English in an Arabic Environment: Current Attitudes to English among Kuwait University Students

Research was conducted on Kuwait University undergraduates enrolled in English courses offered by the English Language Centre at Kuwait University. It examined students' attitudes and motivations to learning English as a foreign language in a predominantly Arabic and Moslem environment. The research focuses on the inter-relationships between attitude, motivation, anxiety and achievement in the English language. Despite the studies (Al-Mutawa, 1986, 1994) that seem to show that Kuwaitis are not in favour of the English language and learning it, the researcher hypothesises that (1) Kuwait University undergraduates, in general, have positive attitudes towards learning English, towards the English language and towards native speakers of English. Students have reasons to study English; (2) Kuwait society values and regards the English language highly; and (3) students' achievement is positively related to their motivation and attitudes toward the English language and negatively related to their anxiety. In general, these hypotheses were vindicated by the research, which also found that the more a student is exposed to the English language, and the more a student needs the English language either for present studies or for future career, the more positive his/her attitudes appear towards the language.