Abstract
Attitude is considered as a necessary component in language learning. Therefore, a positive attitude is considered as one of the important factors that have an impact on language learning. By providing insight into the attitudes of high school students towards learning English, it contributes to the teaching of English as a foreign language. This study was on investigating students’ attitudes towards the study of English language in senior high schools. A case study of selected senior high schools in the Oforikrom and Ejisu municipalities of the Ashanti region. Three objectives were raised which included: To examine ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students’ attitude towards studying English language, to find out the factor the influence ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students’ attitude towards learning of English language and to find out the possible factors that positively and negatively affect ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students towards learning English language. The total population for the study is 75 teachers from ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical schools. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Chapter one
Introduction
1.1Background of the study
Education is considered to be a powerful method which aids to change the behaviour of the students based on their needs and expectation of the society. Student attitude is considered an essential part of learning; consequently, it becomes an important element of second language learning. English language has an important role in many societies as it is the language which separates influential class from the rest of individual who lives in society (Abdullah & Othman, 2019). According to Anwar & Abdullah, (2021), concerning Individual’s attitudes towards the learning English language, they state that it is the learning context that might explain their success in learning a language. Many lecturers have different strategies used in their class in order to recognize the target students’ attitudes (Gardi et al. 2020) attitudes towards a specific language could be either positive or negative. Attitudes towards learning English language have an impact on behaviours such as choosing and reading books, listening to English radio, watching English channels etc. Particularly in academic, in case a student has a positive attitude towards learning English language, they will be able to attain many things in that particular area (Prabhu et al. 2020).
Many students begin learning English from primary school, some others from kindergarten or even from day care, however, the issue is that many of them are not able to accomplish the desired level of English proficiency, the main reason is de-motivation of students in all levels (Anwar & Shukur, 2015). ‘Attitude’ is as somebody’s thoughts or emotional state regarding to something, particularly as exposed in their behaviour. Learning a new language is the powerful instrument which aids to adjust the behaviour of the student with regard to their desires and expectation of the society (Sultan et al. 2020). Student’s attitude is an essential portion of learning; consequently, attitude is considered a vital factor of language learning (Abdullah & Othman, 2015). Attitude towards learning English is supposed to affect attitude for instance choosing and reading the right material, communicating with a native English speaker and so on (Top & Ali, 2021). There is a relation between learning language and the environmental mechanisms in which the students were grown up (Demir et al. 2020). Both positive and negative attitudes will have a huge influence on the achievement of learning the English language. According to Gardi, (2021), several factors that have impact on learning the English language process for instance, attitude, age, anxiety, aptitudes, gender, personality and so on ((Ismael et al. 2021). Anwar & Abd Zebari, (2015) argue that learning a new language could aid students in demonstrating their idea, thoughts and opinion.
In the changing scenario of language teaching theories and methodologies, where the learners, rather than the teachers, are gaining a central position, learners’ attitude plays a vital role in maximizing learning and teaching output. Learners’ attitude can be defined as a collection of feelings regarding language use and its status in the society. The feelings are good, bad and neutral. They can nurture or hinder the learning process effectively. Even after syllabus, teaching materials, teacher training programmes have been changed and made up to date from time to time, the overall output in the competence of the students has never been improved. One reason behind this is that the changes have always been powerfully constrained by the western cultural assumptions and lack of knowledge of the social contexts (Goktepe, F.T. (2014).
The role of English in Ghana, at least outside the educational system, resembles more closely that of countries where English is considered a foreign language (like, China) than that of countries where it is considered a second language used relatively widely as a lingua franca (for instance, in some urban settings in Ghana). Thus, the main way students have been expected to learn English has been by using it as a medium of instruction. Some scholars have questioned the extent to which students can be successful in using English as a medium. As the English language serves as a medium of instruction from junior secondary to tertiary levels of educational sector of the country, it is somewhat not satisfactory for students to master it within the specified period of time in the classroom.
Stoddart (1986) had the following to say about the English language ability of the vast majority of students: Students do not possess sufficient English even to understand what they hear from their teachers or read in their textbooks, let alone to participate actively the inability of students to function through English, the quality of teaching and learning in schools has been very adversely affected. At best, it means that mere rote learning students, and little enough of even simple comprehension by them of what they are being told. And at worst it means that some possibly many students whose English is not sufficient even for rote-learning spend most of their class hours copying down notes that the teacher has written on the blackboard, and transforming them in the process into complete nonsense. In such a situation it is no longer appropriate to call English as a medium of instruction rather it has become a medium of obstruction (Littlewood, W. (2001).
Based on this background the study wants to investigate students’ attitudes towards learning English language and provide education providers with insights into students’ attitudes towards learning English and the development of positive student attitude so that they can give more importance to the students’ requirements and interests in learning English and facilitate their achievements in senior high school. The study selected senior high schools in the Oforikrom and Ejisu municipalities of the Ashanti region.
Statement of the study
The main focus of the present study is concerned with the investigation and establishment of the factors affecting students’ attitudes towards learning English language among high school students. The researcher believes that studying the factors may lead our students to afford themselves with different situations while learning English language. This also in turn helps them reach higher levels in different fields of the study. However, to do this, students of English language should have a positive attitude towards their learning. It is widely accepted that an important predictor of success in a foreign language is students’ attitude towards it. In English as foreign language contexts, students who consider the learning of English as a positive and rewarding experience are less likely to suffer from foreign language anxiety. According to Gardner, Lambert and Burstal as cited in Stern (1987) suggest that there is a positive relation between learning outcomes and attitude towards learning a second or foreign language. Attitudes are derived from values we ascribe to objects or ideas. As Wright says “values are the basis for our attitude” (Wright, 1987, p. 21). We have positive or negative attitudes based on our values. According to him, if a student believes in the importance of mastering second or foreign language and acts accordingly, then it shows that she/he values learning of the language and so has a positive attitude towards it.
On the other hand, if a student does not believe in the importance of mastering a second or foreign language and acts accordingly, then it shows that she/he does not value the learning of the language and so has a negative attitude towards it. This research aims at investigating students’ attitudes towards the study of English language in senior high schools. A case study of selected senior high schools in the Oforikrom and Ejisu municipalities of the Ashanti region. He believes that students from this school seem to have an attitude problem and less achievement towards learning English as a foreign language. As the researcher had been a student in that school for 7 years, the learners seem to demonstrate the problem by how haphazardly they perform in their continuous assessment tasks, and the excuses they make for not doing their homework. Furthermore, most students do not seem to value the opportunity they get in school to practice English. Instead, they seem to prefer their own, first language, even during English periods. Considering the steady decline in results both nationally and provincially, at senior high school results for recently, the learners’ attitude problem towards English language may probably account for the situation.
In brief, the absence of willingness or what seemed to be attitude problem in the learning of English amongst the learners in Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical school could be the result of the lack of crucial English language proficiency and achievement. Thus, the researcher intends to identify the factors affecting the attitudes of students towards learning English language. And finally, he intends to look for possible solutions for such problems.
Objective of the study
The objective of the study is the investigate students’ attitudes towards the study of English language in senior high schools. A case study of selected senior high schools in the Oforikrom and Ejisu municipalities of the Ashanti region (ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical). Specifically, the following objectives will be ascertained;
- To examine ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students’ attitude towards studying English language
- To find out the factor the influence ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students’ attitude towards learning of English language
- To find out the possible factors that positively and negatively affect ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students towards learning English language
Research question
The following research questions were formulated;
- Do ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students have attitude towards studying English language?
- What is the factor that influence ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students’ attitude towards learning of English language?
- What are the possible factors that positively and negatively affect ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students towards learning English language?
Research hypotheses
The following research hypotheses were formulated;
H0: ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students have no significant attitude towards studying English language
H1: ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students have significant attitude towards studying English language
H0: there is no significant factor the influence ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students’ attitude towards learning of English language
H2: there is significant factor the influence ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students’ attitude towards learning of English language
H0: there are no significant possible factors that positively and negatively affect ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students towards learning English language
H3: there are no significant possible factors that positively and negatively affect ST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical students towards learning English language
Significance of the study
The study will beneficial to students, lecturers and the ministry of education in Ghana. The study will give a clear insight on the Investigating students’ attitudes towards the study of English language in senior high schools. A case study of selected senior high schools in the Oforikrom and Ejisu municipalities of the Ashanti region. The result of the study will help to know factor that influence students’ attitude towards learning of English language and the possible factors that positively and negatively affect students towards learning English language. The study will also serve as reference to other researchers that will embark on the related topic
Scope of the study
The scope of the study covers Investigating students’ attitudes towards the study of English language in senior high schools. The study will be limited to sST. Louis SHS and Ejisu Senior High Technical schools in Oforikrom and Ejisu municipalities of the Ashanti region
Limitation of the study
The researcher encounters some constraints which limit the scope of the study namely:
The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.8 Definition of terms
Attitude: the way you think and feel about someone or something He has a positive/negative attitude about the changes
Learning: devote time and attention to gaining knowledge of (an academic subject), especially by means of books.
English language: The English language is an Indo-European language in the West Germanic language group. Modern English is widely considered to be the lingua franca of the world and is the standard language in a wide variety of fields, including computer coding, international business, and higher education
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
INVESTIGATING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE STUDY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS. A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE OFORIKROM AND EJISU MUNICIPALITIES OF THE ASHANTI REGION
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