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" A STUDY OF THE INTERRELATIONS OF ATTITUDES, PERCEIVED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY, AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF IRANIAN STUDENTS AT KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY "
A. Tafazzoli-Moghaddam
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Latin Dissertation
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| Language of Document
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English
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| Record Number
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21059
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| Doc. No
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TL3985
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| Call number
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8024274
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| Main Entry
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A. Tafazzoli-Moghaddam
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| Title & Author
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A STUDY OF THE INTERRELATIONS OF ATTITUDES, PERCEIVED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY, AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF IRANIAN STUDENTS AT KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY\ A. Tafazzoli-Moghaddam
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| College
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Kansas State University
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| Date
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1980
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| student score
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1980
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| Page No
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104-104 p.
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| Abstract
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The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the English proficiency and academic achievement of Iranian students at Kansas State University during the academic year of 1978-79, as well as to assess the attitude of these students toward their education, the university, the American people, United States foreign policy in general and toward Iran in particular. The study also examined the relationship between English proficiency and attitude toward the United States. The population selected for this study was the entire population of Iranian students attending Kansas State University, consisting of 115 graduate and undergraduate students. A Likert-type questionnaire associated with a Personal Attribute Inventory (PAI) was sent to students for the purpose of collecting data. The subjects were provided with a blank sheet of paper for further comments and remarks. The following statistical techniques were employed in this study to analyze data: (1) The chi-square test of independence was used to determine if the distribution of the two variables was different from what was expected. (2) The Pearson product moment correlation was used to measure the relationship between the continuous variables. (3) The one-way analysis of variance was utilized to determine if the means of the various groups were significantly different. When there was a significant difference between the means of three or more groups, a Fisher's least significant difference (LSD) test was performed to determine which of the group means differed significantly from the others. (4) A t-test was used where there were only two groups. The .05 level of significance was utilized in all statistical computations. Ten null hypotheses were tested and the analyses indicated that only two were found to be statistically significant at the .05 level of significance. With regard to the academic achievement as related to the English proficiency, analysis of data indicated that a significant relationship existed between English proficiency and second semester grade point average, but no correlation was found between English proficiency and first semester grade point average. The analysis of responses revealed that female students had higher academic achievement than males, and graduate students had higher GPA's than undergraduates. No significant differences were found in academic achievement when age and marital status were concerned. Concerning the attitudes toward the United States in relation to the English proficiency, the results of the analysis indicated that no correlation existed between the two variables. Results of the analysis of data indicated that length of stay in the United States, satisfaction with stay, contact with people and travel to foreign countries prior to coming to the United States had no effect upon the attitudes of the respondents, but satisfaction with university interaction was correlated with the attitude. With regard to the attitude in relation to the variables such as sex, marital status, academic classification and field of study, no significant correlations was indicated except for the age and attitude. Younger students had more favorable attitudes than older ones. The overall analysis of responses revealed that 71 percent of the students had positive attitudes toward Americans and 29 percent had negative attitudes; but where the U.S. government and its policy toward Iran was concerned, 92.7 percent of the respondents had a negative attitude while 7.3 percent had a positive attitude. Recommendations were made for further research with larger samples to assess the attitude of Iranian students toward the United States. A basic change in the United States' image of Iran and Iranian people is advised.
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| Subject
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Education; Curricula; Teaching; 0727:Curricula; 0727:Teaching
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| Added Entry
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Kansas State University
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