Student's Attitude Towards English Language Learning: The Case of Iranian Junior High-School Students and Prospects Course-books

Although a surfeit of studies have examined the students’ attitude towards foreign and / or second language both inside and outside Iran, it seems scanty studies have been devoted to evaluate Prospect-trained students’ attitude towards English. This quantitative study investigated the students’ attitudes towards English language learning among 80 junior high school students in Ahvaz, Iran. These students have been exposed to English through Prospect course-books (the newly designed course-books in Iranian Educational system) for three years. To this end the researchers adapted a Likert scale questionnaire some items of which have been taken from Attitude and Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) designed by Gardner. The questions comprised three parts each of which represented one aspect of students’ attitude towards English language (Cognitive, Behavioral, and Emotional aspects). The choices opted by the participants have been calculated using descriptive statistics (minimum score, maximum score, mean, and standard deviation).The results indicated that the participants enjoyed a positive attitude towards all three aspects with differing degrees. Additionally, participants’ demographic information was used to justify some parts of the findings. The findings can be inspiring for teachers and material designers to consider attitude aspects more than ever.