided into a control group, who wrote essays individually, and an experimental group, who worked on essays in small groups. Both groups took a pre-test before the eight-week intervention and a post-test at the end. The experimental group also took an end-of-study questionnaire. Although both groups showed improvement, the experimental group improved significantly more on the post-test than the control group and expressed positive attitudes toward collaborative writing on the questionnaire. The study concludes with theoretical and pedagogical implications and recommendations for future research.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khaled Salem Aldossary

No previous studies have employed sociocultural theory and the notion of collaborative dialogue to examine collaborative writing in Saudi Arabia, where students favor writing individually. Exploring this topic is significant because of the importance the Saudi education system places on learning English, especially at the university level. Therefore, this longitudinal classroom-based study tested how collaborative writing affected the development of university students learning English as a foreign language in Saudi Arabia. The 46 participants were evenly divided into a control group, who wrote essays individually, and an experimental group, who worked on essays in small groups. Both groups took a pre-test before the eight-week intervention and a post-test at the end. The experimental group also took an end-of-study questionnaire. Although both groups showed improvement, the experimental group improved significantly more on the post-test than the control group and expressed positive attitudes toward collaborative writing on the questionnaire. The study concludes with theoretical and pedagogical implications and recommendations for future research.


Author(s):  
Hamda A. Laouini ◽  

The present study was conducted to assess and investigate the attitudes of the Preparatory Year students towards leaning English at rural branch of the University of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The author endeavours to examine and measure the University students’ opinions and perceptions regarding the importance of Learning English. He also attempts to explore the areas of difficulties in foreign language Learning within the rural context of AlKamil College of Sciences and Arts (Makkah, Saudi Arabia). 75 randomly selected students (40 male and 35 female) participated in this study project. In this study, the researcher opted for a mixed research method. For quantitative data collection a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was adapted from Gardner’s ‘Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) along with a silent interview for a qualitative data collection in order to assess the participants’ attitudes and perceptions regarding learning English. Overall, the results reveal that students in rural university branches in Saudi Arabia hold positive attitudes towards learning English and they are constantly attempting to improve their language proficiency. This study also explores the different obstacles impeding the students’ sought progress in language learning along with the possible solutions that may enable them to use and practise English in a more spontaneous way.


Author(s):  
Omar Abdullah Alshehri

This paper examines the perspectives of female's students at a new university in Saudi Arabia to use social media as e-learning tools to support their learning. It also aims to investigate their current usage of these tools and the benefits behind using these tools for learning. Another aim of this study is to examine the difficulties that females' students face when they use social media tools in their learning process. The study participants comprised 23 Saudi females' students at a new university and surveyed was used to collect data for this study. The results indicate that female students are using social media tools and their opinions largely coincide regarding the benefits of and barriers to social media usage. The study recommends that future research on the usage of social media tools for learning and teaching be extended to include a wider demographic base at the same or a different university to further explore the extent to which these tools used for learning. The study provides insights that may help decision-makers at the university to recognise the extent to which females use and integrate social media tools to facilitate the educational process.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Sinusha Murthy ◽  
Kee Jiar Yeo

The aim of this study was to determine the students’ anxiety, motivation and attitude in learning English based on their socioeconomic status and English language achievement in National-type Tamil schools. Samples for this study comprised of 144 year 5 Indian students from four Tamil schools. Data for this study were collected by questionnaire adapted from instruments by Tsai & Chang (2013), Ghazvini & Khajehpour (2011) and Gaur (1985). The findings of this study showed that Indian students from urban and rural areas have a moderate level of anxiety in learning English. Students from both areas were instrumentally motivated and showed positive attitudes towards learning English. However, negative correlations were identified between English Language achievement and level of motivation in learning English as well as between daily spoken languages at home and with friends and the level of English language achievement. The result of this study also illustrated that level of motivation and attitude are positively correlated. In conclusion, the samples of this study showed high levels of anxiety as well as motivation and attitude in learning English. It is recommended that future research take more samples and include qualitative data to increase the reliability of the study.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 140
Author(s):  
Shorouq Khalid Al-Houti ◽  
Sultan M. Aldaihani

Learning idioms is an uphill battle for many language learners. Thus, this quantitative study aims to shed light on English as Foreign Language (EFL) college students’ attitudes towards idiom learning. Specifically, the study is interested in revealing their attitudes towards (1) the importance of idiom learning, (2) the difficulties of idiom learning and (3) the learning strategies of idioms. Additionally, the study attempts to determine if there is an influence of age and/or year of study on the students’ attitudes towards learning English idioms. Participants were 218 female EFL college students at the College of Basic Education (CBE) in Kuwait. A five-point Likert-scale questionnaire was employed to obtain data for the study. Data analysis of the questionnaire uncovered the learners’ preferred strategies and sources of difficulties when learning idioms. Results showed that students had positive attitudes towards English idiom learning. Significant differences in the results were found when age was taken into account.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sana' Ababneh

<p>This paper presents the results of a field study which was carried out to identify Jordanian EFL students' attitudes towards learning English idioms. The study sample consisted of 94 students majoring in Translation and English Language and Literature at Yarmouk University, Jordan. A questionnaire was used to investigate the subjects' attitudes. The findings show that the majority of the participants have positive attitudes towards learning English idioms as they believe in their importance for achieving effective communication in English. Moreover, the data show that neither the subjects' gender nor their academic major has a significant effect on their attitudes towards learning English idioms as most of the participants displayed a highly positive attitude towards learning these idioms.</p>


Author(s):  
Abeer Z. Barakat

The Use of mobile phones and smart phones in education has become very popular with the emergence of this technology and its availability among both learners and teachers. The current study attempted to examine the attitudes of the freshmen students registering in the General English Requirement in the University College of Applied Science towards the use of smart phone applications in learning English. The results of the questionnaire analysis indicate that the majority of the students have positive attitudes towards using English language applications to help them learn English. Yet, student's use of smart phone applications is limited to downloading English language games and dictionaries. Therefore, both teachers and students need to be more aware of the beneficial options that these applications offer to the English language classroom.


10.28945/4814 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilan Daniels Rahimi ◽  
Gila Cohen Zilka

Aim/Purpose: This study examined students’ attitudes to characteristics of learning in Zoom, attitudes to the quality of teaching in Zoom and ways of learning, about a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis. Background COVID-19 crisis caused exposure to online learning on the largest scale known in human history, and that together with the challenges of the transition to online learning, there are also opportunities to change perceptions of teaching and learning, and to include new ways in the learning and teaching process in higher education. Methodology: The research question was: What are students’ attitudes to the characteristics of learning in Zoom, the quality of teaching in Zoom and ways of learning in Zoom? The study is a quantitative one, the questionnaire contained closed questions, and 712 students who study in higher education institutions in Israel participated in the study. Contribution: Facilitators, inhibitors, implications and recommendations were identified. Findings: The findings showed that most students are satisfied with learning in Zoom, and that there was a significant improvement in the students’ attitudes towards learning in Zoom during their studies in the shadow of Covid-19. It was found that older students have more positive attitudes towards learning in Zoom, and learning disorders are connected to more negative attitudes towards learning in Zoom; however, there was also an improvement in the attitudes of students with learning disorders, during their learning experience in the shadow of COVID-19. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study shows that most students are satisfied with learning in Zoom and that there was a significant improvement in students’ attitudes towards learning in Zoom during their studies in the shadow of COVID-19, a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis. Recommendations for Researchers: It was found that older students have more positive attitudes towards learning in Zoom, and learning disorders are connected to more negative attitudes towards distance learning; however, among students with learning disorders there was also an improvement in attitudes during their studies in the shadow of COVID-19. Impact on Society: The present crisis could be a catalyst for processes that have been taking place in recent years in the use of technology in teaching and learning and in the transition to online learning. Future Research: Future research on the effectiveness of learning by means of Zoom in higher education could examine parameters such as evaluation of the learners’ achievements, the quality of the assignments presented by the students, meeting schedules, whether lecturers manage to teach all the subject matter, the quality of the discussions in Zoom, use of technological tools, use of 21st century skills and similar.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 478
Author(s):  
Sukma Septian Nasution ◽  
Nur Najibah Sukmawati ◽  
Lodya Sesriyani

English for Vocational School is a key to bridging non-English major students’ needs including Informatics Engineering students of a private university in South Tangerang, Indonesia. Accordingly, it is important to conduct a needs-analysis study as a way to find the source of information to designing proper English materials. To actualize it, a set of questionnaire was distributed to 35 students of Informatics Engineering Study Program to investigate their necessities, lacks, and desire in learning English for vocational purpose. The data were analysed quantitatively to figure out majority choices to each item questioned. Semi-structured interview to both the lecturers and the students were also conducted to explore reasons for each finding. The result showed that the students were expected to be proficient at using English for daily communication which will be useful for their future working-community because most of the students thought that they were not fluent yet and found difficulties especially in grammar mastery. Accordingly, they expected that instructional process be directed to learning English related to Informatics Engineering without ignoring daily communication topics. These overall findings are a milestone to designing a set of English learning materials for the third semester students of Informatics Engineering Students of the university.


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