Investigating Students Attitudes towards Varieties of the English Language:

Abstract

English is known to be a pluricentric language because of its wide range of usage in different countries around the world such as American English, Australian English, South African English and many others. The current study aimed to investigate students’ attitudes towards English multi-dialects, at the Department of English language university of 08 mai 1945 -Guelma. Thus, it is hypothesised that the different attitudes non-native EFL learners have would affect their learning process. To test this hypothesis a mixed-method approach of data collection was utilised through a structured questionnaire and a semi-structured interview administered to First-year master students at the Department of English language University of 8 Mai 1945 -Guelma. The questionnaire aimed to inquire into the students’ attitudes towards English varieties and if these varieties presented challenges for them. It provided numerical and statistical data for the research through both open-ended and closed-ended questions. The interview was a follow up on the questionnaire with a fewer number of the same students who took it to further investigate their attitudes. The results of the study suggested that the students indeed had different attitudes towards different varieties of the English language, and that the variation did affect their learning process. It also showed that many students assumed that the variations in the English language are just on the pronunciation level and disregarded other components such as grammar, vocabulary and syntax. The students also expressed both their dislike and admiration for cultures based on their English varieties, which leads to limited exposure to the target language and culture, and consequently affects their learning process.