Research Into Language Attitudes Of Yunnan Senior High School Hani Students In Trilingual Contexts

Language attitude is a hot topic in current sociolinguistic research.It refers to the emotional,cognitive,and behavioral values that language users reflect towards different languages,and it has developmental,constructive,and implicit characteristics.Existing literature increasingly recognizes the importance of language attitude in language use and development,but there is little research investigating the language attitudes(LAs)of Yunnan ethnic minorities in trilingual environments and analyzing the underlying influencing factors.Therefore,this study has strong practical and theoretical significance.This study attemps to investigate the trilingual language attitudes of senior high school(SHS)Hani students from the dimensions of cognition,emotion,and behavioral tendency,exploring the interrelationship among these three variables.It intends to answer the following four questions:(1)What are the attitudes of SHS Hani students toward their ethnic language?(2)What are the attitudes of SHS Hani students toward Mandarin?(3)What are the attitudes of SHS Hani students toward English?(4)What specific variables influence SHS Hani students’ LAs?This study used a questionnaire survey and interviews to investigate 95 senior high school Hani students from Honghe County No.1 High School in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture,Yunnan Province.The collected data were processed and analyzed by using SPSS20.0,and statistical methods included descriptive statistics,correlation analysis,variance analysis(ANOVA),and Independent Samples T-tests.Based on the results of data analysis,this study draws the following conclusions:(1)Senior high school Hani students hold positive attitudes towards their ethnic language,Mandarin,and English,with the most positive attitude towards Mandarin,followed by English;(2)SHS Hani students’ attitudes toward their ethnic language are more positive in the behavioral and affect dimensions than in the cognitive dimension.(3)SHS Hani students’ enthusiasm for Mandarin and English is greater in the behavioral dimension than in the cognitive dimension.(4)Parental education is the common element that influences their attitudes towards Mandarin,English and Hani.This study uncovers the language attitudes of minority students in a trilingual environment and delves into Hani students’ learning psychology,which is helpful for enhancing the quality of English teaching in minority areas,stimulating minority students’ learning motivation and improving their English proficiency.