Attitudes and perceptions of gendarmerie non-commissioned officers vocational college students towards English instruction

This study aimed at investigating attitudes and perceptions of second year students studying at Gendarmerie Non-Commissioned Officers Vocational College towards English instruction. Attitudes of students were examined by focusing on the levels of attitudes as low, moderate, and high. The three dimensions of an attitude; importance, enjoyment, and anxiety which were extracted through factor analysis were also explored. The students’ perceptions were studied in relation with the dimensions of General English courses namely; objectives, content, learning activities, materials and evaluation procedures. The study also explored whether the learners’ perceptions differed according to their level of attitudes. The sample of this study was consisted of 308 second year students studying at Gendarmerie Non-Commissioned Officers Vocational College. The data were collected through an attitude scale and a perception questionnaire and were analyzed descriptively and through chi-square test by using IBM SPSS 22.0. The results of the study revealed that majority of the participants held moderately low attitudes towards English language learning and teaching process. The students also displayed moderately low attitudes regarding each of the three dimensions of attitude. The perceptions of the students revealed that General English courses need improvement. Furthermore, it was found out that some of the students‟ perceptions varied according to their level of attitudes. In conclusion, based on the students‟ preferences and perceptions, in alliance with their attitudes, suggestions and recommendations were made to improve the General English courses in Gendarmerie Non-Commissioned Officers Vocational College.