Investigating Motivation and Attitudes of University Students Towards English as a University Requirement

Abstract

This study is an investigation into motivation and attitudes of university students towards learning English language as a university requirement. It aims at measuring and identifying students’ motivation and attitudes towards learning English language as a university requirement. The study firstly hypothesizes that, most first-year Business Studies students are not sufficiently motivated towards learning English language. Secondly, most first-year Business Studies students have negative attitudes towards learning English as a university requirement. Finally, most first-year Business Studies students have negative attitudes towards native speakers and their lifestyle. To examine the hypotheses, the researcher used a questionnaire for students taking English language as a university requirement. The sample of the study was 100 students from College of Business Studies, Sudan University of Science and Technology. The numerical data obtained from the subjects were processed and analyzed via statistical software called (SPSS) and the results were critically described and discussed. The findings of the study confirm that most first-year Business Studies students have negative attitudes towards native speakers and their culture. They also confirm that most first-year Business Studies students are not satisfied with English language as a university required course. However, the results of the study reject the hypothesis that most first-year Business Studies students are not motivated to learn the language. The findings show that students demonstrate a high level of instrumental motivation which confirms students’ awareness of the importance of English as an instrument for accomplishing some of their goals.