Attitudes of Arab College Students Towards Learning EAP Courses

This quantitative and qualitative research study aimed to examine the attitudes of Arab college students towards the program of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) from three perspectives: cognitive-belief, evaluative, and behavioral, and the relations between their attitudes and their field of study (major), year of study, their experience in learning EAP courses, scores, and the possibility of pursuing a master’s degree. Forty-four subjects from a pool of 150 returned the questionnaire, and eleven were interviewed. Results show a strong correlation between those who have a positive experience in learning English and their attitudes, achieve high scores and their aspirations for pursuing a master’s degree. There is a need for understanding the needs of members of minority groups for learning English, the reasons for their low achievement and attitudes to match the reading materials and pedagogy to their specific needs to help them succeed in the EAP courses.