Abstract:

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), most higher education institutions require students to study in English, a student’s non-native language. Students of the UAE are not previously prepared to use English for academic purposes. This research investigates the influence of language of instruction (both Arabic and English) on pre-service teachers’ achievement and attitude toward the Educational Technology Course. The participants (N=409) were students (n=181) who study the course in Arabic and others (n=228) who study the same course in English. Research shows that students prefer to study the course in Arabic, their native language because the concepts are better understood and easier to teach in the English component of the course. On the other hand, students who study the course in English for the first time spend more time studying, doing the tasks, communicating less, and working on the language at the expense of the course content. Students who studied in their native language performed higher in tests, tasks, and assignments than students who performed in English.

Keywords:

Language, pre-service, technology, attitude, motivation.