Arab Students Attitudes Towards Western Culture

Motivation is important for learners of a
2nd language. Attitude towards the target language,
its culture, & its people have proved to have a
bearing on the motivation to learn the
language. Positive attitudes towards speakers of
another language and their culture increase the
learners'' motivation. On another front, teaching
another language encompasses teaching another
culture since language cannot be taught in a vacuum,
and must be learned in a social & cultural context.
This study examines the relationship between Arab
students'' motivation to learn English and attitudes
towards Western culture. Results show that there is
a positive relation between attitude towards the
target language, its culture & its people & the
motivation to learn the language.
It also suggests that Arab students who participated
in this study wished to learn English for economic
and prestigious reasons, and felt un-easiness
towards the dominance of English in the world. In
addition, it supports the hypothesis that Arab
students do not want to be fully assimilated into
the target language culture and that over-
acculturation de-motivates them to learn English.

Autorentext

Gihane Sadek was educated in British and Egyptian language schools in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Egypt. She was a UN civil servant and worked for more than 25 years for UNICEF. She received her B.A. in English Literature and Translation with honors, and her MA in TESOL.She is currently an English Professor at NYIT in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Klappentext

Motivation is important for learners of a 2nd language. Attitude towards the target language, its culture, & its people have proved to have a bearing on the motivation to learn the language. Positive attitudes towards speakers of another language and their culture increase the learners' motivation. On another front, teaching another language encompasses teaching another culture since language cannot be taught in a vacuum, and must be learned in a social & cultural context. This study examines the relationship between Arab students' motivation to learn English and attitudes towards Western culture. Results show that there is a positive relation between attitude towards the target language, its culture & its people & the motivation to learn the language. It also suggests that Arab students who participated in this study wished to learn English for economic and prestigious reasons, and felt un-easiness towards the dominance of English in the world. In addition, it supports the hypothesis that Arab students do not want to be fully assimilated into the target language culture and that over-acculturation de-motivates them to learn English.