Attitudes and Motivation in Learning English of Buddhist Novices at Phra Pariyattidhamma School in Bangkok

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate Buddhist novices' attitudes and motivation towards learning English at Phrapariyattidhamma School. The study examined the participants’ attitudes in terms of three aspects: emotional, behavioral, and cognitive. In terms of motivation, instrumental and integrative motivations were explored. Sixty-six Buddhist novices from a Phra Pariyattidhamma school studying between Matthayom 4-6 (Grades 10-12) were the participants of the study. The participants had a moderate level of attitude in all the aspects. However, the cognitive aspect was found to be the highest among the three aspects because the majority of participants’ major goal of learning English was achievement in their future careers. In terms of motivation, both instrumental and integrative motivation were high, but the former was slightly higher than the latter. The findings also revealed no significant correlation between the attitudes and motivations towards learning English with the Pearson value of r = -.254, n = 10, p = .479. The field notes from the classroom observations were coded into five themes: 1. Students’ attention in classroom, 2. Students and teachers’ relationships, 3. Students’ confidence in the classroom, 4. Participation in classroom activities, and 5. Students’ enthusiasm in the classroom. The findings from the observations were in contrast to those from the questionnaire except for students and teachers’ relationships, which supported the emotional aspects of attitude. On the other hand, the findings from the interview showed that some students had positive attitudes towards learning English, and they were motivated to learn English to achieve success in their future education and careers. They suggested that teachers should teach content that students could understand and be open-minded about listening to students in order to help them improve the contents. As for the pedagogical implications, the findings of this study will help teachers at Phra Pariyattidhamma design courses that promote Buddhist novices’ positive attitudes towards learning English.