An Exploration of Libyan Learners’ Attitudes Towards Pair Work Activity in English Language Learning Development

Ameen Omran Saleh Almanafi, Rabha Hassan Alghatani

Abstract


This research paper aimed to investigate Libyan learners’ attitudes towards pair work activity in their learning process. Furthermore, this research established the reasons for their attitudes, how this activity affects their learning process, and how Libyan learners can be encouraged to participate in this activity. Mixed approaches of quantitative and qualitative methods were used for data collection, by means of a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The questionnaire was distributed online to 59 Libyan learners, In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four Libyan learners to discuss their attitudes in more detail. The study explores both gender, among participants the majority were male Libyan learners (61%) than female Libyan learners (39%). The Most of them were in the 25-34 years old (72.9%) and (62.7%) have been studying English for more than one year. Based on the findings of the current research, it could be said that 79.3% of students found pair work positive / very positive while less than 7% of learners found pair work very negative / negative. Eventually, The findings showed that most of learners acknowledged that participating in pair work is very useful, the analyzed date illustrates that 74.5% of students found pair work helpful / very helpful; while 79.3% found pair work positive / very positive. In addition, the attitudes of male and female learners are similar. This statement was highlighted by both males and females participants of the study. Also the four interviewees stressed that pair work helped them to improve their speaking skills and facilitated their communication.

Keywords


Learning Strategies Teaching Methods, Attitudes, Pair Work, EFLLs, Gender, First Language

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.11n.2p.37

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