Exploring Korean College Students’ Attitudes Toward General English Program and Influencing Factors

한국 대학생들의 교양영어 프로그램에 대한 태도 및 영향 요인 탐색

The purpose of this study is two-fold; it is to explore student attitudes toward the general college English program, and second, it is to examine factors that affect student attitudes. A total of 385 students (217 from the basic level, 157 from the intermediate level, and 11 from the advanced level) who took the required general English course partook in the study. They were asked to complete a questionnaire. To analyze the data, t -tests and correlation were performed. The results showed that both groups of students held a positive attitude toward the general English program. They reported that they gained confidence in English and showed relatively high satisfaction with the program. In addition, both groups showed agreement that University English (UE) must be mandatory, and the number of required English courses must increase from the current state. Furthermore, over half of the intermediate-level students reported that face-to-face instruction is the most effective mode for language learning because it provides direct communication and interaction with instructors and peers. However, the number of basic-level students who held this opinion was much lower. The findings also showed that student perceptions were related to student nationality but not to student gender and English proficiency. The findings imply that distance learning seems to have paved the way for institutions to implement a blended learning approach that maximizes student learning by taking advantage of distance and face-to-face learning.