The Relationships between English Ability, Attitudes and Motivation among First Year PSU Students fromP Islamic Religious Schools

Abstract

This study investigated the relationships between English ability, attitudes, and motivation in learning English of first year students from Islamic religious schools at Prince of Songkla University Hat Yai (PSU). A 28-item survey questionnaire was administered to 90 PSU students graduating from Islamic religious schools in the three southern provinces of Thailand. The study revealed that the students generally had low English ability but held positive attitudes toward learning English and toward native speakers and their cultures. They tended to be instrumentally motivated to study English. Both at the beginning and at the end of the semester, the English ability of all the students from Islamic religious schools who participated in the study was weakly but significantly associated with overall attitudes and there was a moderate significant correlation between attitudes and motivation. Based on the comparison of the students’ attitudes and motivation across time and groups, no significant difference between attitudes and motivation as measured at the beginning of the semester and at the end of the semester were found.