LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:5 May 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Afghan Islamic Religious Scholars’ Attitudes and Motivations Towards Learning English

Sayeed Naqibullah Orfan and Abdul Qawi Noori

Abstract

The study investigated the Afghan religious scholars’ attitudes and motivations towards learning English. It also examined the impact of their country of religious education, place of residence and ethnicity on their responses. The authors collected data from 46 religious scholars who were living in Taliqan, the capital city of Takhar, a northeastern province of Afghanistan. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. More specifically, the authors determined the frequency, mean and standard deviation of the data and they used Independent Samples T-test and One-Way ANOVA test to examine the impact of the participants’ country of education, place of residence and ethnicity on their responses. The findings revealed that the Afghan religious scholars had positive attitudes towards learning English and that they were interested in learning English. Furthermore, they wanted to learn English for various reasons, e.g., traveling abroad, promoting Islam, and obtaining their higher education. The study disproved the perception that the Afghan religious scholars had negative attitudes towards learning English. The religious scholars’ country of education, place of residence and ethnicity did not have any significant influence on their responses.

Keywords: Afghan religious scholars, English education, motivation, attitude, EFL

Introduction

English plays a crucial role in Afghan society and it has been one of the major courses in Afghan schools and universities for years. Many Afghans including girls and women were learning English in the 1980s and the number was on the rise in the early 1990s. However, English education was banned during the Taliban Regime who prevented girls and women from attending schools and universities as well (Orfan, 2021a; Noori et al., 2020). The use of English has been on the rapid rise since 2001 when the international community especially the USA arrived in Afghanistan. A large number of people including women and girls rushed to learn English and many private English language centers were established throughout Afghanistan, which played a crucial role in spreading English in the country (Orfan, 2020a).

Currently, English is used in many areas in the country. It is extensively used in education, business, economy, government, and media (e.g., social networking sites) (Coleman, 2019; Akramy, 2020; Hashemi and Kew, 2020). English education starts from grade four in governmental schools and from grade one in almost all private schools. It is also taught as one of the required courses in government-run madrassas (Islamic schools). It is also one of the required courses in all majors at undergraduate and graduate studies including undergraduate studies in Sharia faculties (Islamic studies) (Orfan, 2021b). English is one of the major requirements for almost all overseas educational programs. Individuals with better English proficiency are preferred for overseas educational fellowships and scholarships.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Sayeed Naqibullah Orfan
English Department, Takhar University, Afghanistan
sayeed.naqibullah@fulbrightmail.org
ORCID: 0000-0003-4584-1965

Abdul Qawi Noori
English Department, Takhar University, Afghanistan
abdulqawi.noory@gmail.com
ORCID: 0000-0003-2531-5626
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