The Importance Of Attitude In Teaching And Learning

Attitude has a close relationship with students’ performance in their study. Attitude is something that is abstract and can only be seen or felt by the actions taken. In learning second and third language, attitude influenced the extent to which students can learn and master it quickly (Zamri Mahamod, 2004). If the student has a positive attitude such as awareness of the importance of the language learned, he will try to master the language in various ways.

The willingness to learn is a situation that allows a person to learn. Thorndike (1932) expressed that the learning process will be more effective if the willingness exists within the students. Learning should not be forced if the time has not come, and if it is still forced, it will not

Motivation is very important in the learning process because it can determine the direction and its effectiveness. Students are usually highly motivated and have a strong incentive to continue what they are interested in through various forces namely incentives and motives. Incentives in teaching and learning is often presented in the form of extrinsic like marks, grades, money, honors, awards and so on. The motive is caused by a natural impulse or tendency of individuals to act in order to achieve a goal even in a long time. As most students have different interests and preferences, they should be helped so that they are keen to learn. Teacher also need to as far as possible be able to choose the materials for teaching and learning, teaching methods and techniques to meet the needs and interests of their students. Moreover, motive also associated with the attitudes and interests.

In learning second and third language, attitude, willingness and motivation are closely related to each other. Students who have a positive attitude, willing to learn and motivated to successfully master the target language and vice versa. In other words, a person 's attitude towards a language influences the motivation to learn the language better (Gardner & Lambert,

This means that if a person has a high level of motivation, then it implies that he will work to get excellent results. Similarly, the factors of giving grades for intrinsic motivation. Positive reinforcement of events that led to progress in education and promote positive change can motivate students to get good grades in exams.

The study conducted by Norizah Ardi (2005) was done to see the attitude and the use of Malay language among university students in southern Thailand that are taking Malay language course. The course was offered at the university as a foreign language subject. Questionnaires and observation were used to collect the data. In this study, the analysis was made from the students’ general attitude towards the Malay language, the reasons for students to learn Malay and motivation in studying Malay language.

The findings revealed that students showed a very positive attitude towards the Malay language and are motivated to learn due to environmental influences such as loyalty to the language of their ancestors. However, the study found that although respondents remained extremely positive towards Malay language but in terms of its use, it is very limited because the Malay language is the language that is practiced by only a minority group in Thailand that is used in family relationships and religious affairs