Attitudes of business students towards learning English

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify, describe, and compare the attitudes of two different groups of business students studying in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, towards learning English as part of their business studies. A total of 59 students participated in the study: 33 from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus and 26 from the Instituto de Banca y Comercio.

The researcher posed the following questions: (1) Which factors will have more influence on the business student's decision to enroll in a college-level English course? (2) Will one group be more influenced by the factors stated? (3) Will one group demonstrate more positive attitudes towards learning English?

To obtain the answers of this questions, the subjects answered a five-page questionnaire in Spanish regarding the following areas: exposure to English, factors influencing the subjects to enroll in a college-level English course, attitudes toward English, opinions about business, English competency, grade point average, school setting, and future job plans.