A Research on the Perceptions about English Language Learning among Finnish Primary School Pupils : Does English Language Teaching as a Subject Induce Disinterest in English?

Abstract

The paper reports the results of a questionnaire study conducted in Finland in 2008 in order to capture the perceptions about English language learning among Finnish primary school pupils. In all, 322 pupils at five different primary schools participated in the study. The questionnaire consisted of 32 questions: the first two questions were sensitizing questions, the next twelve questions asked the pupils about why they were studying English, with a view to determining which type of motivation, instrumental and integrative, is more dominant among Finnish primary school pupils. The second set of twelve questions asked the pupils how they were enjoying their English lessons, and the final six questions inquired into the pupils' attitudes toward English language learning in general, focusing on the degree of development of learner autonomy. The obtained results were also compared to capture possible differences in perceptions in terms of the differences in the location of schools, gender, grade, and the choice of the first foreign language. Finally, an analysis was carried out among the results for the question items on the same questionnaire, which disclosed that learning English as a school subject does not necessarily induce disinterest in English.