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SOCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING ENGLISH LEARNING OF UZBEK UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Abdullaeva Gulnora Gaybulloevna
Bukhara State University
ORCID - 0000-0003-1828-7487
Abstract.
This study focuses on university students and teachers at Bukhara State University in
Uzbekistan to examine socio-psychological factors impacting the learning of English as a foreign
language. The main hypothesis is that these factors influence students' attitudes towards learning
English. The research also investigates if parental factors play a role in students' attitudes. Results
show demographic details of students' backgrounds and parents' occupations. The study emphasizes
the importance of understanding these factors in English language education.
Key words:
students, education, parents, occupation, language, proficiency, social status,
gender
O'ZBEKISTONLIK UNIVERSITET TALABALARINING INGLIZ TILINI
O'RGANISHIGA TA'SIR ETUVCHI IJTIMOIY OMILLAR
Gulnora Abdullayeva Gaybulloyevna
Buxoro davlat universiteti
Annotatsiya.
Ushbu tadqiqot Buxoro davlat universiteti talabalari va o'qituvchilari uchun
ingliz tilini chet tili sifatida o'rganishga ta'sir qiluvchi ijtimoiy-psixologik omillarni o'rganish uchun
qaratilgan. Asosiy faraz shundan iboratki, bu omillar talabalarning ingliz tilini o'rganishga bo'lgan
munosabatiga ta'sir qiladi. Tadqiqot, shuningdek, ota-onalar omillari o'quvchilarning munosabatida
rol o'ynaydimi yoki yo'qligini tekshiradi. Natijalar o'quvchilarning kelib chiqishi va ota-onalarning
kasblarining demografik tafsilotlarini ko'rsatadi. Tadqiqotda ingliz tilini o'qitishda ushbu omillarni
tushunish muhimligi ta'kidlangan.
Kalit so'zlar:
talabalar, ta'lim, ota-onalar, kasb, til, bilim, ijtimoiy maqom, jins
СОЦИАЛЬНЫЕ ФАКТОРЫ, ВЛИЯЮЩИЕ НА ИЗУЧЕНИЕ АНГЛИЙСКОГО
ЯЗЫКА СТУДЕНТАМИ ВУЗОВ УЗБЕКИСТАНА
Гулнора Абдуллаева Гайбуллоевна
Бухарский государственный университет
Аннотация.
Данное исследование посвящено студентам и преподавателям Бухарского
государственного университета в Узбекистане с целью изучения социально-психологических
факторов, влияющих на изучение английского языка как иностранного. Основная гипотеза
заключается в том, что эти факторы влияют на отношение студентов к изучению
английского языка. В исследовании также изучается, играют ли родительские факторы
роль в отношении учащихся. Результаты показывают демографические данные о
происхождении учащихся и профессиях родителей. В исследовании подчеркивается важность
понимания этих факторов в обучении английскому языку.
Ключевые слова:
учащиеся, образование, родители, профессия, язык, владение языком,
социальный статус, пол.
UOʻK: 372.881.111.1
I SON – IYUL-AVGUST
19-22
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Introduction.
The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of Uzbek students studying English
at the university level as a foreign language. The primary goal is to respond to the following
query: "What motivations drive Uzbek university students to learn English as a foreign
language and what are their attitudes toward it?" The development of such motivations and
attitudes is influenced by a multitude of factors. The learner, the teaching/learning scenario,
and the environmental context of the process are the three domains into which these elements
can be divided. The learner's age, sex, intelligence, interest, personality, and parental and social
background are all included in the first domain. The teacher, syllabus, curriculum, course,
materials, and methods are all included in the second. The third domain covers the situation
involving the second or foreign language, the value of the first language, the conditions of the
university, and the home environment. It is thought that the elements shown in the above figure
shape the attitudes and motivation of university-level students in Uzbekistan, which in turn
shapes their success in language acquisition. These elements make up the variables that this
study will examine.
Being able to speak and understand a foreign language has become a highly valued quality
in educated people. Acquiring proficiency in a foreign language has emerged as a widely
accepted and crucial strategy for elevating oneself in both social and professional contexts. It is
widely accepted that teaching languages should advance students' general education as well as
their understanding of various cultures and civilizations. It is believed that studying a foreign
language has two main benefits: internal and extrinsic. The former entails applying the
language in real-world situations. In this situation, students may wish to acquire a foreign
language through reading books and articles in that language, visiting a nation where the target
language is spoken, applying for jobs where proficiency in the language is required, or for more
immediate goals like fulfilling college entrance or graduation requirements in foreign
languages. An analogous phrase that is employed from the viewpoint of the students is
"instrumental orientation." The value of studying the language itself is referred to as its intrinsic
value.
Literature Review.
Since the appearance of Gardner and Lambert's sociopsychological theory of second
language learning, according to which attitudes and motivation are linked to success in second
language learning, regardless of intelligence and / or the ability to learn a language, has carried
out several studies to verify the validity. Studies have been conducted in different cultures and
contexts, such as the United States (Maine, Louisiana and Connecticut), Canada (Quebec and
Ontario) and the Philippines, and in different ethnic groups, e.g. Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and
Mexican United States, French and English speaking Canadians and Filipino students. Some of
the earliest research has focused on studying the relationship between language skills and
motivation to learn a foreign language (Gardner et al 1974). Most research has been devoted to
studying the relationship between attitudinal/motivational variables and achievement in a
second language (Oller and Associates Research Group). Some have focused on one attitudinal
variable and others on several, such as self-attitude, mother tongue group, target language
and/or target language groups.
However, studies focused on very different situations have shown that the instrumental
value of the second language varies from one context to another, such as the opportunity for
real interaction with members of the linguistic community. For example, a bilingual city like
Montreal provides circumstances in which an English-speaking individual can profitably use
French for its instrumental and integrative value. On the other hand, a predominantly English-
speaking city like London, in Canada or Ontario, does not offer the same opportunities. These
different contexts revealed differences in the relative effects of instrumental and integrative
orientations on second language performance.
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Methodology.
The subjects of this study are university students and teachers. For convenience, the term
"subject" is used for students and "respondents" for teachers.
The main purpose of this study is to examine some socio-psychological factors that
influence the learning of English as a foreign language in the Uzbek context, specifically in one
university: Bukhara State University. This was chosen because in a Foreign Philology faculty
they use English as the language of instruction for all courses except general courses. Thus,
English plays a specific role in the academic life of students, different from the one they would
have if they learned it only as a “language”. The main hypothesis is that socio-psychological
factors affect students' attitudes towards learning English. The general question to be answered
then is: "Which social and psychological factors influence students' attitude and motivation
towards learning English and how much do these influence the level of success?" ". The research
study also aims to answer the following question: Do parental factors affect students' attitudes
towards learning English?
There are different variables in the three groups of materials used to achieve the objective
of this research: questionnaires, one for students and one for teachers, and the English
proficiency test. The focus is on the students' questionnaire because it should reveal more about
the students' attitudinal variables that are believed to influence the teaching of English at the
university level in Uzbekistan. These attitudinal factors derive from socio-psychological
aspects, originating from (a) the immediate environment of the students since childhood, or (b)
the social orientation of the country.
Results.
More than hundred Uzbek students enrolled as full-time students at this faculty in
Bukhara Most are Uzbeks (97%); six are Russian. Female students represent 43% of the total
subjects and males 2.57%. Their age ranged from 18 to 24 years with a modal value of 19. Most
of the subjects' fathers are professionals (78%). This can be explained by the fact that not all
graduates enter university; only those who show certain characteristics related to economic
level and social status, for example, enroll in universities for higher education. Fourteen percent
of the students' fathers have a qualified job and 7 percent have no qualifications. Although this
information was reported by students and therefore may be subject to personal bias, it seems
entirely reasonable, especially since the pilot study showed that the subjects were willing to
report the occupation of their relatives instead of their social stigma. Regarding mothers'
occupation, 72% said their mothers were housewives, 23% were in professional occupations,
4% were skilled and 28% were unskilled (Table 1.a.)
Table 1.
a. Parents’ occupation
Fathers
Mothers
Professional
128
37
Skilled
23
6
Unskilled
12
3
Unemployed
1
118
b. Parents’ education
Fathers
Mothers
University
66
57
College
10
20
Secondary school
24
23
None
-
-
Most of the fathers of the subjects reached university level (66%), college (secondary
specialized education) level 10%, secondary level 24%, and none of the subjects stated that
their father was not educated. Regarding the education of the mothers, 57 percent said that
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their mother had reached the university level, 20 the college (secondary specialized education)
level, 23 percent the high school level; no one said that their mother was not educated (Table
1.b.)
Discussions.
Several data analyses were used to interpret and present the results of this study. The
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), a flexible and comprehensive software
package, was used to analyze the data. For the student and teacher questionnaires, responses
to nominal and ordinal items were converted and presented as frequency distributions and
percentages. The data for the semantic differential type questions were first analyzed using
root mean square and standard deviation, and then factor analyzed. Other techniques were
used to test the relationship between the various factors.
Students tend to rate their father's Russian ability as high rather than low (46% vs. 35%),
but rate their own Uzbek ability as lower (40%). However, they tend to rate the mother's
knowledge of English and Russian as low. This can be explained by the generally lower level of
education achieved by women compared to men in a certain period around the middle of the
century in Uzbekistan. As for the proficiency ratings in any other foreign language for fathers
and mothers, they tend to be high, most likely because the parent is of that nationality and
speaks that specific language.
Foreign language
High
Mid
Low
None at all
Father
English
Russian
37,8
45,3
20,7
18,3
39,1
35,4
2,4
0,6
Mother
English
Russian
31,6
33,6
20,7
19,5
45,7
44,8
1,8
2,4
Conclusion.
It is obvious by presently that many variables are included within the teaching/learning
of English as a remote dialect. A few are related to the learners' demeanors and environment, a
few to the instructors, and others to the common instructive setting. Managing with these
factors as subsections of three wide categories would encourage drawing conclusions and
making recommendations for the commonsense teaching/learning of English. With reference
to the social mental variables accepted to impact moment dialect learning proposed in chapter
two, the taking after focuses are made agreeing to the three regions significant to the
observational work of this inquire about ponder: social variables, parental impact and
components influencing and inspiration. Parents' capability in outside dialects in common and
English in specific as detailed by the subjects was rather tall, and their support to their children
within the dialect courses as normal tending towards positive. This additionally the reality that
about 19% of the subjects detailed they utilize an outside dialect at domestic may be a great
sign of parental arrangement of 'pleasant' demeanors towards remote dialects. It was found
that in case a remote dialect is utilized at domestic, it emphatically impacts each of demeanors
towards English talking individuals and towards learning English, and that the specific dialect
utilized at domestic, in this case English, moreover influences states of mind towards English
talking individuals.
References:
Abdullayeva, G. (2021). Personality factors as one of the main issues influencing language
learning. ЦЕНТР НАУЧНЫХ ПУБЛИКАЦИЙ (buxdu. uz), 6(6).
Abdullayeva, G. (2022). Learners’psychology as one of the main issues influencing language
learning process. Центр научных публикаций (buxdu. uz), 11(11).
Gardner, R., C. & Lambert, W., E. (1972) Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language
Learning. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers.
