Politics and foreign language learning: A study of Saudis’ motivations to learn English following the announcement of Saudi Vision 2030
Abstract
This study examined Saudis’ motivation to learn English after the announcement of the Saudi Vision 2030, a strategic social and economic development plan. The study participants included 175 male and female Saudi citizens aged 18–55 years old. Participants answered a Likert-style survey consisting of 27 statements. Their answers were analyzed using ANOVA and t-tests. The findings suggest that Saudis were more motivated to learn English after the announcement. This implies that countries’ policies and political decisions can impact their citizens’ motivations to learn foreign language. The findings also revealed that younger participants and female participants were more motivated to learn English than their older or male counterparts. The results also show that study participants were most interested in developing their vocabulary and least interested in developing their grammatical skills. This study is the first to investigate how political decisions affect the motives of citizens to learn a foreign language. It is of benefit to linguists, language teachers, language institutes and the business of teaching a foreign language.
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