Language Attitude and Motivation of the Islamic School Students: How Madrasa Students of the Academic Year 2013-2014 in Indonesia Perceive English, English Teaching and Learning and Native Speakers of English

Many studies have been conducted to identify language attitude in language learning and different studies on language attitude are related to different aspects of a language. Islamic Schools in Indonesia, known as madrasa, were often assumed to perceive English and the native speakers of the foreign language negatively and also assumed to be an educational institution which emphasises anti-modern, anti-Western and anti-pluralistic communities. This study aimed to identify how madrasa students in Indonesia perceive English, English teaching and learning and native speakers of English. The data of this study were collected through a questionnaire with a 5-point Likert-type scale. ANOVA was conducted to identify how differently the madrasa students perceive English, English teaching and learning and native speakers of English from the students of other schools involved in this study. Correlation analyses were also undertaken to determine how the three categories of the language attitude were correlated with one another. The results of this study indicate that the madrasa students have positive perceptions towards the three categories of language attitude and these categories are significantly correlated with one another. The empirical data of this study imply that the madrasa students in Indonesia can develop sensitivity to the culture of the native speakers of English while learning the foreign language without losing their own cultural identities. The madrasa students are relatively open to globalisation and modernisation even though they are committed to their own culture and religious beliefs.