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The Role of Motivation and Attitudes in Improving Saudi EFL Students’ Speaking Skill

Received: 21 January 2019     Accepted: 18 March 2019     Published: 30 July 2019
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Abstract

This study investigated the role of motivation and attitudes in improving Saudi EFL students’ speaking skill. The purpose of the study was to identify the correlation between motivation, attitudes, and the speaking ability of Saudi EFL students and to raise the learners’ awareness of the importance of these psychological factors. The study explored whether the level of motivation and favorable attitudes correlate with the speaking proficiency levels. The Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) questionnaire and structured interviews were the main instruments of the study. The sample of the study consisted of 50 randomly selected female students majoring in English at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU). The results showed that there was a positive significant correlation between motivation and attitudes, and the speaking proficiency of Saudi EFL students. Based on the results, the researcher presented a number of recommendations for further research.

Published in International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijalt.20190502.12
Page(s) 26-35
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Motivation, Attitudes, Speaking Skill, EFL Students, SLA

References
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[8] Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2011). Teaching and researching motivation (2nd ed). Great Britain: Pearson Education Limited.
[9] Ellis, R. (2012). Language teaching research and language pedagogy. Malden, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell.
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[11] Gardner, R. (2004). Attitude/Motivation Test Battery: International AMTB research project. [English version]. Canada: The University of Western Ontario. Retrieved from http://hyxy.nankai.edu.cn/jingpinke/buchongyuedu/Motivation%20measurement-AMTB.pdf.
[12] Graham, S. & Weiner, B. (1996). Theories and principles of motivation. In Berliner, David C. (Ed), Handbook of educational Psychology (pp. 63-81). New York, NY: Routledge. Available from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bernard_Weiner/publication/233896258_Theories_and_principles_of_motivation/links/54417a600cf2a6a049a58a7c.pdf.
[13] Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for language teachers (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[14] Kachoub, B. (2010). The relationship of L2 attitudes to L3 attitudes and learning: A study of Moroccan University students (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from https://etd.ohiolink.edu/rws_etd/document/get/ohiou1275666405/inline.
[15] Liu, Y. (2014). Motivation and attitude: Two important non-intelligence factors to arouse students’ potentialities in learning English. Creative Education, 05 (14), 1249-1253. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ce.2014.514140.
[16] Torky, S. (2006). The effectiveness of a task- based instruction program in developing the English language speaking skills of secondary stage students (Doctoral thesis). Ain Shams University. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED523922.pdf.
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  • APA Style

    Ameerah Adlan Ghazi Alshamrany. (2019). The Role of Motivation and Attitudes in Improving Saudi EFL Students’ Speaking Skill. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 5(2), 26-35. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20190502.12

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    ACS Style

    Ameerah Adlan Ghazi Alshamrany. The Role of Motivation and Attitudes in Improving Saudi EFL Students’ Speaking Skill. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2019, 5(2), 26-35. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20190502.12

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    AMA Style

    Ameerah Adlan Ghazi Alshamrany. The Role of Motivation and Attitudes in Improving Saudi EFL Students’ Speaking Skill. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2019;5(2):26-35. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20190502.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20190502.12,
      author = {Ameerah Adlan Ghazi Alshamrany},
      title = {The Role of Motivation and Attitudes in Improving Saudi EFL Students’ Speaking Skill},
      journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
      volume = {5},
      number = {2},
      pages = {26-35},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20190502.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20190502.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20190502.12},
      abstract = {This study investigated the role of motivation and attitudes in improving Saudi EFL students’ speaking skill. The purpose of the study was to identify the correlation between motivation, attitudes, and the speaking ability of Saudi EFL students and to raise the learners’ awareness of the importance of these psychological factors. The study explored whether the level of motivation and favorable attitudes correlate with the speaking proficiency levels. The Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) questionnaire and structured interviews were the main instruments of the study. The sample of the study consisted of 50 randomly selected female students majoring in English at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU). The results showed that there was a positive significant correlation between motivation and attitudes, and the speaking proficiency of Saudi EFL students. Based on the results, the researcher presented a number of recommendations for further research.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    T1  - The Role of Motivation and Attitudes in Improving Saudi EFL Students’ Speaking Skill
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    AB  - This study investigated the role of motivation and attitudes in improving Saudi EFL students’ speaking skill. The purpose of the study was to identify the correlation between motivation, attitudes, and the speaking ability of Saudi EFL students and to raise the learners’ awareness of the importance of these psychological factors. The study explored whether the level of motivation and favorable attitudes correlate with the speaking proficiency levels. The Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) questionnaire and structured interviews were the main instruments of the study. The sample of the study consisted of 50 randomly selected female students majoring in English at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU). The results showed that there was a positive significant correlation between motivation and attitudes, and the speaking proficiency of Saudi EFL students. Based on the results, the researcher presented a number of recommendations for further research.
    VL  - 5
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    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • College of Languages and Translation, AL-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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