International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research(IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281) Volume 1, Issue 2 , April,2018

International Journal of
Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research (IJAMSR) ISSN:2581-4281

ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTIONS TOWARD BILINGUAL EDUCATION:

A STUDY OF EFL LEARNERS IN IRAN

Roghayeh Pourbahram1, Mahla Behrooznezhad2

Lecturer in English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Urmia University, Iran.
Lecturer in English, Academic Centre for Education Culture and Research (ACECR), Iran
r.pourbahram@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The technological innovations during the past century have revolutionized information
transfer leading to cross- cultural and multi-lingual human communication. Considering
the importance of multilingual education in the recent century, the current study
documented a survey on Iranian students' perception of bilingual education. A total
number of 161 English language learners participated in this study. The participants
were asked to fill in the questionnaire and considering age and gender as the variables
of this study, the results revealed that there was no significant difference between males
and females with regard to their attitudes toward bilingualism. However, a significant
relationship was found between participants' age ranges and their attitudes towards
bilingualism. In other words, as the learners’ age increased the participants' attitudes
towards bilingualism became more positive. The findings of this study would be useful
for material developers and curriculum designers.
ROGHAYEH POURBAHRAM

Citation: Roghayeh Pourbahram, Mahla Behrooznezhad. Attitudes and Perceptions

Toward Bilingual Education:A Study Of EFL Learners in Iran. International Journal of
Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research (IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281).Vol 1,
Issue 2, April,2018, #Art.11, pp23—27

MAHLA BEHROOZNEZHAD

Keywords: EFL Learners;

Bilingual education; Attitude
----------------------------------------

Introduction language instead of first language as a medium of

instruction in educational system especially in bilingual
Nowadays, efficient language teaching is an increasingly countries does not act fruitfully. To what extent the
important area in applied linguistics. The efficiency of claim is provable is still under question. There are
the teaching depends on some factors such as setting, different perceptions towards bilingual education. In
motivation factors, having good command of the target some countries early bilingual education is favored, but
language, use of L1and etc. Among the above- there are problems regarding this issue. Political
mentioned factors the use of the L1 is the major concern programs in the bilingual countries play an inhibiting
of this article. It is argued that the use of standard role.

International Journal of Advanced Multidiciplinanry Scientific Research (IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281,)Volume 1, Issue 2, April 2018, #Art.11, 23
International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research(IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281) Volume 1, Issue 2 , April,2018

International Journal of
Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research (IJAMSR) ISSN:2581-4281

Students find language learning meaningful when the a means of language regeneration” (Lotherington, 2004,
language is used as the medium of receiving information p. 700).
or in real communicative situations and discussions
(Curtain & Martı´nez, 1990, as cited in Merisuo-Storm, In a multilingual society where several languages have
2007). "Many are concerned that teaching through a distinct and various societal functions, individuals must
foreign language may have negative effects on the learn more than one language to be efficient an effective
development of children’s literacy skills in the mother within the appropriate social contexts. Similarly, in the
tongue" (Merisuo- Storm, 2007, p. 1). "According to a diverse global communities of today, governments must
study carried out by Nikula and Marsh (1997, pp. 110– attempt to develop a language repertory of their people
111) pupils learn subject matter equally well when the from the formal and national languages of their countries
teaching is carried out in a foreign language as when to the more valued, world accepted language or
they study in their mother tongue". languages (Yunus & Hern, 2011).

In addition, in EFL setting L1 use has become a A recent research conducted by McMillan and Rivers
controversial issue. Monolingual approach in many (2011) documented the attitudes of 29 ‘native-English
countries is favored in the political programs in the EFL speaker’ teachers at a Japanese university. It was
context. revealed that where exclusive use of the target language
was promoted as a key feature of the optimal foreign
In very general terms, bilingual education implies some language learning environment, contrary to the official
use of two or more languages of instruction in policy, many teachers believed that selective use of the
connection with teaching other than language per se. students’ L1, by the teacher or by students, could
However, within this broad definition, it is obvious that, enhance L2 learning in various ways within a
vastly different types of programs and program goals can communicative framework.
be and are being pursued (Fishman & Joshua, cited in
Yunus & Hern, 2011). Cook (2005) suggests that because code switching is a
natural feature of communication among bilinguals it
According to Mackey (1978), bilingual education, is should also be permitted in the L2 classroom. Similarly,
thousands of years old, predating even the invention of Levine (2009) suggests strategies for increasing learner
the alphabet. Lewis ( as cited in Lotherington, 2004) awareness of useful code switching, while Dailey-
“points out that prior to the Christian era, the three O’Cain and Liebscher (2009; see also Liebscher and
linguistic ascendances of Akkadian, Aramaic, and Greek Dailey-O’Cain, 2004) have shown that learners can also
brought with them consequent widespread bilingualism develop naturalistic norms of code switching on their
requiring bilingual education for minority own. From the more sociolinguistic standpoint, and of
functionaries”(p. 696). particular relevance in contexts such as Japan, Fuller
(2009) argues that code switching allows learners to
Bilingual education is rooted in a political ideology that associate themselves with their L1-based identity and
rejects a singularity of cultural vision and works toward peer group while at the same time developing a new
understanding across cultural and linguistic difference. social identity in the TL (as cited in McMillan,
Although bilingual education is generally lauded as an Rivers,).
enriching educational experience, this is not a universal
opinion. Given the range of political perceptions of Regarding bilingual Education a study has been done by
multilingualism, from economic bonus to political threat, Tuula Merisuo-Storm (2007) which investigated the
and the influence of social policies on public views and effects of bilingual teaching on the development of
expectations of citizens' language competencies, children’s literacy skills and attitudes towards language
opportunities for and attitudes toward bilingual learning. In this study, in the bilingual classes, 20% of
education vary widely. ( Lotherington, 2004, p. 698) the instruction were given in English. Pupils’ literacy
skills in the bilingual classes were significantly better
In other words, Bilingual education is a tool for than in the monolingual classes. It was revealed that
spreading world languages, and this is seen very much in when observing pupils who started first grade with either
the international popularity of English in bilingual a poor or an excellent level of school readiness, there
programs and second language courses. At the same was no significant difference between bilingual and
time, bilingual education is a vehicle for language monolingual groups. In addition, the pupils in bilingual
maintenance programs where children's home languages classes showed significantly more positive attitudes
are reinforced through literate study at school. towards foreign-language learning than the pupils in
Furthermore, bilingual education can be a critical monolingual classes. However, students` attitudes rarely
mainstay in language revitalization programs where are asked concerning their preferences of the language
children are educated in a threatened language, offering through which they are taught.

International Journal of Advanced Multidiciplinanry Scientific Research (IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281,)Volume 1, Issue 2, April 2018, #Art.11, 24
International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research(IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281) Volume 1, Issue 2 , April,2018

International Journal of
Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research (IJAMSR) ISSN:2581-4281

Considering the importance of using L1 in educational Since the p-value for the distribution is more than 0.05
settings, this study tried to find EFL learners' attitudes (p-value = 0.09), the null hypothesis is accepted.
and perceptions toward bilingual education in the Iranian Therefore, there is a normal distribution of the data.
context. After checking the normality, the t-test (Table 2) was run
in order to answer the first research question.
Method
In this study, the survey research method which
incorporates the use of questionnaire was used as it is the
Table 2. Independent Samples Test
most common form of research method engaged by
educational researchers to gain qualitative, descriptive as Levene's t-test for Equality of
well as quantitative data (Abdul Ghafur, as cited in Test for Means
Yunus & Hern, 2011). The questionnaire which was
piloted in another study previously was administered to Equality
161 participants. 79 male and 82 female EFL learners of of
different age range (17- 44) filled in the questionnaires.
Variance
In the questionnaire their attitudes and perceptions
toward bilingual education, i.e., use of their mother s
tongue in class were studied. In addition, their views
F Sig. t Df Sig. (2- Mean
about maintaining native languages and cultures and the
language policy in an Iranian context were investigated. tailed) Differen
Cronbach’s alpha was estimated for checking the ce
reliability of the attitude questionnaire and it was
reported to be 0.92. to Eq 03 87 1 16 88 .11
ta ual 6
Results
l var
H01: There is not a significant difference between at ian
males and females with regard to their attitude tit ce
towards bilingualism.
u s
In order to check the first null hypothesis, an d as
independent samples t-test was needed. Before carrying
out the analysis, it was necessary to make sure of the e su
normality of the distribution. For this purpose, one- me
sample K-S test was used in order to check the normality
d
of the distribution. The following table shows the results.
Eq 1 158. 88 .11

Table 1. One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test ual 6 98

total var

attitude ian

N 161 ce

Normal Mean 50.30 s

Parametersa Std. Deviation 4.50 not

Most Absolute .10 as

Extreme su
Positive .06
Differences me
Negative -.10
d
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z 1.25

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .09

a. Test distribution is Normal.

International Journal of Advanced Multidiciplinanry Scientific Research (IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281,)Volume 1, Issue 2, April 2018, #Art.11, 25
International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research(IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281) Volume 1, Issue 2 , April,2018

International Journal of
Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research (IJAMSR) ISSN:2581-4281

Since the significance level for the Levene’s test was

more than 0.05, therefore, there was equality of variance.
Consequently, the first row of the t-test table was used In order to check the second null hypothesis, a Pearson
for checking the null hypothesis. product-moment correlation coefficient was estimated
(Table 4).
The p-value for the t-test was more than 0.05 which
means that the null hypothesis was accepted. In other
words, there was not a significant difference between the Table 4. Correlations
two gender groups with regard to their attitude towards
participa total
bilingualism:
nts' age attitude
t (159) = 0.88; p > 0.05. particip Pearson 1 .22*

The following table (table 3) shows the mean scores of ants' Correlation
the attitudes for both groups which are very high (out of age Sig. (2- .01
60) and very close to each other.
tailed)

N 160 160

total Pearson .22* 1

attitude Correlation

Table 3. Group Statistics Sig. (2- .01

parti N M Std Std. tailed)

cipa e . Error N 160 161

nts' a De Mean

gen n viat The result of the correlation analysis shows that there was a
significant relationship between age and attitude towards
der ion bilingualism (p-value = 0.01). Of course, the amount of
to male 7 5 4.4 .
correlation was not very high (r = 0.22). Therefore, the second
null hypothesis is rejected at p-value less than 0.05:
ta 9 0. 0 5 r = 0.22, n = 160, p < 0.05.
l 3 0
This result means that, as the age increases the participants’
at 5 attitudes towards bilingualism becomes positive.
tit fem 8 5 4.6 .
u ale 2 0. 2 5 Discussion

d 2 1 As hypothesized, there was no significant difference between

e
males and females with regard to their attitude towards
4
bilingualism. A common view in favor of the L1 was
supported in both of the genders. The attitudes tended
dissatisfaction towards the use of monolingual educational
policy, i.e., they preferred bilingual education to monolingual
one. Moreover, concerning second hypothesis, the null
H02: There is not a significant relationship between hypothesis was rejected. In other words, there was a significant
participants’ age ranges and their attitude towards relationship between participants` age range and their attitudes
bilingualism. towards bilingualism. As the age range increased, the attitudes
were more in favor of use of L1 in the educational context. The
finding of the present study was compatible with the study
conducted by McMillan and Rivers (2011). In both of the
studies, it was believed that the use of the students’ L1 in the
educational setting, besides L2, could enhance L2 learning. It
is not proven that what should be the span of L1 use in the
educational context, but as Cook (2005) has suggested since
code-switching is a natural feature of communication among
bilinguals, it should also be permitted in the L2 classroom. The

International Journal of Advanced Multidiciplinanry Scientific Research (IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281,)Volume 1, Issue 2, April 2018, #Art.11, 26
International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research(IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281) Volume 1, Issue 2 , April,2018

International Journal of
Advanced Multidisciplinary Scientific Research (IJAMSR) ISSN:2581-4281

educational system should take steps to fill the gap between 4. Liebscher, G., Dailey- O cain, J., (2004). Learner
successful learning and students’ real needs. Since one official code switching in the content-based Foreign
language (Persian) is permitted in an educational context in language classroom. Canadian Modern Language
Iran, teachers feel pressured to exclude the L1 use in the Review,60, Pp. 501-525.
classroom. Further research is needed to be conducted in a 5. Lotherington, H. (2004). Bilingual education. In:
more detailed way to seize teachers` beliefs regarding bilingual Davis, A., & Elder, C.,(Eds.), The Handbook of
education. Applied Linguistics. Blackwell Publishing Ltd,
pp.695-718.
Conclusion 6. Merisuo- Storm, T., (2007). Pupils' attitude
towards foreign-language learning and the
The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions Development of literacy skills in bilingual
and attitudes of bilingual students about bilingual educational education. Teaching and Teacher Education. 23,
program. The results and discussion of the research from 226-235.
analyzing the data indicated that, students favor their mother 7. McMillan. B.A., 7 Rivers. D.J., (2011). The
tongue beside official language in the educational program. In practice of policy: Teacher attitudes toward
conclusion, it appears that pupils care more than what was “English only”. Science Direct, 39, 251-263.
believed or shown in the society about their home languages. 8. Nikula, T., & Poussu-Olli, H-S. (2000).
Since the age range carries variable in this study, it gives us a Peruskouhan ensimmaisen luokan lukemis-testi
broad view of ideas regarding bilingual education. As age Siiliperhe. (Reading test for first grade-students).
increases, awareness of the pupils is increased regarding the Naantali: Scribeo.
importance of their mother tongue. But concerning gender, 9. Yunus, M.M., & Hern, G.E., (2011). Malaysian
both genders are in favor of bilingual education. undergraduates' perceptions and attitudes on
Bilingual education. Procedia Social and
Although we conducted a research on bilingual education, this Behavioral Sciences, 15, 2618-2622.
study has exclusively focused on two variables in bilingual
educational setting which are age and gender and just one
approach in collecting data which was questionnaire was used.
In fact, the reason of the obtained result is another area of
research which is still unresolved. Another area of future study
is to investigate how bilingual education differs in early and
late ages. We acknowledge that, since our research is limited to
one bilingual city, our findings may not be fully generalizable.
It is logical to assume that other bilingual cities or countries
might have different views concerning bilingual education.
Therefore a further research is needed to explore bilingual
learners` beliefs. Our findings can be used to set a future
educational agenda in bilingual countries. In addition, learners`
first language should be taken into account by material
developers and curriculum designers to lead to a successful
learning.

References

1. Cook, V., (2005). Basing teaching on the L2 user.

In : Llurda, E. (Ed), Nonnative Language
Teachers: Perceptions, Challenges and
Contributions to the Profession. Springer, New
York, pp. 47-61.
2. Fuller, J.M., (2009) How bilingual children talk:
Strategic code switching between children In dual
language programs. In: Turnbull, M., Dailey- O
Cain, J., (Eds.), First Language Use in Second
and Foreign Language Learning. Multilingual
Matters. Bristol, pp. 115-130.
3. Levine, G.S., (2009). Building meaning through
code choice in second language learner
Interaction: a D/discourse analysis and proposals
for curriculum And teaching. In: Turnbull, M.,
Dailey-o cain, J. (Eds.), First Language Use in
Second and Foreign Language Learning.
Multilingual Matters, Bristol, pp. 145- 162.

International Journal of Advanced Multidiciplinanry Scientific Research (IJAMSR ISSN:2581-4281,)Volume 1, Issue 2, April 2018, #Art.11, 27