Motivation and attitudes of Iranian undergraduate EFL students towards learning English

Abstract

This paper investigated the various socio-psychological orientations of Iranian undergraduates towards learning English. It focused on the motivation orientations of the students and their attitudes towards the target language and its community. A group of 108 students majoring in English translation at Islamic Azad University, Khorasgan Branch in Isfahan, Iran was surveyed using the AMTB (Attitude, Motivation Test Battery). The domains used for the purposes of the study were: a) interest in English, b) parental encouragement, c) motivational intensity, d) attitudes towards learning English, e) attitudes towards English-speaking people, f) integrative orientation, g) desire to learn English, and h) instrumental orientation. The results revealed that these Iranian Nonnative speakers of English learn the language for both ‘instrumental’ and 'integrative' reasons and their attitudes towards the target language community and its members were generally found to be highly positive. The paper also reported some micro and macro implications of the study.