Saudi EFL High School Learners’ Attitude Toward Learning English

Attitude is an important factor that influences evolving English language learning and determines whether the learner will embrace learning or not. This study aimed at investigating the attitudes of high school learners in Saudi Arabia toward English learning. To achieve this, the descriptive method was used. To collect the data, a 24-item attitude questionnaire was administered to measure learners’ attitudes. Participants consisted of 118 randomly chosen learners in their third year of high school. The results showed that Saudi English language learners had a positive attitude toward learning English. The findings suggested that teachers should create a pleasant classroom atmosphere and design experiences that match the learners’ interests. The study also recommended that other studies should examine the attitude of learners toward learning specific skills, such as writing or reading stories, as well as determine the challenges faced during English learning. Keywords : Attitude, English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, Language learning. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-20-10 Publication date: July 31 st 2020

attitudes toward the FL were also much more likely to communicate successfully in the FL. Similar conclusions were reached by a study by Al samadani & Ibnian (2015) on Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia. Measured through questionnaires, it showed that there was a strong positive correlation between those students with a high grade point average (GPA) and high levels of positive attitude toward learning English. In addition, students' attitudes are considered an important factor in relation to FL acquisition, which may be tied to their motivation and behavior (Tsunemoto and Mc Donough, 2020).
Depending on the importance of a strong relationship between learners' attitudes and their ability to practice speaking in the English language, many studies have investigated EFL students' attitude (Al-Sobhi, Rashid & Abdullah, 2018;Jaliyya & Idrus , 2017;Ibnian, 2017;Al samadani & Ibnian, 2015;Alkaff, 2013;Alnourasi, 2013), and found a positive attitude toward English language learning. For instance, Al Noursi (2013) conducted a study to identify the attitudes of the learners at the UAE Applied Technology High School toward English language learning. Data were collected from 196 learners using a questionnaire. The findings revealed that most of the respondents of the study had positive attitudes toward English Language learning.
In the same vein, Alkaff (2013) studied the attitudes of students at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia toward English learning. Data were collected from 47 female students using a questionnaire. The findings of the study showed that most students had positive attitudes toward learning English and that they sought to improve and to use the language even though there were a lot of demands on their time and few opportunities to practice their English.
Later, Al-Sobhi, Rashid & Abdullah (2018) investigated the attitudes of Arab high school learners toward English language learning in Malaysia, with a questionnaire being administered to 70 Arab learners studying English as a second language (ESL). The study showed that the learners had a high positive attitude toward English language learning.
However, various studies have revealed the negative attitude of learners (Zulkefly & Razali, 2019;Khan, 2016;Ahmed, 2015;Aouachria, 2015;Abidin et al., 2012). For example, Zulkefly & Razali (2019) investigated rural Malaysian high school learners' attitudes toward learning ESL. Employing a case study approach, four learners from two different grade levels in a rural high school were purposively chosen. The results revealed that some learners had negative attitudes toward learning the English language and suggested that there were two critical factors affecting the learners' attitudes toward the learning of English. First, lessons did not cater to learners' proficiency levels and interests, and second, the reactions of learners to negative and positive experiences.
In the Arab community, where English is a foreign language, Aouachria (2015) examined middle school learners' attitudes toward learning EFL at Batna city in Algeria. The sample consists of 301 learners who were subjected to a questionnaire. The findings of the study showed that the learners' attitudes toward English language learning were negative.
In addition, Khan (2016) conducted a study to determine the attitudes of Saudi students at Jeddah Community College toward learning English. The findings revealed that the students generally do not have a positive attitude toward learning English. The study also revealed that a poor background in English, the fear of making grammatical mistakes, and lack of confidence and peer support lead to lower performance.
According to the literature review there were contradictions in the findings about learners' attitudes toward English language learning. Moreover, the majority of the previous research has been applied in universities, except for a few studies conducted in intermediate and high schools. Despite understanding that high school learners' attitudes can help teachers to develop instructional practices, up to now there have been no attempts to examine the attitudes of high school learners toward English language learning in Saudi Arabia. Consequently, the current study tries to answer the following question: What are the attitudes of high school learners toward English language learning?

3-1 Participants
The participants were 118 English L2 high school learners in Taif, Saudi Arabia. Their first language was Arabic, they were all male and they ranged in age from 16 to 18 years.

3-2 Material
A 24-item Likert-scale questionnaire was conducted by the researcher to elicit the EFL learners' attitudes toward English language learning. The material was designed according to instruments used in prior research (Alsamadani & Ibnian, 2015;Alnourasi, 2013). The participants were asked to choose the degree of agreement on a three point Likert scale (3 (agree), 2 (neutral), 3 (disagree)). The Likert scale was interpreted by three values: negative attitude 1.00 to 1.66, positive attitude 1.67 to 2.33. strong positive attitude 2.34 to 3.00.

3-2-1 Validity and Reliability
To establish the content validity, the instrument was reviewed by a panel of six experts in English language Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.11, No.20, 2020 teaching methods, so some items were modified, and some were added according to the jury members' comments and suggestions.
In respect of reliability, the questionnaire was administered to a sample of 25 learners other than the sample of the study. The alpha Cronbach coefficient was used to measure the internal consistency. The reliability for attitude scale was 0.93, which is good for the current study purpose.

3-3 Procedures
After validity and reliability had been verified, the researcher distributed the closed-ended questionnaire to the participants, who were randomly selected from EFL learners in the third grade of high school in Taif, Saudi Arabia, then they were given a preliminary clarification of the purpose of the research before the data were collected. Next, the respondents were asked to complete the questionnaire in one sitting during the second semester of the academic year 2019/2020. Next, the data were collected and coded in tables. Finally, data were analyzed using means and standard deviation, results were presented, and discussion was held.

4-Result
To answer the study question "What are the attitudes of high school learners toward English language learning?" the researcher analyzed the questionnaire using means and standard deviation, as shown in Table 1  The result of the study indicated that the Saudi learners' overall attitude toward English language learning is positive (M = 2.04 > 1.66 and SD = 0.25). Table 1. shows the three uppermost means of the learners' attitude toward English learning. First, the item "Mastering English will help me get a suitable job in the future" has the highest means (M = 2.51 > 1.66 and SD = 0.62) among all the language attitude items. This shows that majority of the learners have a positive attitude toward English learning, and they believe that learning English could help them to find a suitable job. Second, the item "I always practice English outside school" is the second highest item (M = 2.44 > 1.66 and SD = 0.85). This indicates that the learners are willing to learn English outside of school to develop their performance. Finally, the item "I feel proud when I speak in English" is third highest of the attitude items (M = 2.40 > 1.66 and SD = 0.76). This mean that learners appreciate the ability to speak English.