College students’ motivation and attitudes towards learning English as a global language: Perspectives from Indonesia and Malaysia

Abstract

This paper outlines the results of a survey which was carried out to examine the differences and similarities in motivation and attitudes towards learning English as a global language among university students in Indonesia and Malaysia. A total number of 384 students participated in this study. The data were collected using self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Multiple analyses using t-test statistical tool were conducted to compare data sets. The study yielded a couple of eye-opening facts. Firstly, while the strongest instrumental motivation in learning English among Indonesian college students was to prepare for international tests of English, for their Malaysian counterparts, the biggest motivation in learning English was just for leisure. Secondly, the attitude of Indonesian university students towards learning English as a world language was native speaker-oriented, whereas their Malaysian counterparts tended to favor the target culture. This implies that students in different parts of the globe may have different perspectives on the role of English as a world language. With regard to Indonesia and Malaysia, this condition is most likely to be attributed to the different status of English in the two countries.