Abstract:
The competence in English language has now become an inevitable key to succeed in
any scenario since it has become a pre-eminent international language today. Having
learnt this phenomenon, the government had taken several steps to make English a
compulsory subject in schools from grade three onwards and now most of the higher
education institutes and universities have introduced English as a subject and most of
them conduct their study programs in the medium of English. However, in spite of the
great efforts exerted in the universities to teach English as a second language, one can
hardly come across undergraduates fluent in English. In Sabaragamuwa University of
Sri Lanka (SUSL) as well, most of the undergraduates’ performances in the
examinations raise serious questions on their English knowledge. The author assumes
that even though many factors affect the second language learning, the
undergraduates’ attitudes and motivation play a major role in determining second
language learning. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the attitudes and motivation
of second-year students of Faculty of Social Science and Language (FSSL) in SUSL
towards learning English. It also attempted to examine the relationship between
undergraduates’ attitudes and the grades they earned and the attitudes and the
departments into which they are attached. In addition, it explored the undergraduates’
overall motivation, motivation orientation levels, and looked into the correlations
between the undergraduates’ motivation with respect to their grades and departments.
The study was carried out with hundred and ten second-year undergraduates at FSSL in
SUSL using a survey designed on a five-point likert-scale. Informal interviews and
classroom observations were also used to gather data. The data collected were analyzed
through descriptive statistics, and Pearson correlation procedures. The study achieved
its objectives by ascertaining that almost seventy percent undergraduates possess
positive attitudes and high motivation towards learning English. The study also
revealed that the undergraduates’ attitudes and motivation do not differ in terms of the
grades they earned and the departments they attached in to. However the study
recommends taking necessary implementation to make better attitudes and create high
motivation in language learners and enhance the quality of graduates in Sri Lanka by
building their competency in English language.
