An attitudinal study of English language learners toward English in a Japanese context.

A growing number of studies continue to investigate learners' attitudes toward English as a lingua franca (ELF). There remain ambiguities, such as learners strongly preferring native-speaker English, while they have open attitudes toward ELF. The extant research instruments measure attitudes toward variation in English bounded by geographical location, but cannot capture the complex attitude formation in a global context. Based on a lack of suitable approaches, the Global Englishes orientation questionnaire (GEO-Q) was developed. After conducting pilot studies, the GEO-Q was modified for specific contexts (Japan) and was distributed to 660 Japanese university students. Exploratory factor analysis addressed five orientations: target communities, multilingualism, varieties of English, language standards, and native English. The GEO-Q included an adapted measure of language exposure and proficiency, to examine whether these were associated with learners' orientations. Structural equation modelling revealed all orientations were partly predicted by exposure. This indicated that learners who had been exposed to different varieties of English and ELF experiences were more open to ELF and its usage. Proficiency was negatively associated with standards, demonstrating that lower proficiency students held more prescriptive attitudes. The nine focus-group interviews supported the quantitative results. This further revealed that the quality of ELF exposure was important. The rationale behind the ambiguity of attitudes included the learners' traditional mindsets that are deeply rooted in their personal views of English usage in the current world. Those attitudes are affected not only by ELF exposure but also by historical, political, and economic factors. The GEO-Q may be used as an alternative tool for examining learners' attitudes toward English as 'free language'.