Abstract
This paper analyzed various socio-psychological orientations
of the Iranian undergraduate students towards learning
English. The research focused on what are considered as the
two most important social psychological variables; attitude and
motivation. A total of 400 students participated (48.3% female
and 51.7 % males). The questionnaire consisted of two parts,
questions eliciting demographic data and a set of attitudes
scales. The respondents showed favorable attitude towards
learning English. Regarding their receptive skills, the
respondents rated their reading skill higher than their listening
skill. On the other hand, concerning productive skills that are
natural of course the respondents rated their writing skill
higher than speaking. Students acknowledged the social
dimension of English as a language that can offer the
opportunity of cross-cultural exchanges. In addition, strong
and positive correlations were found among integrative
orientation and other psychological variables such as;
instrumental orientation, motivation intensity, and desire to
learn English. Hierarchical regression showed that, 38% of
variance in integrative orientation is explained by only
instrumental orientation variable. The results highlight that
Iranian students learn a foreign language mainly for its
utilitarian value rather than integrative motivation.
Naser Shirbagi. (2010) An Exploration of Undergraduate Students’ Motivation and Attitudes towards English Language Acquisition, Journal of Behavioural Sciences, Volume 2 0, Issue 2.
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