Abstract:

As an indispensable part of learning process, beliefs can shape learners’ decisions, learning strategies, and lifelong learning tendencies. Given the importance of beliefs in learning a foreign language, this study aims at specifying beliefs of students about learning English as a foreign language in tertiary context in Turkey. More specifically, the study bears the purpose of finding out the similarities and differences between English-major and non-English major students’ language learning beliefs. The participants were 170 university students enrolled in Adana Science and Technology University and Çukurova University. Students in Translation and Interpreting Studies and English Language Teaching departments constituted English-major students in this study. As to non-English major students, they were from various departments and attended prep classes in Adana Science and Technology University. The data were gathered through the BALLI (Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory) and an open-ended questionnaire developed by the researchers. Based on mixed type research method, all data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The data collected from the BALLI questionnaire were analyzed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 21.0 version for Windows), and the quantitative data were analyzed using content analysis method. The study makes the beliefs of students in different departments explicit and shows their approaches to language, thus providing implications for both students and instructors at university level.

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