Positive Attitude and English Language Learning: Psycho-pedagogic Connections

Abstract

This study " s main purpose is to explore the learners " attitude towards education in general, and learning English in particular. It aims to elicit an implicit connection between the learners " and teachers " attitude and the achievement in English. The research is based on the personal experience of the researcher at Jeddah Community College, however the case doesn " t much differ from most of the community colleges in Saudi Arabia and other such vocational institutions. The study was descriptive in nature which data were collected through focus group and questionnaires from the college where the researcher teaches as mentioned. The responses of the teachers and students were qualitatively analyses and compared to match with the objectives of the study. The results indicate that the students generally don " t possess positive attitude towards learning. Many reasons can be attributed to this behavior. It can be concluded that the positive attitude towards learning target language matters a lot. It is found that there is a positive correlation between attitude towards learning/teaching English and their proficiency in it. It has also been found that in spite of the fact all the necessary equipment and resources are integrated in the pedagogic setting, ultimate language achievement is not up to the expectations of the policy makers and the administrators. Thus, teachers " role is quite crucial in this connection. The