English in Jordan: Attitudes and Prestige

This paper attempts to discuss the attitudes of a number of Jordanian university students towards English as a foreign language and the place it occupies in Jordan. Although research of a similar nature has been done, this study complements others by following 420 students in their university studie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIndian journal of applied linguistics Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 155 - 167
Main Author Al-Saidat, Emad M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bahri Publications 01.07.2009
Subjects
College Students
English
English (Second Language)
Foreign Countries
Islam
Jordan
Language Attitudes
Language Role
Semitic Languages
Student Attitudes
Jordan
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Summary:This paper attempts to discuss the attitudes of a number of Jordanian university students towards English as a foreign language and the place it occupies in Jordan. Although research of a similar nature has been done, this study complements others by following 420 students in their university studies, and it provides another avenue for examining the English language situation in Jordan. This research aims at surveying the following issues (1) students' attitudes towards learning English, (2) students' attitudes towards English language, and (3) the place of English language in Jordan. The results show that the dominant attitude is one of favourability towards learning English. There is a definite degree of positiveness towards English language in Jordan. English is seen as useful, enjoyable, and important and has no harm to Arabic language or to the Islamic religion. It occupies a prestigious status in Jordan. (Contains 3 tables.)
ISSN:0379-0037