Interactions between medium of instruction and language learning motivation (original) (raw)
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The Language Learning Journal CLIL and motivation: the effect of individual and contextual variables
Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is burgeoning all over Europe and this is particularly so in Spain. During the last 10 years, content language instruction through a foreign language (FL) (mainly English) has become a key area of curricular innovation. One of the main reasons put forward by the advocates of this approach is that students are more motivated as a result of participating in CLIL programmes. Since motivation is one of the most influential individual variables when it comes to learning an L2, the benefits of the CLIL approach are assumed. However, there is a dearth of studies which empirically confirm differences in motivation when comparing traditional English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction and CLIL. This article aims to shed light on this issue through a study carried out in the Basque Country (Spain) in two different grades. Three hundred and ninety-three compulsory secondary education students (aged 12-13 and 14-15) enrolled in EFL and CLIL courses participated in the study. The data were gathered by means of a previously piloted and validated quantitative questionnaire. The statistical analyses showed that CLIL students were more motivated; however, these results should be analysed with caution, taking into account a series of individual (age and sex) and contextual (socio-cultural) variables that may influence such results. The effect of these variables, which have little to do with the CLIL approach per se, has not always been sufficiently considered when explaining the positive outcomes of CLIL.
In recent years, SLA and L2 learning motivation have received extensive attention of researchers and teachers across the globe but the issue remains underdeveloped and there are only some small-scale studies on this subject in Pakistan. Among different factors that affect L2 learning motivation, the current study focuses on exploring differences in L2 learning motivation by college type (private vs. public) and major subject of study (Arts vs. Sciences). Analyzing the questionnaire data from 547 first year college students, the study singles out different situation-specific factors that account for variation in ESL learning motivation. Results indicate that private college students have a higher motivation level and better achievements in ESL learning as compared to public college students. Public college students have strong instrumental motivation while private college students show preferences for an ideal L2 self. L2 motivation does not differ a great deal between students with different subjects of study but there is a big gap in the achievement of both groups. Arts majors ’ motivation depends heavily on their attitude towards English while science majors are instrumentally motivated to learn English. We also discuss some possible reasons for the differences in motivation and implications of the study for ESL teachers and learners.
Teachers’ Cognitions on Motivating Language Learners in Multilingual Hong Kong
2020
Rooted in data gathered from a large-scale study in Hong Kong, this chapter examines English language teachers’ cognitions on motivating learners in a multilingual context. In so doing it offers unique affordances to critically examine the mediating role of sociocultural context in language teacher education policy and practice. The chapter draws on observation and interview data from English language teachers across English, Chinese and mixed medium instruction secondary schools to explore their cognitions on language learning motivation and examine the role of sociocultural context in shaping their practices and beliefs. The data points to an ad hoc approach to motivating students that is reactive and not proactive, responding not to the multilingual needs of learners, but to immediate classroom events. The chapter suggests that while much is known about the nature of motivation, this knowledge has yet to be integrated into language teacher education curricula. The chapter argues ...
English Language Teaching, 2020
This study investigates the social, psychological, and cultural dimensions of motivation involved in learning English as a second language in Kuwait. It focuses on students’ experience of motivation, emotions, and their cultural background in search of differences and similarities presented by gender, type of high school, and year in university. The effects of motivation and learning experiences are discussed through using the perpectives of Gardner’s socio-educational model, whereas the influence of learners’ cultural context in second language learning is discussed through using Hofstede’s cultural model. Data were gathered by surveying undergraduate students from a private university in Kuwait, which yielded 233 completed questionnaires. The study employed quantitative methods using SPSS application for descriptive data analysis, correlation analysis, t-tests, and ANOVA. The descriptive statistics were calculated based on the data submitted by the students’ responses. The results...
Models and Theories of Second Language Motivation: English Language Teachers Respond
TESOL Quarterly, 2020
A s one of the initial research topics in the history of the second language acquisition (SLA) literature, motivation has always generated strong interest among language scholars and practitioners. In this article, we respond as classroom practitioners with varied teaching experiences to the common implications and insights offered by the majority of the models and theories of second language (L2) motivation that have guided the praxis in the TESOL field. In particular, we aim to explain motivation in the English language classroom through an intersectionality framework and pedagogy (e.g., Case, 2017) that we adopt in our own classrooms. We conclude with teaching implications for practitioners who teach English as a global language. BACKGROUND A considerable amount of research has been done on L2 motivation since the 1960s. Early work on motivation by numerous influential scholars (e.g., Boo, D€ ornyei, & Ryan, 2015; Deci & Ryan, 1985; D€ ornyei, 1994; Gardner, 1985) have identified different types and dimensions of learner motivation in the classroom. A significant contribution to L2 motivation literature has been made by Bonny Norton, who, in her research (Norton-Pierce, 1995) on five immigrant language learners in Canada, asserted that learner identity be considered
The motivational dimension of language teaching
Language Teaching
Motivation is recognized as a vital component in successful second language learning, and has been the subject of intensive research in recent decades. This review focuses on a growing branch of this research effort, that which examines the motivational effects of language teaching. This is pertinent because, despite enhanced mobility and expanding access to foreign languages online, most learners’ early encounters with the second language (L2) still take place in classrooms, and these encounters may shape attitudes and determine students’ willingness to invest further in the L2. Four main types of research are reviewed: first, that which deliberately seeks to identify and evaluate strategies to motivate L2 learners; second, that which has tested the validity of psychological theories of motivation by applying their precepts in L2 classrooms; third, that which assesses the motivational effects of a pedagogical innovation or intervention; fourth, research on what has been too often t...
Language learning motivation: A multidimensional competence
If we accept the idea that motivation is neither a natural gift nor the result of fortuitous circumstances, then we need to consider its multiple dimensions: the influence of interpersonal and sociocultural relationships, the impact of the learning tasks which are set in the classroom, and the dynamic interplay of personal values, beliefs and perceptions which shape the language learner’s identity. Theoretical perspectives and pedagogical implications will be backed up with students’ voices from classroom surveys.
System, 2008
This article reports the findings of a 2003 study involving 526 Hong Kong tertiary students, aiming to explore their motivation towards the learning of English, Putonghua and a chosen third language (French, German or Japanese). Based on Dö rnyei's and work [Dö rnyei, Z., Csizér, K., 2002. Some dynamics of language attitudes and motivation: results of a nationwide survey. Applied Linguistics 23 (4), 421-462] on varying motivation towards different foreign languages among Hungarian school children, this study used an amended version of their questionnaire to examine possible varying motivation among Hong Kong respondents. Follow-up focus group interviews were also conducted; however, this paper focuses on the quantitative phase of the study.