Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.22210/strjez/53-1/5
Beliefs about foreign language learning as an attitudinal component
Morana Drakulić
; Učiteljski fakultet, Sveučilište u Rijeci
Abstract
Beliefs about foreign language learning represent a cognitive aspect of an attitude and as such
have a strong influence on students’ behavior, motivation, and actions in relation to learning
a foreign language in a formal context. The aim of this paper is to examine students’ beliefs
towards learning English as a foreign language and to discuss their pedagogical implications.
Horwitz’s (1985) BALLI instrument was used to investigate beliefs using five components:
language aptitude, difficulty of language learning, type of language learning, learning and
communication strategies, and motivation. The results show that students believe in the
existence of innate tendencies to learn a language, see English as a language that is not very
difficult to learn, and attach more importance to vocabulary and the development of
communicative skills than to the importance of target language culture, knowledge of grammar rules,
and translation. The equal emphasis placed on traditional and modern strategies indicates a
possible gap between reform tendencies and teaching practice.
Keywords
beliefs; attitudes; foreign language; BALLI questionnaire
Hrčak ID:
321637
URI
Publication date:
10.10.2024.
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