Analysis of factors affecting refugee learners' attitudes towards learning languages: (A case study)

With the continuous conflicts and increasing waves of displacement the world is experiencing, refugees' necessity for stability grows. A significant factor to help fulfill this objective is learning languages, as they can open doors on the local and international levels. This study aims to investigate Syrian refugees' attitudes towards language learning in Turkey, offering a thorough description of this issue from the eyes of Syrians themselves. The study is conducted in Gaziantep city, south of Turkey, which hosts almost 450,407 Syrians since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011. This descriptive study is based on a mixed-method approach in order to answer the research questions. For quantitative data, 399 participants between 18-45 filled a questionnaire specially designed for this study. For qualitative data, semi-structured interviews with a set of open-ended questions were conducted with 15 participants. Subsequently, the collected data was analyzed with the assistance of IBM SPSS 23. The analysis results of the quantitative and qualitative collected data demonstrated that Syrians' English language skills did not witness an improvement during their residency in Turkey, contrary to their Turkish skills; however, their overall proficiency in both languages is low. Besides, the results highlighted time and lack of practice opportunities as Syrians' most significant obstacles in learning languages. Moreover, the participants shared their opinions regarding the available courses and mentioned their need for tailored courses to meet their needs and levels. The results were concluded with the participants' views in terms of the way they see the advantages of learning languages which, according to them, included better integration as well as job and education opportunities. Keywords: Syrian refugees, factors, attitudes, language learning, obstacles, benefits.