| The available theoretical positions and research on language attitudes do not deal systematically with attitudes towards national language or with the relation between language attitudes and language change. To develop perspectives on these themes, the study suggests four lines of research in the language attitudes of elites: (1) change in language attitudes, (2) social functions of language attitudes, (3) sociocultural conflict of language attitudes, and (4) differentials of language attitudes.;Educational experience in terms of the orientation of Saudi Arabian universities from which the students have graduated, field of study, language of education, time spent in the U.S., interest in extracurricular reading in Arabic, and interest in extracurricular reading in English have been found significantly related to attitudes towards developmental problems of Arabic, towards potential of Arabic in the society, and towards English as a world language. A total of twenty findings are reported, interpreted tentatively, and utilized as a base for five general hypotheses on language attitudes and educational experience.;Implications for research and recommendations for educational policy are provided.;Taking up the thesis of differentials, the study describes and analyses the history and present situation of Arabic as the official national language in the Arab world and Saudi Arabia, then it proceeds, in light of this sociocultural context, to explore differentials of language attitudes of Saudi Arabian graduate students in the U.S. in relation to some education factors. |
