Exploring Attitudes and Motivations of Secondary School Turkish Students Learning English as a Foreign Language

10th International KTUDELL Conference: Language, Literature, and Translation, Trabzon, Türkiye, 29 - 30 Mayıs 2025, ss.9, (Özet Bildiri)

This study investigates the attitudes and motivations of secondary school students engaged in

learning English as a foreign language, emphasizing the significance of individual variances

despite similar language proficiency levels. Recognizing that these variances can profoundly

influence language learning processes, the research aims to reveal the students' perspectives

on English, a Western language, within the culturally diverse educational environment

including languages such as Arabic language learning. A comprehensive literature review has

revealed a scarcity of studies focusing on the views and motivations of students studying

English as a foreign language alongside Arabic in Imam Hatip Secondary Schools in Türkiye.

The current descriptive case study seeks to fill this gap by highlighting the importance of

understanding students' attitudes and motivations, which may facilitate more effective

language learning practices. The data that was gathered was examined using descriptive

statistical analysis. ANOVA and the t-test were also employed to ascertain the associations

between the variables. The findings indicated that AMTB mean scores followed normal

distributions. Additionally, AMTB data indicated that learners' motivations weren't

significantly different based on their grade, gender, or age. The findings are suggested to

contribute valuable insights to the growing field of language learner motivation research,

ultimately aiding educators in supporting students' language learning journeys in this process.

Keywords: EFL, motivation, Imam Hatip Secondary School