Negative Attitudes Towards Learning Languages in the Middle Years: Can These Be Changed by Increased Awareness of Language Learning Benefits and Making Learning Easier?

Abstract

The difficulty of the learning process and negative attitudes towards language learning seem to be the major issue in languages other than English (LOTE) learning, and a majority of findings in the literature report negative associations with LOTE learning. More often than not parents and students see the long-term value of language learning in terms of employment-related skills but fail to see the bigger picture of the long-term benefits of language learning, namely, development and reinforcement of literacy skills, improvement on cognitive and problem-solving tasks, building of confidence and self-esteem and the increased cultural awareness and development of cultural sensibilities, which are needed now more than ever in an increasingly globalised world. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether students’ attitudes towards LOTE learning in the middle years would change if the learning process was made easier and if they were aware of the long-term benefits that learning languages can have on their wider education and personal fulfilment. It supports the belief that increased awareness about language learning benefits and improved learning process for acquiring languages would change students’ negative attitudes towards language learning.