Students' Attitudes towards the Use of English in Bosnian Advertisements

Abstract

One of the significant changes within Bosnian society and educational reality after the last war is the teaching and learning of English as a dominant foreign language at each level of the educational system, but also through the various forms of non-formal and informal education. This fact has a profound impact on the everyday communication of children and youth and their growing up in the post-war and globalized world. In this regard, this study investigated the attitudes of newer generations of Bosnians, who have learned English since kindergarten age and are highly proficient, towards the use of English in advertisements. Different advertisements were presented to respondents, i.e. the students of the University of Tuzla, and then they were given a questionnaire consisting of statements that measured their attitudes toward English in advertisements. A questionnaire was given in the form of a Likert’s scale and the data received were analyzed using the SPSS software. As it was expected, respondents showed positive attitudes towards the use of English in Bosnian advertisements. They did not feel threatened and claimed that English did not jeopardize the position of their mother tongue. Additionally, they rated advertisements containing English elements with higher marks than advertisements containing Bosnian only. Finally, the respondents claimed that English enriched their culture in general.