scholarly journals EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING MOTIVATION AND PROFICIENCY

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Karen Dunn ◽  
Janina Iwaniec
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Latent Variable ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
Language Learning Motivation ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract A foundation of second language motivational theory has been that motivation contributes to explaining variance in language learning proficiency; however, empirical findings have been mixed. This article presents an innovative approach to exploring L2 proficiency and motivations of teenage English language learners in Madrid, Spain (N = 1773). Participants completed a multiskill English language test, plus an eight-scale questionnaire operationalizing constructs from Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005). Data were analysed using Latent Variable Mixture Modeling, a person-centered profiling approach. Results indicated five distinct classes of students, characterized by differing motivation-proficiency profiles. The importance of this study is that the analysis does not assume a homogenous relationship between motivational traits and proficiency levels across the learner sample; whilst there is undoubtedly a connection between the two areas, it is not a straightforward correlation, explaining to some extent discrepancies in previous findings and laying groundwork for further, more nuanced, investigation.

scholarly journals Motivation and demotivation over two years: A case study of English language learners in Japan

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-175
Author(s):  
Keita Kikuchi
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Learner Motivation ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
Language Learning Motivation ◽  
The Rich

This paper is about four Japanese university students majoring in international studies, who participated in a two-year study examining changes in their motivation. Using monthly interviews and a 29-item questionnaire on Dörnyei’s (2005) L2 motivational self system that was administered alongside each interview, the trajectories of learner motivation were investigated, based on both quantitative and qualitative data. First, changes in the participants’ motivation were identified using quantitative data. Next, a variety of motivators and demotivators that learners experienced both inside and outside of their classrooms were analyzed using the qualitative data. With the data obtained, this study focuses on how four learners’ language learning motivation and contexts adapt to each other, and how the dynamics of the four learners’ motivation changes due to their learning experiences. Each learner was different in their trajectory of motivation and the kinds of motivators and demotivators that they experienced in their particular contexts. The four learners underwent unique motivators and demotivators, and reacted differently. While participants identified their ideal L2 selves, or ought-to L2 selves, these self-guides were not strengthened by their L2 experiences over time. Based on these findings, the importance of studying the rich experiences of language learners in motivation research is discussed.

scholarly journals Developing Second Language Writing Through Scaffolding In The ZPD: A Magazine Project For An Authentic Audience

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Schwieter
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Writing ◽  
Writing Development ◽  
Proximal Development ◽  
Language Writing

In the present study, Vygotsky’s (1978, 1986) sociocultural framework of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) and scaffolding writing (Bodrova & Leong, 1995, 1996; Ross, 1976) are used as the theoretical basis to study the development of second language writing. A course project is presented in which advanced English language learners of Spanish acted as authors and editors to create their own professional magazines for an authentic audience. In the project, each student authored four essays which went through four peer- and instructor-edited stages of scaffolding writing techniques. After each stage, ratings were given by the editors who also facilitated feedback debriefing sessions (Lidz, 1991). Statistical analyses revealed significant improvement within the four essays demonstrating writing development of subsequent revisions of a single essay. There was also significant improvement between the four essays revealing a linear, continuous writing development. In all, these results support a notion that scaffolding writing techniques and feedback debriefing sessions within the ZPD effectively develops writing skills in second language learning when contextualized through a writing workshop involving the creation of a professional magazine designed for an authentic audience.

scholarly journals The relationship between students’ second language learning anxiety and language proficiency

10.32698/0141 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Asnadia Binti Alias ◽  
Nur Atikah Binti Noor Rashid
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Test Anxiety ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Learning Anxiety ◽  
Language Learning Anxiety ◽  
Spearman Test ◽  
The Relationship

Students in Malaysian Polytechnics must enrol in a second language course as one of the compulsory courses offered by the institution. There is no placement test for polytechnics students to enrol in English language class. Therefore, students with different level of proficiency are mixed together in a classroom to learn English language. Consequently, students encountered difficulties in learning the second language due to feeling of anxiety. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the correlation between students’ language learning anxiety and their language proficiency. This study involved of 96 semester three students from Civil Engineering Department, Politeknik Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin which have been chosen randomly. A 33 item questionnaire of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was analysed using SPSS 22. The study revealed that the students experienced moderate level of language learning anxiety. Correlations – Spearman Test was used to determine the relationship between students’ second language learning anxiety and language proficiency. Three types of anxiety was tested which are Test Anxiety, Communication Apprehension and Fear of Negative Evaluation. Correlations – Spearman Test demonstrated that only Test Anxiety showed significant relationship with students’ language proficiency. Several implications have been discussed to offer suggestions to the lecturers in dealing with students learning anxiety. Lecturers should be careful in correcting students’ error to avoid students feel humiliated. This is because students tend to feel anxious whenever lecturers correct their mistakes in the classroom. A further research should be carried out by using two approaches; qualitative and quantitative and adds more variables such as attitude and motivation towards learning a second language.

scholarly journals Book Reviews

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 142
Author(s):  
Clea Schmidt ◽  
Ellen Pilon ◽  
J.E. King
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching

Reviews of: 'Language Learners as Ethnographers,' by Ana Barro, Michael Byram, Shirley Jordan, Celia Roberts and Brian Street; 'An Intercultural Approach to English Language Teaching,' by John Corbett; 'Critical Pedagogy: Political Approaches to Language and Intercultural Communication,' by Manuela Guilherme and Alison Phipps; 'Test It Fix It: English Verbs and Tenses Pre-intermediate,' and 'Test It Fix It: English Verbs and Tenses Intermediate,' by Kenna Bourke; and 'Silence in Second Language Learning: A Psychoanalytic Reading,' by Colette A. Granger.

scholarly journals GOOD LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND THEIR STRATEGIES: AN INSIGHT

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumaresen Mahalingam ◽  
Melor Md. Yunus
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Language Learning Strategies

The Malaysian Education Blueprint is aimed to ensure every child is proficient in English Language besides Bahasa Malaysia. Thus the English Language syllabus is geared to mould learners to become successful language learners. However, not all learners are capable of being successful language learners despite years of schooling. Therefore, this study aims to investigate language learning strategies used by good language learners in learning English as their second language. To achieve the aim of the study, a questionnaire was used to collect the quantitative data. 30 pupils with good language ability from a rural primary school in Sabah were selected to participate in this study. The findings of the study indicated that different language learners prefer different learning strategies to improve their second language learning.  The learning strategies also vary based on the language skills they are learning. The findings of the study are hoped to provide significant impact to the pupils, teachers and curriculum planners to integrate language learning strategies in teaching and learning to assist successful language learning.

scholarly journals Motivational Factors that Influence English as a Foreign Language Learners at Quality Leadership University, Panama City, Panama

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 543
Author(s):  
Ricardo Roman Jr. ◽  
Aixa M. Nunez
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Instrumental Motivation ◽  
Learning English

Research in second language acquisition took off in the early 1970s. This study on integrative and instrumental motivation examined the correlation between the two forms in terms of second language acquisition, and the interest it has generated through continued research efforts in language learning. Research to date suggests a possible relationship between motivation and second language learning. The results obtained by this research were determined by two basic types of motivation which play a relevant role in second language acquisition, it also revealed which was the most prevalent motivational factor that influences students in learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at Quality Leadership University, Panama. Our objective was to prove that instrumental motivation is more prevalent among students learning English as a Foreign Language in Panama. Although cultural awareness is very much present in the EFL classroom, it too plays a major role with English Language Learners (ELLs). This is a quantitative research study which includes a questionnaire classifying twenty motivational statements into two types of motivation, integrative and instrumental. The study revealed that instrumental motivation was more prevalent among English language learners at Quality Leadership University, Panama. Albiet learning about new cultures has been the driving force with which students approach language learning and students in Panama are not the exception. We can thus conclude that instrumental motivation has been acknowledged as the significant factor by students surveyed and the interest in specific language learning for career advancement, whereas integrative motivation is linked to more general second language acquisition for the benefit of cultural integration.

scholarly journals Motivation and Socio-Cultural Milieu of Second Language Learners: Considerations Involved in English Teaching

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Florentina Halimi ◽  
Cathy E. Daniel ◽  
Iqbal A. AlShammari
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
English Language ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Future Research

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 revealed significant levels of integrative and instrumental motivation, emphasized by female students, which could be attributed to Hofstede's cultural dimensions of certainty, femininity, and collectivist society. Significant levels were also reported for English classes and English use anxiety, which may be attributed to Hofstede’s power distance, which accounts for the high respect accorded to teachers and teaching. Collectively, the results gained from this study provide guidance to disentangle the multitude of factors that affect English language learners. The findings reported in this study may help instructors who need to understand how learners’ cultural values influence the nature of instruction and point toward future research in analyzing multiple factors that assist language learning.

scholarly journals A Descriptive Study: Factors Affecting the Pronunciation of English Language (L2)

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Tania Ali Khan
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
English Language ◽  
Secondary Source ◽  
Teaching Methodologies ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Language Classroom

Acquiring correct second language pronunciation is an indispensable part of the language learning process. It plays a substantial role in enhancing the communicative competence and performance of second language learners. The learning of pronunciation is a very sensitive and complicated aspect of the English language classroom. However, all English language learners are not equally good in learning pronunciation. The aim of this research is to explore the factors which affect the pronunciation of English language learners. Theories, empirical evidence, and personal observations are discussed in this study which classifies the factors affecting pronunciation into two types, that is, inner and outer factors. Inner factors include age, brain, aptitude, types of learners and goals. Outer factors include first language interference, motivation, types of teachers and teaching methodologies, classroom environment, and institutional variables. This research is significant because it highlights the importance of acquiring pronunciation of the second language. Moreover, it provides an insight to language teachers and learners which allows them to critically understand the factors which affect the pronunciation of English as a second language as well as to reflect on their own learning and teaching methodologies. This research is qualitative and descriptive in nature. To support the arguments presented in this research, the researcher sought help form primary source books, personal observations and empirical studies, as well as secondary source research articles, journals and reviews. In conclusion, this study also gives some suggestions to teach pronunciation in the English language classroom.

scholarly journals Cluster analysis on Chinese university students’ conceptions of English language learning and their online self-regulation

2019 ◽  
pp. 105-119
Author(s):  
Jing Tao ◽  
Chunping Zheng ◽  
Zhihong Lu ◽  
Jyh-Chong Liang ◽  
Chin-Chung Tsai
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Conceptions Of Learning ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Learning English

This study investigated learners’ conceptions of learning English and their online self-regulation in a web-based learning environment among. Two questionnaires, Conceptions of Learning English (COLE) and Online Self-regulation of English Learning (OSEL) were administered to 843 university students in China. Based on their different conceptions of learning English, participants were clustered into four groups. Two groups of students considered the process of learning English as understanding and seeing in a new way or being test-oriented. Another two groups consisted of students with high commitment to or low engagement in learning English. The results of ANOVA analysis and Scheffé’s test revealed significant differences among the profiled participants in four groups. Students who considered learning English as understanding and seeing in a new way tended to have the strongest online self-regulatory competence. However, students who were test-oriented reported poorly in all aspects of online self-regulation. Our findings echoed previous studies on the relationship between conceptions of learning English and online self-regulation, particularly the negative association between learners’ test-oriented conceptions of learning English and their online self-regulation. This research enables us to better understand English language learners in China, particularly in the era of information technology.

scholarly journals Complex Classification of Second Language Motivation in English Language Learning: A Typological-Historical Critical Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 211-220
Author(s):  
Dr. Muhammad Ishtiaq ◽  
Dr. Muhammad Sabboor Hussain ◽  
Hussain Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Language Learning Motivation

This theoretical paper aims to describe the complex nature of second language learning motivation, focusing on its types and history. Motivation is the process that accounts for a person's intensity, direction, and persistence of effort towards a goal-achievement. It is an essential phenomenon in almost every field of knowledge, including psychology, sociology, and education, to name a few. Several studies have been conducted on the role and rank of motivation in different contexts and knowledge fields. A large body of literature has also tried to relate motivation with a variety of variables. When it comes to second language learning, the vital role of motivation is indisputable. However, the more it is investigated, the more complex this construct comes to the surface. During the past few decades, its typological-historical critical review reveals that its fast-evolving phases have added to its complexity and importance at the same time. The paper concludes that motivation will remain a complex construct; however, more in-depth, comprehensive, and serious investigations may help us understand this phenomenon. This paper has opened some curious questions which demand further field investigation and research probing.

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