Analysis of English Majors' Motivation Types Towards Second Foreign-Language Learning (original) (raw)

A Cross-Cultural Study of the Motivation of Students Learning a Second Language

This study examined the underlying factor structure of the Motivation Orientation Scale (MOS), determining its degree of consistency across two distinct cultures and identifying variables affecting students' motivation in learning a second language. The study investigated how intention theory with its three motivation orientations, and Gardner's instrumental-integrative model, could cross different cultures in the area of second language learning. Participants were 584 college freshmen from three Taiwanese universities and students enrolled in Spanish classes at a rural Pennsylvania university. Taiwanese students completed the MOS for English as a Foreign Language (EFL), while U.S. students completed the MOS for Spanish as a Second Language (SSL). Results indicated that Taiwanese students had different motivation for learning EFL than did U.S. students learning SSL. The results suggest that the MOS should be revised in order to better fit respondents' cultural background...

Motivational Orientations of Learning Japanese as A Foreign Language Among Undergraduates In A Public University In Malaysia

Asian Journal of University Education, 2021

Motivation is a key factor in learning a foreign language. This study investigated the instrumental, integrative and attitudinal motivation level of students learning Japanese as a FL in a public university in Malaysia. A survey questionnaire based on Gardner's (1985) AMTB (Attitude/Motivation Test Battery) and Dornyei's (1994) Attitudinal Motivation was given to 171 undergraduates. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results of the study indicated that the foreign language learners were generally highly motivated to learn Japanese as a foreign language. Moreover, their integrative and attitudinal motivational levels were similarly high and slightly higher than their instrumental motivation. There were also statistically significant differences among the three subscales of attitudinal motivation viz. teacher-specific, course-specific and group-specific. They were more oriented towards teacher-specific and course-specific attitudinal motivation than group-specific attitudinal motivation. The implications for EFL teachers and curriculum developers are that it would improve foreign language learning courses in future by designing suitable lessons and preparing appropriate materials and activities.

Investigating Motivations of Learning Languages Other Than English: A Case of Learners of Japanese in Thailand

rEFLections, 2024

Current theories about learning a second language might not fully explain why people want to learn languages other than English (LOTE) in the context of globalization and multilingualism. This study adopted and adjusted Huang's (2021) motivational dimensions for LOTE learners, specifically focusing on those who learn LOTE as a third language (L3), as is common in Thailand. It aimed to explore the motivations of 167 Thai students in higher education when choosing to study Japanese, using a questionnaire and a focus group. The findings indicate that Culture/Community Interest and Instrumentality-Promotion significantly influence motivation. On the other hand, Instrumentality-Prevention and Intended Learning Effort are closely related and exhibit the least influence. The findings also showed that students' motivations change depending on their year of study. Third-and fourth-year students valued practical benefits the most, while second-year students were more interested in the culture and community of the target language. In addition, the research also examined students' perceptions of multilingual learning. This research helps educators, linguists, and policymakers understand why students want to study Japanese and to create effective teaching strategies tailored to students' interests.

Second Language Motivation

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2013

This paper describes a study into the relationship between motivation and second language acquisition. The study was conducted at a private language school in Istanbul, Turkey and looked at four types of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, integrative, and instrumental. In order to assess their English ability, students were given a test consisting of four main parts: reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing. They were also given a questionnaire regarding their reasons for learning English which they were asked to rate on a five point Likert scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Results from the questionnaire were correlated with the results of the test in order to explore the possibility that test results might be related to motivational types. Results of the study will be reported in this paper along with implications for the teaching/learning situation and suggestions for ongoing research.

Foreign Language Motivation: Internal Structure and External Connections

1996

Thousands of adults enroll annually in private EFL courses in Egypt. What spurs these learners to exert the effort required and pay the fees in a country where access to public education is free at all levels? Our understanding of such issues is limited by the fact that most research on motivation has been conducted in second rather than foreign language learning contexts and in North American or European cultural settings. In the study reported here, a questionnaire was developed, based on current work on motivation in second and foreign language contexts and more general models from cognitive and educational psychology, and was administered to a sample of 1,554 adult learners at the Center for Adult and Continuing Education (CACE) at the American University in Cairo, with 1,464 questionnaires used for the analyses. Factor analysis and multidimensional scaling were used to identify the components of EFL motivation for this population. Results suggest that there are three basic dime...

Motivation in Foreign Language Classrooms at Tertiary Level: A Case Study

2021

In teaching and learning a foreign language, especially English, motivation plays an extremely integral part in ensuring success. In this study, the researchers attempt to provide an overview of research on motivation and discover how motivation can assist second or foreign language learning in classrooms of English-majored students in the university setting. This study aims to investigate whether English-majored learners are motivated in learning English or not, focusing on extrinsic motivational factors to identify the factors to develop their motivation and maintain their journey of learning English. A questionnaire is devised and administered to 52 senior English-majored students. The data was then analyzed using the SPSS version 20. The results suggest that learners’ motivation is related to learning facilities and teacher’s personality which can encourage learners to think more positively and thus be more motivated in their language learning process. Along with providing speci...

The Role of Motivation in Learning English as a Foreign Language

This study investigates the role of motivation in foreign language learning. It sheds light on the meaning of motivation from different views, and the significance of motivation in foreign language learning as one of the most important factors in learning a foreign and second language. It also focuses on how the two types of motivation, namely integrative and instrumental motivation, affect the process of language learning for Libyan students, and how these two types play an essential role in achieving the desired goals. The study is carried out to determine if the fourth year undergraduate students studying English as a foreign language are more ‫ـــــــــ‬ ‫ــــ‬ ‫ــــــــ‬ ‫ــــــ‬ ‫ـــــــ‬ ‫ـــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ‬ ‫ــــ‬ ‫ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫ـــ‬ ‫ــــــــــــ‬ Majda Mahmoud Rashed University Bulletin-ISSUE No.19-Vol. (4)-December-2017. 110 integratively or instrumentally motivated towards English language learning. Findings of the study showed that the students participating this study are motivated both integratively and instrumentally with a little higher instrumental motivation.

Students’ Motivation to Learn Foreign Languages in Tertiary Education

Multilingual Education, 2018

This chapter aims to investigate the motivation of the students attending three different undergraduate programs at the Faculty of Letters from Transilvania University of Braşov, Romania, in terms of the students' reasons for choosing the programs, changes in terms of their motivational level, past learning experiences, future professional plans, and demotivational factors, which are all related to learning foreign languages. The data for this cross-sectional study were collected by means of students' interviews, students' questionnaires and a teacher's questionnaire.

The Comparison of Motivating Factors for Taking English and Other Foreign Languages Among Thai College Students

Theory and Practice in Language Studies

This study adopted mixed method research to investigate motivating factors of Thai undergraduate students who took foreign language courses at a Thai university in the Greater Bangkok area, using Dörnyei’s (2009) L2MSS as a study framework. One hundred and seventy-three undergraduate students completed a questionnaire, 25 of whom agreed to participate in the semi-structured interview session. Quantitative data were analyzed utilizing frequency, mean, standard deviation, one-way ANOVA, and two-way ANOVA, while interview data were content analyzed. The findings revealed different motivating sources for the students who had taken or were taking foreign language courses. English and Korean students reported the Ought-to L2 Self as their primary source of motivation, while French, Chinese, and Japanese students reported the Past L2 Learning Experience. The study suggested that teachers provide an adequate and supportive learning experience to foreign language students, leading to higher ...