Students’ Attitudes towards Learning English in the Kurdistan region of Iraq

This research investigates students' attitudes towards learning English in Private Universities. Attitude is considered as a necessary component in language learning. Therefore, a positive attitude is considered as one of the important factors that have an impact on language learning. By providing insight into the attitudes of Private Universities students towards learning English, it contributes to the teaching of English as a foreign language. The main purpose of this research is to reveal students’ attitudes towards learning English and find out how to make their attitudes positive. Language educators who know how to develop positive attitudes in students will be able to conduct interesting and effective classroom activities; get them to be more successful in learning English. The researcher points out that the main problem is the fact that students in Private Universities are not encouraged to English. This is one of the reasons why they have negative attitudes towards learning English. Students have a perception that they are forced to learn English. This causes them to be unwilling to learn English and develop target language skills. The researcher made use a questionnaire to obtain data about the learners’ attitudes and analyse them. The random sampling technique was used. All the firstand second-year students at English department of the college in Private Universities were selected randomly for the study. The English department had 214 firstand secondyear students. The study revealed the fact that students have negative attitudes towards learning English in terms of emotional, behavioural and cognitive aspects. Thus, the first hypothesis is supported. As there is a statistically significant difference in Private Universities students’ attitudes towards learning English language by gender, the second hypothesis is supported. The third hypothesis is supported by the fact that there is a statistically significant difference in Private Universities students’ attitudes towards learning English language according to the duration of the study. According to the correlation test, the researcher came to the conclusion that there is correlation between three attitude factors: cognitive, behavioural and emotional. According to the correlation test, the researcher found out that cognitive has negative correlation (r=.-.249 p<0.01) with Behaviour. Concerning the negative of the linear relationship is moderately strong between cognitive and behaviour, cognitive has negative correlation (r=.-.330 p<0.01) with Emotional. Shahla Ali Ahmed et al. Students’ Attitudes towards Learning English in the Kurdistan region of Iraq IJELS-2021, 6(3), (ISSN: 2456-7620) https://dx.doi.org/10.22161/ijels.63.11 73 The negative of the linear relationship is moderately strong between cognitive and Emotional, and Behavioural has negative correlation (r=.-.336 p<0.01) with Emotional. The negative of the linear relationship is moderately strong between Emotional and behaviour, therefore hypotheses four supported. Concerning the experimental negative attitude towards learning English, the university lecturers are recommended to establish a motivating feeling in the English lessons to promote the students’ positive attitudes towards learning English. Lecturers also should highlight the significance of learning English. Keywords— Students’ attitude, Personality, Learning English, Higher Education.


INTRODUCTION
Education is considered to be a powerful method which aids to change the behaviour of the students based on their needs and expectation of the society. Student attitude is considered an essential part of learning; consequently, it becomes an important element of second language learning. English language has an important role in many societies as it is the language which separates influential class from the rest of individual who lives in society (Abdullah & Othman, 2019). According to , concerning Individual's attitudes towards the learning English language, they state that it is the learning context that might explain their success in learning a language. Many lecturers have different strategies used in their class in order to recognize the target students' attitudes  attitudes towards a specific language could be either positive or negative. Attitudes towards learning English language have an impact on behaviours such as choosing and reading books, listening to English radio, watching English channels etc. Particularly in academic, in case a student has a positive attitude towards learning English language, they will be able to attain many things in that particular area ).
Many students begin learning English from primary school; some others from kindergarten or even from day care; however, the issue is that many of them are not able to accomplish the desired level of English proficiency, the main reason is de-motivation of students in all levels . 'Attitude' is as somebody's thoughts or emotional state regarding to something, particularly as exposed in their behaviour. Section two of this research consists of Literature Review that will look into various studies, theories, attitude definitions, importance of attitudes and attitude components. Learning a new language is the powerful instrument which aids to adjust the behaviour of the student with regard to their desires and expectation of the society (Sultan et al. 2020). Student's attitude is an essential portion of learning; consequently, attitude is considered a vital factor of language learning (Abdullah & Othman, 2015). Attitude towards learning English is supposed to affect attitude for instance choosing and reading the right material, communicating with a native English speaker and so on (Top & Ali, 2021). Particularly in University, if students have a positive attitude towards a particular topic, they will be able to attain numerous things in that particular field. There is a relation between learning language and the environmental mechanisms in which the students were grown up (Demir et al. 2020). Both positive and negative attitudes will have a huge influence on the achievement of learning the English language. According to , several factors that have impact on learning the English language process for instance, attitude, age, anxiety, aptitudes, gender, personality and so on ( (Ismael et al. 2021). Anwar & Abd Zebari, (2015) argue that learning a new language could aid students in demonstrating their idea, thoughts and opinion. This research concentrates on the idea of attitude as the main affective aspects for achievements in learning a new language . In more detail, it examines Private Universities students' attitudes towards learning English language, focusing on three aspects of attitude (emotional, behavioural and cognitive). Furthermore, it attempts to define the effect of students' demographic profile for instance, gender, field and year of study on attitudes towards learning English.

Research Objectives
The main objectives to examine Private Universities students' attitudes towards English language learning are; 1. To examine Private Universities students' attitudes towards learning English. 2. To figure out students' perceptions towards the learning of the literature component in the English language. 3. To investigate the attitudes of Private Universities students 'towards learning English and examine student's awareness of the assortment of English. 4. To study Private Universities students' attitudes towards the current learning English process and practice. 5. To present the factors that might have impacts on students towards learning English.

Purpose of the study
The main purpose of this research to investigate students' attitudes towards learning English and provide education providers with insights into students' attitudes towards learning English and the development of positive student attitude so that they can give more importance to the students' requirements and interests in learning English and facilitate their achievements.

Statement of the problem
As for the students learning English as a foreign language in Private Universities, it is significant that students have positive attitudes towards the target language, which is English.  proved that positive attitude is correlated with success in learning English and high level of student's attitude will generate more effective language learners. In addition, second language learners get advantages from positive attitudes which lead to successful accomplishment of proficiency, on the other hand negative attitude of students will lead to decrease motivation and unsuccessful accomplishment of proficiency . Therefore, the researcher points out the main research problem are that students in Private Universities are not encouraged and they have negative attitudes towards learning English. Students at Private Universities feel they are forced to learn English . This is one the factors which lead to decrease effectiveness and result in inefficient language learning. Many students in the Kurdistan region of Iraq have difficulties in learning English language due to the lack of motivation which leads to negative attitude towards learning English resulting inefficient language learning ). Currently, the problem is whether students are willing or unwilling to learn English. It is important to show whether there is a statistically significant difference between students' attitudes towards learning English and their gender or their years of study (Andavar et al. 2020).

Research Questions
• What are the factors that have impacts on students' attitudes towards learning English in Private Universities? • Is there a correlation between emotional, behavioural and cognitive aspects towards learning English as a second language? • Is there a statistical difference between male and female students' attitudes towards learning English in Private Universities? • Is there a statistical difference between students' attitudes towards learning English in Private Universities and the years of study?

Research Hypotheses
The addressed hypotheses for this research are: H1: Students have negative attitudes towards learning English in terms of emotional behavioural and cognitive aspects.
H2: There is a statistically significant difference in Private Universities students' attitudes towards learning English language by gender.
H3: There is a statistically significant difference between the attitudes of Private Universities students towards learning English language and the years of their study.

H4:
There is a correlation between emotional, behavioural and cognitive aspects towards learning English as a second language. II.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Attitude is considered to be one of the key factors one of the key successes for language learning, therefore several research studies have been conducted in the field of students' attitudes towards learning language   (Ali, 2014), also will be the main key for success concerning learning language (as stated by .

Attitude towards Language Learning
According to Khan  Abdullah, (2018) showed that language education providers, scholars and pupils should recognize that a positive attitude and positive motivation of pupils enable language learning. Therefore, in case if the pupil does not have the propensity and concentration in obtaining the target language to connect with others, in such case pupil will face a negative attitude and not be encouraged and excited in language learning. Consequently, pupil' attitudes might include in language learning, the reason is it might have the impact on their performance in obtaining the aimed language ( 2017), mentioned that there are many views regarding language attitudes, at the present time the most common view is an integration of 10 older opinions. This theory proposes that attitude towards altered languages is not stable nevertheless always varying and therefore there is no specific determination regarding attitudes towards learning language (Anwar & Climis, 2017).

Aspects of Language Attitude
According to Anwar

Cognitive Attitude
This aspect contains the belief of the language learners in terms of the information that they can gain and their sympathetic in the process of language learning. The cognitive aspect could be categorized into four phases of linking the earlier information and the new information, producing new information, examining new information, and implementing the new information in different circumstances .

Behavioural Aspect of Attitude
The behavioural aspect determines the way an individual reacts and behaves in specific circumstances. In detail, the effective language learning improves the pupils to recognize themselves with the native English speakers and adopt or obtain numerous features of behaviours which describe the participants of the aimed language community.  proved that, an individual with positive attitude will result with the demonstration of positive behaviour towards learning new language. Such individuals are perceived to be extra enthusiastic problem solving, to obtain the knowledge and competencies valuable for day-to-day life and to motivate emotionally (Anwar & Abd Zebari, 2015).

Emotional Aspect of Attitude
Anwar & Surarchith, (2015) argued that, learning process consider as an emotional process. Usually, it effects by several emotional elements. Choy &Troudi (2006), the education provider and his pupils involve in numerous emotional actions in it and diverse fruits of emotions are yield. Attitude could assist the pupils to show their feeling whether they dislike/like the matters or circumstances. It has been agreed that the internal emotion and feeling of learning new language affect their viewpoints and their attitude towards the aimed language (Anwar, 2017).

METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this research is to investigate student's attitudes towards learning English language. The purposes of methodology are to explain research methodology, clarify the procedures that used in this research, define the measurements used in planning the instrument, explain data collection, and to provide a clear clarification of the statistical method used in order to analyse data. A quantitative method used in order to analyse data gathered by the researcher.

Design of the study
The researcher used questionnaire in order to be able to analyze the current study. The questionnaire was divided into two sections, the first section consisted of demographic questions; starting with respondent's age, gender and years of study. The second part of questionnaire consisted of 26 questions regarding student's attitude towards learning the English language.

Duration of the study:
The researcher distributed questionnaires in hard copies in private Universities and particularly in the first and second years of the English department of Language College.

Sampling Size and Target Population
The aim of sample design is to clearly determine set of objectives, the sampling technique will be random sampling method, where all first-and second-year students in English department of the college of language in Private Universities will have equal chances of being selected for the sample. The English department currently has 214students in first and second years. The population of this study will be 214 participants and the target population of this study is 138participants (as shown in the formula). The following formula presents the sample size calculation: The questionnaire structured in the form of multiple-choice questions were designed by the researcher. The participants were asked to mark each item on five-point Likert scales. This research instruments were validated by earlier researchers to be appropriate for measuring student's attitude towards learning English language. IV.

Data analysis Comparison Male/Female
It was found that the comparison between the male and female in terms of their attitude towards the native English teacher. Their attitudes towards native English teachers were found to be positive. When learners were asked whether they would prefer to have native English speaker, eight male students rated as 'disagree', 19 male students rated as 'neutral', 37 male students rated as 'agree' and seven male students rated as 'strongly agree'. In terms of the female students' attitude; three female students rated as 'strongly disagree', 12 female students rated as 'agree', 19 female students rated as 'neutral', 37 female students rated as 'agree' and three female students rated as 'strongly agree'. The mean of Male group is 3.61 and mean of Female group is 3.37, this indicates that the majority of both groups were in agreement and preferred to have a native English teacher. The comparison between the male and female students' attitude towards motivation to speak in English. Male students' attitudes were found to be negative whereas female students' attitudes were found to be positive. When learners were asked whether their teachers motivated them to speak in English, 10 male students rated as 'strongly disagree', 34 male students rated as 'disagree', 17 male students rated as 'neutral' and 10 male students rated as 'agree'. As for female students' attitude; six female students rated as 'strongly disagree', 16 female students as 'disagree', 12 female students rated as 'neutral', 25 female students rated as 'agree' and eight female students rated as 'strongly agree'. The mean of the male group is 2.38. This indicates that the majority of male students rated as 'disagree' as to whether they were motivated by their teachers to speak in English. The mean of the female group is 3. 19, which indicates that the majority of female students rated as 'agree' concerning teacher's motivation to speak in English. According to the above results we can see the difference students' attitudes towards their teachers and its motivation. The comparison between the male and female students' attitude towards their engagement in dialogues. The attitudes of male students were found to be negative. When learners were asked whether their teachers engage them in dialogues for the practice of speaking skills: six male students rated as 'strongly', 30 male students rated as 'disagree', 21 male students rated as 'neutral' and 14 male students rated as 2021, 6(3), (ISSN: 2456-7620 'agree'. As for female students' attitude; three female students rated as 'strongly disagree', 21 female students rated as 'disagree' in, 14 female students rated as 'neutral', 25 female students rated as 'agree' and 4 female students rated as 'strongly agree'. The mean of the male group is 2.61, which means that most of male students rated as 'disagree' in about the engagement of students in dialogues by their teacher for practising speaking skill. The mean of female group is 3.09, which means that most of female students rated as 'agree' in terms of students' engagement in dialogues by their teacher for practising speaking skill. This shows the difference between male and female students' attitudes towards their engagement in dialogues by their teacher for practising speaking skill. As a result, it can be said that female students are engaged more in dialogues by their teacher for practising speaking skill. The attitudes of the male and female students towards the native English teachers were found to be negative as they thought those teachers were the source of difficulty. When learners were asked whether native English teachers make it more difficult to practise the English-speaking skills: eight male students rated as 'strongly disagree', 28 male students rated as 'disagree', 21 male students rated as 'neutral', 14 male students rated as 'agree'. As for the female students' attitude; three female students rated as 'strongly disagree', 20 female students rated as 'disagree', 16 female students rated as neutral, 25 female students rated as 'agree' and three female students rated as 'strongly agree'. The mean of male group is 2.58 whereas the mean of female group is 3.07. This indicates that the majority of the male students rated as 'disagree' while the greatest part of female students rated as 'agree'. This means that the male and female students' attitudes towards the same are different. Moreover, it was found that both male and female students prefer to study English. As for the distribution of students' answers; four male students rated as 'disagree', 17 male students rated as 'neutral', 28 male students rated as 'agree' and 22 male students rated as 'strongly agree'. As for the female students; two female students rated as 'strongly disagree', eight female students rated as 'disagree', 20 female students rated as 'neutral', 24 female students rated as 'agree' and 13 female students rated as 'strongly agree'. The mean of male group is 3.96, which indicates that the majority of male students rated as 'agree' as to whether they prefer to study English. The mean of the female group is 3.57. This indicates that the majority of female students rated as agree. In other words, female students also prefer studying English to studying another language. The comparison between the male and female student's attitude towards the desirable of English subject were found to be positive. When learners were asked whether they prefer English subject than other subjects: four male students rated as 'disagree', 21 male students rated as 'neutral', 27 male students rated as 'agree' and 19 male students rated as 'strongly agree'. In terms of the female students' attitude; six female students rated as 'disagree', 13 female students rated as 'neutral', 26 female students rated as 'agree' and 22 female students rated as 'strongly agree'. The mean of male groups is 3.86 this indicates that the majority of male students rated as 'agree' concerning student's attitude towards the desirable of English subject comparing with other subjects and the mean of female group is 3.96 this indicates that the majority of female students rated as 'agree' concerning student's attitude towards the desirable of English subject comparing with other subjects. The comparison between the male and female students' attitude towards learning Standard English were found to be negative. When learners were asked whether their teachers teach them how to write Standard English: five male students rated as 'strongly disagree', 31 male students rated as 'disagree', 27 male students rated as 'neutral' and eight male students rated as 'agree'. in terms of the female students' attitude: five female students rated as 'strongly disagree', 21 female students rated as 'disagree', 20 female students rated as 'neutral', 16 female students rated as 'agree' and five female students rated as 'strongly agree'. The mean of male group is 2.54 this means that most of male students rated as 'disagree' concerning student's attitude towards learning standard English writing by their teacher, and the mean of female group is 2.93 this means that most of female students rated as 'disagree' concerning student's attitude towards learning standard English writing by their teachers as well. The comparison between the male and female students' attitude towards students' discussion and participation were found to be negative. When learners were asked whether their teachers allow them to discuss and ask any ambiguities in English: seven male students rated as 'strongly', 31 male students rated as 'disagree', 20 male students rated as 'neutral' towards allowing students to participate in class discussion, 13 male students as 'agree'. seven female students rated as 'strongly disagree', 28 female students rated as 'disagree', 22 female students rated as 'neutral' and 10 female students rated as 'agree'. The mean of male group is 2.55 this means that many of male students rated as 'disagree' towards allowing students to participate in class discussion and the mean of female group is 2.52 this means that many of female students rated as 'disagree' towards allowing students to participate in class discussion. The comparison between the male and female students' attitude towards feeling were found to be negative, when learners were asked whether they feel shy to practice their English skills in class discussions: two male students rated as 'disagree', 2 male students rated as neutral, 51 male students rated as 'agree' and 12 male students rated as 'strongly agree'. In terms of the female students' attitude; six , 6(3), (ISSN: 2456-7620 female students rated as 'disagree' regarding, 15 female students rated as 'neutral', 41 female students rated as 'agree' and nine female students rated as 'strongly agree'. The mean of male group is 4.09 this means that the majority of male students rated as 'agree' regarding feeling shy while practising English skill in class discussion and the mean of female group is 3.75 this means that the majority of female students rated as 'agree' regarding feeling shy while practising English skill in class discussion. The comparison between the male and female students' attitude towards feeling comfortable were found to be negative for the male students and to be positive for the female students. When learners were asked whether their teachers make them comfortable to participate in class discussions: five male students rated as 'strongly disagree', 25 male students rated as 'disagree', 31 male students rated as 'neutral', 10 male students rated as 'agree'. 19 female students rated as 'disagree', 28 female students rated as 'neutral' and 29 female students rated as 'agree' regarding. The mean of male group is 2.65 this indicates that the majority of male students rated as 'disagree' towards feeling comfortable in class participation by their teacher while the mean of female group is 3.01 this indicates that the majority of female students rated as 'agree' towards feeling comfortable in class participation by their teacher.  Factor analysis determines essential variables that clarify the outline of associations within a set of perceived variables. Factor analysis is frequently used in reducing data to classify a small number of variables that clarify most of the variance perceived in greater number of visible variables. Table (5) indicates that the cognitive factor has three items, behavioural factor also has three items and emotional factor has four items. In Table 6, the correlational analysis presents the values of the identified correlation tests. The strength of the relationship between variables are determined by the correlational analysis. According to the correlation test, the cognitive factor has negative correlation (r=.-.249 **, p<0.01) with the behavioural factor. The negative linear relationship between cognitive and behaviours is moderately strong. The cognitive factor has a negative correlation (r=.-.330 **, p<0.01) with the Emotional. The negative linear relationship between cognitive and Emotional factors is moderately strong. The Behavioural factor has a negative correlation (r=.-.336 **, p<0.01) with the Emotional. The negative linear relationship between the Emotional and behavioural factors is moderately strong.

Comparisons Male/female:
The research seeks to answer the question whether students have positive attitude towards learning English and whether the attitude varies in terms of gender. The conclusion deriving from the study is as follows:

Positive attitude of male students
The majority of male students would prefer to have a native English teacher. The majority of male students preferred English language other than other languages. The majority of male students preferred English subject comparing with other subjects. The most of male students are able to memorize English words. The greatest parts of male students are interesting English material. The greatest parts of male students are improving their English skills by listening to English radio. The greatest parts of male students are improving their reading skills by reading English newspaper and magazines. The greatest parts of male students are improving their English skills by watching English movies or series. The greatest parts of male students are memorizing English words by pictures. The greatest part of male students would prefer to be taught only in English. The greatest parts of male and female students do not prefer to be taught in English and Kurdish at the same time. The greatest part of male students rated would like to learn English to carry their tasks more efficiently. The greatest part of male students stated that teaching English starts at first grade.

Positive attitude of female students:
The majority of female students would prefer to have a native English teacher. The majority of female students stated that their teachers motivate them to speak in English.
Most of female students stated that that their teachers encourage them to be engaged in practising speaking skills. The greatest part of female students stated that native English teachers will facilitate learning English language. The majority of male students preferred English language other than other languages. The majority of female students preferred English subject comparing with other subjects. 2021, 6(3), (ISSN: 2456-7620

Negative attitude of male students:
The majority of male students stated that their teachers do not motivate them to speak in English. Most of male students stated that their teachers do not encourage them to be engaged in practising speaking skills. The greatest part of male students stated that native English teacher will not facilitate learning English language. The most of male students stated that their teachers do not teach them learning standard English.Many of female students stated that their teachers do not allow them to participate in class discussion. The majority of male students are feeling shy while practising English skill in class discussions. The majority of male students are not feeling comfortable in class participation by their teacher. The greatest parts of male students are interesting not English homework. The greatest parts of male students are not interesting in class activities. The greatest part of male students stated that their teachers are not organizing class activities in a proper way.

Negative attitude of female students
The most of female students stated that their teachers do not teach them learning standard English. Many of female students stated that their teachers do not allow them to participate in class discussion. The majority of female students are feeling shy while practising English skill in class discussion. Many of female students are not able to memorize English words. The greatest part of female students stated that their teachers are not organizing class activities in a proper way.

Comparison first/ second year
The research seeks to answer the question of student's attitude towards learning English language does it differ between first and second year of university, after analysing data the researcher came to conclude;

Positive attitude of first year students:
The greatest part of first year students would like to imitate native speaker. The greatest part of first year students would prefer to consider English language as a official language in Northern Iraq. The majority of first year students agreed and preferred to have a native English teacher. The majority of first year students stated that their teachers motivate them to speak in English. Most of first year students stated that their teachers engage them in dialogues for practising speaking skill. The greatest part of first year students stated that native teachers will facilitate their English speaking skill.

Negative attitude of second year students
The majority of second year students stated that their teachers do not motivate them to speak in English. Most of first year students stated that their teachers do not engage them in dialogues for practising speaking skill. The greatest part of second year students stated that native teachers will not facilitate their English-speaking skill. Most of second students stated that their teachers do not show the direction of learning Standard English writing. Many of second year students stated that their teachers do not allow them to participate in class discussion. The majority of second year students are feeling shy while practising English skill in class discussion. The majority of second year students are not feeling comfortable in class participation by their teacher. The greatest part of second year students stated that their teachers do not organize their class activities in a proper way. The greatest part of second year students is getting confused when teacher teaches students in English and Kurdish at the same time.

Correlation analysis
According to the correlation test, it has been found out that cognitive has negative correlation (r=.-.249 **, p<0.01) with Behaviour. Concerning the negative of the linear relationship is moderately strong between cognitive and behaviour, cognitive has negative correlation (r=.-.330 **, p<0.01) with Emotional. Concerning the negative of the linear relationship is moderately strong between cognitive and Emotional, and Behavioural has negative correlation (r=.-.336 **, p<0.01) with Emotional. Concerning the negative of the linear relationship is moderately strong between Emotional and behaviour, therefore hypotheses four supported.

CONCLUSION
Many students have negative attitudes towards English. This indicates that students are not aware of the significance of the English language. 'Attitude' is considered as a necessary factor in language learning. Therefore, it is important to create a positive atmosphere in English classes to develop positive attitude in learners. University lecturers should take account of the beliefs, feelings and behaviours of the learners of English. Students' attitudes significantly vary with respect to their gender and the years of language education that they have had. This evidently emphasizes the need for particular attention in this area. Based on the statistical results, the researcher came to the conclusion that current students have negative attitude towards the learning English language; therefore, the first hypothesis is supported. As it can be seen in the following tables, the comparison of male attitudes towards learning English with those of females indicates the significant difference between the two. Thus, it can be stated that the second hypothesis is supported.

Recommendations
Concerning the negative attitude towards learning English, the university lecturers are recommended to establish a motivating feeling in the learners of English to promote the students' positive attitudes towards learning English. Lecturers also should highlight the significance of learning English. This could be attained by applying proper activities and methods of teaching English effectively. Moreover, lecturers should provide students with recent English materials additionally to their English books. This will aid lecturers in attracting students' attention to learning English effectively. Furthermore, university lecturers should take into their consideration the role of gender in language learning, verifying their methods of teaching to enhance students' attitude and motivation. Considering the results of the study: • It is recommended that lecturers should teach Standard English to the English language learners. • Lecturers should motivate and allow students to participate in class discussions. feel more relaxed to practise their English skill in class discussion. • Lecturers should also organize appropriate class activities.