PERCEPTIONS OF PROFICIENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE USERS AND LEARNERS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH

The main objective of this study was to identify the perceptions of proficient English language users (PELU) and learners with limited English language proficiency (LELP) about the benefits of proficiency in English and the priorities they give to the benefits. The distinction between proficient English language users (PELU) and learners with limited English language proficiency (LELP) was made based on the scores obtained by first-year students for English in the university entrance examination and the results of English proficiency tests administered in the first semester to first-year students studying in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Arba Minch University. A qualitative approach was used and data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews with ten PELU and ten LELP learners who were purposively selected from top and low scorers respectively. The qualitative data were transcribed verbatim and coded and grouped into one theme and six sub-themes. Findings in the study show that PELU and LELP students reported six benefits of proficiency in English related to education, job opportunities, communication with the international community, knowledge of other cultures, entertainment, and accessing information. As far as priorities given about the benefits of proficiency in English was concerned, the study revealed that PELU learners tend to regard the job opportunities associated with a good command of English as an important benefit, while students with limited English language proficiency tend to regard the understanding of study material and passing of examinations as chief benefits associated with English proficiency. Keywords: English as a foreign language; Proficient English language users (PELU); Good learners, Limited English language proficiency (LELP); Poor learners.