engleski

Do you have a soft spot for English or is it just not your thing? – a study of Croatian university students' attitudes towards English as a foreign language

The process of learning a foreign language is a complex one, and, as such, contains a number of components whose impact ultimately affects the very success of learning. The success in mastering a language depends not only on the individual characteristics of a learner, such as intelligence or language aptitude, but also on affective factors, among which motivation, fear, etc. can be mentioned. Learners' attitudes towards a language are considered an integral part of affective factors. They are crucial in the process of learning a foreign language successfully. Even though various definitions of attitudes exist, they can simply be defined as thoughts and beliefs of language learners about a language, its culture and people. The attitudes we have towards the language, its speakers, customs and society can greatly influence, both positively and negatively, our success in learning. It is well known that attitudes are formed within the framework of the social environment in which we live. Thus, people around us and their attitudes will also play a major role in forming our own attitudes, combined with our personal preferences and opinions based on our own experience. A positive attitude towards the language leads to a successful mastery of the same, just as a negative attitude creates a certain affective blockade and can have a hindering effect on the process. The aim of this paper is to examine the factors that influence the formation of attitudes towards English as a foreign language among Croatian students. Since the participants are at a higher level of education, and they have been learning English for a number of years, we wanted to ascertain the type of influence over the factors that form their attitudes towards English. The first part of the paper will provide an insight into the concept of attitudes and their impact on the process of foreign language acquisition along with a review of relevant research. The second part will focus on the methodological part of the research conducted on students at two Croatian institutions of higher education. A questionnaire with open-ended questions was used as an instrument. The questions were formed as statements and participants were asked to complete the beginning of statements with their own ideas. Students' answers will then be categorized according to different factors they mentioned in their answers. Finally, the results of the research will be interpreted and implications for future research will be provided.

foreign language ; language acquisition ; affective factors ; attitudes ; social context

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