Pre‐Service Teacher Attitudes Toward English Language Learners

Abstract

Enrollment of English language learners (ELLs) in United States schools has increased more rapidly than general enrollment, resulting in an urgent need for teachers to be prepared and to meet the needs of ELLs in their classrooms. This study examined the language learning beliefs and attitudes toward ELLs among 286 pre-service teachers in a large public university. Results show that pre-service teachers demonstrated neutral attitudes toward ELLs. Participants' language learning beliefs exhibited four components: "difficulty of learning," "ease of learning," "motivation" and "traditional view" of language learning. Controlling for language learning status, pre-service teachers tended to demonstrate less supportive attitudes toward ELLs when they held traditional views of language learning and when they viewed language learning (in general and English in particular) as relatively easy or not difficult. These findings suggest preservice teachers need evidence-based coursework in language development and language learning processes to overcome potential misconceptions and biases regarding ELLs.

Attitudes of Kurdish university students towards the English language, English language education policies, and English language learning purposes

“…Another significant point regarding the results is that despite being common among students and teachers alike that American English seems a more acceptable variety of the English language, the statement related to this did not record a high mean score in the present study (M=3.77), which is the borderline between negative and neutral. The results match those of Dixon et al (2016) who found that their participants held neutral to slightly positive attitudes towards the English language. However, Berowa et al's (2018) results are in stark contrast with the present study's results that revealed Vietnamese students positively perceived the English language which is, in turn, consistent with Orfan's (2020) study investigating Afghan undergraduate students' attitudes towards the English language and that demonstrated that students had positive attitudes in all the three components of attitude.…”

Integrating Islamic Values on ESL Classes: Indonesian Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Islamic Education Management in South Thailand

“…Teachers' attitudes matter (Dixon, Liew, Daraghmeh, & Smith, 2016). Their attitudes toward their profession as teacher affect students' aspires of involvement in the teaching process (Maryrose & Kingsley, 2018).…”

“…As Byrnes & Kiger (1994) proposed three factors that comprise English teachers' attitudes in their classrooms, i.e. language politics, ELL intolerance, and language support (Dixon et al, 2016). Further, they gave the examples which make up the language politics factor such as common societal attitudes about the language that claim, for instances, 'English should be the only one language used by the authorities', and 'every migrant has to use English to be admitted as American'.…”