A A case study on EFL students' beliefs regarding learning English

Research Article

Abstract

Individual differences have a significant role in students’ approaches to language learning and their success in this process. This research is based on a case study focusing on Imam Hatip secondary school students’ beliefs regarding learning English as a foreign language. Language students in Imam Hatip secondary schools are of the researchers' interest as they have Arabic lessons along with English. That is, they are dually exposed to two totally dissimilar foreign languages, with diverse cultural and historical background, spoken widely in different regions of the world. Several studies in Türkiye have been published about learner beliefs but research to date has not dealt with students with such diverse language learning experiences. Considering this gap in the literature, the current descriptive case study was conducted with a total of 113 volunteer students. Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) by Horwitz (1988) was used as a data collection tool. Turkish version of this instrument was used in order to eliminate language barrier and to increase the reliability of the results. The collected data were analysed using SPSS 21. The research results revealed that Imam Hatip secondary school students who had diverse language learning experiences generally had positive beliefs regarding learning English. It was also concluded that there was no significant difference between male and female students’ beliefs. In light of these results, EFL teachers may design more effective language classrooms with the aim of increasing students’ English proficiency levels with the help of their different language learning experiences. Additionally, it is believed that the current descriptive case study may contribute to this growing area of research into learner beliefs.