1. www.postersession.com LEARNING SPANISH LANGUAGE: MOTIVATIONS AND CHALLENGES AFFECTING ARAB COLLEGE STUDENTS Ronel M. Sapungan, Ph.D. Center for General Education The main purpose of this qualitative case study is to describe the motivations and challenges in Spanish language acquisition among the Arab students. In an effort to find out the motivations and challenges in acquiring Spanish as a foreign language among Arab college students in the classroom with English as a medium of instruction, this study specifically sought answers to the following questions: 1. What are the motivations that influence Arab college students in learning Spanish as a foreign language in the classroom with English as a medium of instruction?; 2. What are the most influential factors that motivate students to learn Spanish?; 3. What are the challenges that the Arab college students are facing while learning Spanish as a foreign language in the classroom with English as a medium of instruction?; and 4. What are the factors perceived by the students as the most difficult in learning Spanish? RESEARCH PARADIGM The Iceberg Theory (Source: www.facingthefuture.org) This study aimed to find out the motivations and challenges affecting Arab tertiary students enrolled in classes of FLAN501 and FLAN502. Semi-structured interview and focused group discussion (FGD) were utilized The participants were purposively chosen based on the following considerations: students enrolled in Spanish Class; had the ability to communicate in English; and had good class standing. Most of the participants had been externally motivated. Most students would like to have much knowledge of the Spanish language that will help them in their future career and to travel to Spanish-speaking countries in the future. While learning Spanish language, most of the students were experiencing difficulty in producing correct vowel and consonant sounds (phonology), followed by learning/applying words (vocabulary). Applying grammar rules was considered the most challenging tasks among the participants followed by translating phrases and sentences, and conjugating regular and irregular verbs. ABSTRACT RESULTS OBJECTIVES SELECTED REFERENCES Qualitative research is the type for this study. The researcher considered interview as a chief data-gathering tool. (Weiss, Fettermen, Al-Mahrooqi Bell) Twenty-five Bahraini college students taking up Bachelor of Science in International Studies (BSIS) were the participants in this study. The researcher himself constructed a semi-structured interview. It contains thirty-five questions with general prompts to motivate students to participate actively and to speak about their background, motivations and challenges affecting their performance in learning Spanish as a foreign language. Twenty (30) minutes to one (1) hour was allotted to allow the interviewees to speak comfortably and freely about the questions. The questions were divided into three parts in such a way that the answers could easily be transcribed, organized and categorized according to theme or factors, such as, participant’s pertinent backgrounds, motivations and challenges. METHODS Participants learning was facilitated and hugely influenced by the people around them, such as their teachers, their parents and their friends. “Good marks” in major exams as contributors to increase their enthusiasm in learning Spanish. Travelling and learning peoples’ cultures would help improve learning and offer good future career. The investigation revealed that students were fully aware of the challenges that affect their learning of the Spanish language. However, the focus of this study was not on the strategies but on the motivations and challenges. Hence, conducting new and in depth investigations on strategies or other factors could probably be considered for future researches. Merritt, A. (2013)Who motivates us to learn foreign languages, The Telegraph, Atlantic International University, February 28. Husen T. & Postlethwait, T. N. (2010), The International Encyclopedia of Education (second edition), Oxford: Pergamon Press. Al-Mahrooqi, R. & Asante, C. (2010). Promoting autonomy by fostering a reading culture. In R. Al-Mahrooqi & V. Tuzlukova (Eds.). The Omani ELT symphony: Maintaining linguistic and socio-cultural equilibrium (479-494). Muscat: Sultan Qaboos University Press Leadership Central retrieved from http://www.leadership-central.com/types-of- motivation on 6 May 2014.http://www.leadership-central.com/types-of- motivation on 6 May 2014 Business Dictionary.com; retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com; on 2 May2014http://www.businessdictionary.com CONCLUSIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENT AMAES & AMAIUB for approval and support to conduct this study Dr. Amin El-Meligi, Head of Research & Publication Office, and Dr. Danebeth G. Narzoles, CGE Research Coordinator, for their comments and suggestions Students from FLAN501 FLAN502 for their active participation in the interviews CGE family for the motivations and inspirations