English use in Dutch supermarkets: The relationship between language attitudes, education level, proficiency, language use and exposure

Abstract

This study expanded one of the largest attitude studies in the Netherlands (Edwards, 2016) by researching attitudes towards English in Dutch supermarkets. These attitudes were related to four variables of interest: education level, frequency of language use, exposure, and self-perceived proficiency. The last two variables were adopted from Edwards. Following Edwards’ study, a novel focus group, classified as a lower-level occupation group, was asked to complete a survey containing questions about these independent variables and about their attitudes (dependent variables) towards English use in general and during work. It was found that all of the variables were related to attitudes towards English. Certain types of English language exposure, such as the use of social media or watching English television, and the amount of time the respondents were exposed to these types, were strongly associated with positive attitudes towards English. Similar to Edwards, higher self-reported proficiency was significantly related to positive attitudes, and contrary to Edwards, education level was positively related to attitudes towards English for this focus group, whereas education level was not related to attitudes for Edwards. The hypotheses for self-perceived proficiency and frequency of use were supported, and the null hypotheses for exposure and education level could be rejected.