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An investigation of the impact of beliefs and attitudes on learning English in the UAE was conducted against a background history of education in the UAE, which has been undergoing major transitions from tradition to modernity since the mid-1960s. The life-worlds of students and areas of learning were examined through socio-cultural theory, a Western sociological concept that was used as a guiding theoretical perspective. It had strong explanatory and interpretive power in accounting for much UAE study data, being a non-essentialist, all-encompassing model of social reproduction that produced a qualitative account of social reality. Three variables of analysis were identified: level of education (secondary school versus university), level of achievement (high achievers versus low achievers), and gender. Following a pilot study (10 students and 5 teachers), a questionnaire on beliefs and attitudes about language learning was administered to 234 students and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 students, 12 parents, 14 teachers, 4 administrators, and one high-profile policy maker.

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Khitam Y. Maslamani, Ph.D., University of Exeter, UK, 2007, MPhil, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1999. Teacher Trainer, Abu Dhabi Educational Zone, UAE Abu Dhabi Education Council, Licensed Teachers´ Support Group. Interests: Educational Policy, TESOL, Curriculum Design and Development.

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