همایش رویکردهای میان رشته ای به آموزش زبان، ادبیات و مطالعات ترجمه

صفحه اصلی / پنجمین همایش رویکردهای میان رشته ای به آموزش زبان، ادبیات و مطالعات ترجمه

Resistance to Learning English among Iranian Ph.D. Students: The Case of Non-English Majors in Focus

نویسندگان :

Zahra Latifirad¹ Mehrdad Amiri² Hossein Khodabakhshzadeh³ Hamid Ashraf⁴

1- دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد تربت حیدریه 2- دانشگاه فرهنگیان پردیس چمران 3- دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد تربت حیدریه 4- دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی واحد تربت حیدریه

کلمات کلیدی :

EFL learners،Engineering students،Humanities basic sciences،Learning English،Ph.D. candidates

چکیده :

One of the problems of PhD students in the Iranian context is passing the English Proficiency Test (EPT) as a requirement for the accomplishment of their PhD degree. This study intended to find this problems’ causes across different majors among non-English major Ph.D. candidates in Islamic Azad University. Relying on a mixed-methods design, this study collected the data by a valid and reliable questionnaire of Resistance to Learning English (RTLE) from 300 Ph.D. students selected based on a random sampling method. Also, an in-depth interview was used to collect the qualitative data from 20 students and 10 instructors. Multivariate ANOVA (MANOVA) was used to analyze the quantitative data. The results revealed significant differences between engineering, basic sciences, and humanities student's means with respect to sources of resistance to learning English. In fact, students of humanities had the most noticeable resistance toward learning English followed by students of basic sciences and engineering majors. The interview analysis was done through thematic analysis and the results showed that factors such as previous experiences, lack of research mindset, and demotivation were the most effective sources in increasing resistant behaviors toward learning English as a foreign language. The study findings could be used by EFL curriculum designers, Ph.D. candidates, educational policy makers, and instructors teaching English to the Ph.D. candidates.