Language learning beliefs of Thai university students: Change of the beliefs through learning a new foreign language

Abstract

© 2018 Institute for the Study of Language and Information. Learners' beliefs about language learning are considered very important because of their contributions to the language learning processes, yet their developmental nature still remains mostly unexplored. The purpose of the study was to examine how Thai university students changed their beliefs about language learning at the dimensional levels after having learned Japanese. Undergraduate students (N = 68) in a Thai university taking elementary Japanese language courses completed a modified version of 35-item Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) developed by Horwitz (1987) at two different occasions: at the beginning of the first-level course (Time 1) and at the beginning of the second-level course (Time 2). In the first step of analysis, a six-factor structure was empirically identified from principal component analysis. Through comparisons of the factor mean scores, subsequent paired-samples t-tests identified a significant increase in only one of the six empirically identified belief factors. A significant increase was also identified at single-item levels in two of seven items grouped together in this dimension. Additionally, in terms of five items empirically grouped together into other factors, a statistically increase was also identified. The findings suggested that the language learning beliefs changed at the dimensional levels. Judging from the item statements, the students' experience of studying Japanese was more related to the changes of their beliefs about learning Japanese than those about foreign languages and languages in general. The former seems to be modifiable and developed through learning experiences, while the latter appears to remain stable.