Attitudes of mexican american students towards learning english as a second language in a structured immersion program

Abstract

This study involves the examination of the attitudes of a group of Mexican American students towards learning English as a second language in a structured immersion program. It also analyzes the extent to which these attitudes differ in relation to the variables of gender and performance in English. Participants were 110 students (girls, n = 56, boys, n = 54) in grades 8-12 in the Compton Unified School District (California, USA). One noteworthy finding of this study is the appearance of a general factor that defines the homogeneous structure of the instruments used in the assessment of student attitudes toward second language learning. In addition, a further factor, which the authors have termed “pressure to learn English” was also identified. This factor is manifested in a high average correlation of all variables. It reveals the motivation to learn a second language in the context of vital necessity where learning English is a key element for the integration in a territory in which the use of Spanish is prohibited by law.