An investigation into Anatolian İmam Hatip high school students' attitudes towards Arabic and English courses

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the attitudes of students attending Anatolian Imam Hatip High Schools towards Arabic and English courses and to determine whether there is a significant difference between these attitudes. Additionally, the study aims to describe students' attitudes based on demographic characteristics, reasons for school choice, learning purposes, and study hours. Method: This research was conducted using the relational survey model. The study group consisted of 421 students studying at Anatolian Imam Hatip High Schools in the Keçiören district of Ankara during the 2023–2024 academic year. Data were collected using the "Attitude Scale towards the Arabic Course" adapted by Yapıcı and Özcan (2016), the "Attitude Scale towards the English Course" developed by Çetin et al. (2019) and adapted into English by subject matter experts, and a "Personal Information Questionnaire." In the data analysis, Independent Samples t-Test, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Pearson Correlation Coefficient were employed. Findings: The analyses revealed that there was no significant difference in attitudes towards Arabic and English courses based on grade level. However, in both 9th and 12th grades, a weak negative correlation was observed between behavioral attitudes towards Arabic and resistance to learning English; as students' behavioral engagement with Arabic increased, their resistance to learning English slightly decreased. Conclusion and Recommendations: The findings indicate that students' attitudes towards Arabic and English courses do not differ significantly by grade level. Nevertheless, among both 9th and 12th grade students, an increase in behavioral attitudes towards Arabic is associated with a slight decrease in resistance to learning English. This suggests that positive behavioral attitudes towards one language may help reduce negative feelings or resistance towards another language. In this context, to foster more positive student attitudes in language education, course content should be made meaningful and functional by aligning it with students' individual learning motivations. Particularly, incorporating content related to professional, academic, or everyday life contexts may increase student engagement. For students who exhibit resistance to English, psycho-educational interventions in collaboration with school counseling services should be implemented to identify the sources of negative attitudes and transform them into more constructive ones. Given gender-based differences in attitudes, teaching strategies should encourage the active participation of male students through hands-on projects and provide constructive feedback mechanisms to support female students' academic achievement. Additionally, to help students develop effective study habits, workshops on time management and study skills should be organized, and parents should be informed to create a supportive home environment. Arabic and English instruction should not be treated as entirely separate processes; instead, integrated and mutually supportive approaches should be developed to prevent negative attitudes toward one language from influencing attitudes toward the other. Longitudinal research is needed to track changes in student attitudes over time. Such studies would offer deeper insights into how attitudes vary by grade level, gender, motivation, and study habits. Expanding research to other cities and school types would help test the generalizability of the findings. A greater emphasis on qualitative research methods—such as interviews and focus groups—would allow for a more in-depth understanding of students' language attitudes. Furthermore, variables such as family influence, teacher attitudes, peer environment, and media should be explored through multidimensional analyses to provide a more holistic perspective. Finally, evaluating the effectiveness of existing language curricula and materials on student attitudes could guide the development of new content and instructional strategies that enhance motivation and engagement. Keywords: Anatolian Imam Hatip High School, Arabic lesson, English lesson, attitude