Attitude towards Learning English: The case of the UAE Technological High School

Abstract

This paper outlines the results of a survey that was carried out, to identify Applied Technology High School students’ attitudes towards learning the English language and to investigate whether the students’ attitude is affected by the teacher’s nativity. The study sample consisted of 196 students at the Applied Technology High School (ATHS). A questionnaire was used for data collection. The findings showed that the vast majority of the subjects of the study had positive attitudes towards learning the English Language. In addition, the findings revealed that teacher’s nativity (native speaker vs non native speaker of English) did not influence students’ positive orientation toward the English language. Finally, some pedagogical implications that would help tap the students’ attitudes were presented.