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Article published In: Pragmatics and Society
Vol. 12:4 (2021) ► pp.591–611

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Motivation and attitudes of Israeli Druze schoolchildren toward L2 Hebrew compared to Modern Standard Arabic

 | The Academic Arab College for Education in IsraelHaifa
 | The Academic Arab College for Education in IsraelHaifa
Published online: 29 October 2021
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.18056.abb
Abstract
The present study examines the extent to which sociohistorical and political contexts influence the language attitudes of Israeli-Druze students to Hebrew as L2 and to Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in Arabic-speaking schools. It is a pioneer explorative research study that compares students’ attitudes toward diglossia and L2. Using the Foreign Languages Attitudes and Goals Survey (FLAGS), the attitudes of second, fifth, and ninth graders in two different Druze schools were assessed. The results indicate a positive attitude towards L2 Hebrew, not only for instrumental purposes but also for integration into Israel’s multicultural society. The positive attitude to L2 Hebrew is greater in older students, while the attitude to MSA becomes more negative among older students. Their low motivation to learn cultural heritage MSA may contribute to an understanding of how to teach it better or differently, as well as how to encourage future generations to learn it.
Article outline
  • Introduction
    • Israel L2 acquisition
    • Druze education in Israel
    • Second language (L2) acquisition in a multilingual society
    • The use of the Hebrew language
    • The use of the Arabic language
    • Druze attitudes toward L2 Hebrew and to MSA acquisition
    • The present study
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Research tools
    • Procedure
    • Data processing
  • Findings
  • Discussion
  • Research contribution
  • Research limitations and further study
  • Note
  • Bibliography
References (47)
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