Pixel International Conferences

During their primary and secondary education, students gather experience and form attitudes toward a foreign language they are learning and this can significantly influence their success in further language education, in this case, at a higher education institution. Not only this, students in secondary education institutions are often given the possibility to change their first foreign language, which often results in choosing English as their first foreign language, even though they have been learning German throughout primary education, for example. While working with students in an institution of higher education, it has been noted that there is a significant number of students having a negative attitude towards German especially. The problems that arise from such an attitude are the decrease in interest and cooperation in classes, poor exam results, and finally, a resistance towards the continuation of learning the German language, even though students are aware that the language might be of great use to them in their future employment. The purpose of this paper is to identify the sources and the reasons that form such negative attitudes towards foreign languages, especially the German language. The results will hopefully help teachers of foreign languages identify the existing problems in their approach and teaching, and help them become aware of elements that form students’ negative attitude towards foreign language and at the same time hopefully help in forming positive attitude among language learners. What is more, example of positive experiences and practices reported by students will serve as an example and motivation to teachers.