Language Attitude among Form Four Students in ESL Classroom at Tebedu Secondary School, Sarawak

Abstract

Language attitude is one of the important aspects in language learning. It is the understanding of the linguistics position, perception and action towards the language. Therefore, as part of a significant role in language learning, this study is aimed to identify the language among the Malaysian secondary school students in ESL classrooms. A total of 30 participants from the form four classes in Tebedu secondary school participated in the study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data by determining the mean score. The study was employed by survey questionnaires. Overall, the finding suggested that the students have moderately positive language attitudes towards English language learning. The cognitive attitude obtained the highest mean score followed by the affective and conative attitude.  The study also highlighted a few implications which concern the role of the teacher, parents and the school authority in developing a positive language attitude among the students. The findings of the study will be beneficial to those in the education field to develop an effective remedy for the problem.

Keywords:  language attitude; rural school; language learning; ESL classroom; target language