L2 learners' language attitudes and their assessment

• Published in: Foreign language annals 2020-12, Vol.53 (4), p.807-826
• Main Author: Artamonova, Tatiana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied Linguistics; Attitude Measures; Attitudes; attitudes in L2 learning; attitudes vs motivation; Behavior; Beliefs; College Students; Comparative Analysis; Data collection; Emotions; Extracurricular activities; Individual Differences; Item Analysis; L2 learners; Language assessment; Language Attitudes; Language Attitudes Questionnaire for Language Learners; Language Maintenance; Learning Motivation; Literature Reviews; Motivation; Psychology; Psychometrics; Questionnaires; Reliability; Resistance (Psychology); Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Social Psychology; Student Attitudes; Student Motivation
• ISSN: 0015-718X; 1944-9720
• DOI: 10.1111/flan.12498

This article describes the development of a new questionnaire for assessing L2 learners' language attitudes. Drawing on theoretical work in the fields of social psychology and applied linguistics, the author reviewed the concept of (language) attitudes and contrasted them with the concept of (language) motivation. This thorough literature review, including an examination of the currently available instruments, resulted in the generation of question items for the new questionnaire. The empirical part of the project consisted of data collection and analyses to establish the internal structure of the proposed instrument and to assess its reliability. The new Language Attitudes Questionnaire for Language Learners was found psychometrically sound and easily interpretable. The Challenge Many language programs serve multitudes of students whose only reason for being in a language class is this class being a requirement. Why are these students not continuing their language study? In part, this can be explained by their language attitudes. How can we assess these L2 learners' attitudes?