Language Use and Language Attitudes among Algerian Students
Journal Title: IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science - Year 2018, Vol 23, Issue 5
Abstract
The present study aims at understanding Algerian first year students‟ language use and their attitudes towards the languages/varieties at play in Tlemcen University: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Algerian Arabic (AA), their mother tongue on the one hand, and French on the other. Moreover, it looks at the field of study as a factor affecting students‟ language use and language attitudes. To achieve the aims of the study a questionnaire was designed by the authors and administered to a sample of 78 participants. The results reveal a high degree of AA use as compared to French and MSA and much lower use of MSA as compared to AA and French. However, as regards language attitudes, we have found out that participants hold a highly positive attitude towards MSA as compared to AA and negative attitudes towards French. The study also reveals some unexpected results where AA is highly preferred as a secondary language in education used to facilitate lessons especially in scientific disciplines and the wish to move towards the replacement of French with English as a language of instruction in scientific fields. Moreover, the results disclose that despite the participants‟ comfort in using MSA as a medium of instruction, they do not favour it in scientific fields. Finally, our findings prove that the field of study plays a role in determining students‟ language choice.
Authors and Affiliations
Soumia Bouhmama, Zoubir Dendane
Keywords
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- EP ID EP419133
- DOI 10.9790/0837-2305086977.
- Views 62
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