Perceptions and attitudes of Qatar University students regarding the utility of arabic and english in communication and education in Qatar

Abstract

This study investigates the linguistic attitudes and perceptions of Qatar University students regarding the utility and vitality of the two languages that define the education and communication scenes in Qatar, namely, Arabic and English. It also reports on the predictors of these attitudes in terms of demographic traits. 861 students completed a questionnaire that was divided into: Media Language Preference (MLP); Value and Symbolism of Arabic (VSA); Arabic in Education and Society (AES); Medium of Instruction (MOI); Impact of Al-Jazeera Network (IJN); English in Scientific and Professional Communication (ESPC); Qatari Cultural Identity (QCI); Arabic Books (AB); English in Society and Work (ESW); Language in Workplace (LIW); Arabic in Employment (AE); Status of Arabic (SA); and Manifestations of Sociocultural Identity (MSI). Results showed that Arabic got higher ratings for MLP, VSA, AES, MOI, QCI, and MSI, while English was perceived as more useful than Arabic in ESPC. Correlational analysis showed that Gender had significant correlations with MLP, MOI, ESPC, and MSI, while Nationality, Specialization, and Number of spoken languages had correlations with MLP and MOI.