Motivation and attitude towards learning English during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: a mixed methods study

Abstract

The study examines motivations and attitudes towards learning English among a leading private University's undergraduate Computer Science and Engineering students. It examines whether the participants are motivated to study English either instrumentally or integratively. The study explores whether students are more or less enthusiastic about learning English due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study also considers learner attitudes towards English language acquisition in Bangladeshi social, educational, linguistic, and cultural contexts. Forty-Five students were chosen randomly from the 'Computer Science and Engineering Department' of a top-ranked private university to participate in the study. The data were collected using a questionnaire and interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive analysis with SPSS version 26. The quantitative analysis showed that a student's motivation to study English is highly integrative and instrumental. The findings also revealed that students have higher integrative motivation than instrumental motivation. During the interview, the majority of the students cited instrumental causes for their desire to study English. The data also suggested that, as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, students are now more eager to learn English. Also, due to online-based virtual learning, students believe that learning the English language is more essential now than in the pre-pandemic period. Findings also revealed that students have very positive attitudes towards the English based education system in Bangladesh. The findings also revealed that Students are also quite interested in the culture of the English-speaking world. Moreover, students have a positive attitude regarding the English language.