A longitudinal study of primary school EFL learning motivation in CLIL and non-CLIL settings

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 765-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabet Pladevall-Ballester
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Arts And Crafts ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Low Exposure ◽  
Over Time

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is often introduced in school settings in an attempt to increase exposure to the foreign language (FL) and promote motivation and positive language attitudes. The present study examines how language learning motivation develops over the course of two academic years in two types of instruction setting (CLIL and non-CLIL) with equal but low exposure to the FL and in two types of CLIL subject (science and arts and crafts). Data were collected from four primary schools in fifth and sixth grades by means of a motivation questionnaire. Differences between groups are observable in relation to the second language (L2) learning experience dimension of motivation in favour of the CLIL learners, who increased their motivation over time. Type of CLIL subject was found to be relevant also only in relation to the L2 learning experience dimension of motivation. Even in low exposure contexts, FL motivation is promoted and maintained over time by adding CLIL to the language experience of young learners.

scholarly journals Refugees’ L2 learning: new perspectives on language motivation research

XLinguae ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 64-80
Author(s):  
Monica Ortiz Cobo ◽  
Roman Kralik ◽  
Rosella Bianco
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Refugee Students ◽  
Motivation Factors ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Language Learning Motivation ◽  
L2 Learning

This study analyses the factors that influence the second language learning motivation of refugees in Italy. To do so, we have conducted an ethnography by making interviews and questionnaires to adult refugee students of the Italian language. The analysis of the data highlights that the peculiar migration experience of this type of students results in specific language learning motivation factors. Starting by the existing paradigm, we discuss the refugee second language (L2) learning motivation as composed by the following dimensions: Ideal L2 Self, Ought-to L2 Self, Social Distance, Learning Experience, Self-confidence, and Anxiety and Multilingual Self.

scholarly journals Metalinguistic awareness in children with differing language learning experience

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 81-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Tellier ◽  
Karen Roehr-Brackin
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Learning Difficulty ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Explicit And Implicit Knowledge ◽  
Levelling Effect

Theoretical research concerned with the notion of second language (L2) learning difficulty has resulted in specific criteria that can be used to predict the learning difficulty of different languages in terms of both explicit and implicit knowledge. The characteristics of the constructed language Esperanto suggest that this language has lower explicit and implicit learning difficulty than other languages. It may therefore be a suitable ‘starter language’ for child L2 learning in the classroom. Specifically, we propose that Esperanto may facilitate the development of metalinguistic awareness and, as a consequence, boost children’s budding capacity for explicit learning. This would be particularly advantageous in the minimal-input setting of the average foreign language classroom. We present findings from an empirical study which compared 11 to 12-year-old English-speaking children who had learned Esperanto and a European L2 (N = 35) with children who had learned various combinations of European and non-European L2s (N = 168) in terms of their performance on a measure of metalinguistic awareness. No significant differences in overall level of metalinguistic awareness were identified, but the Esperanto group significantly outperformed the comparison group on one of the eleven metalinguistic tasks included in the measure. Moreover, the Esperanto group displayed a more homogeneous performance than the other groups of children. This suggests that learning Esperanto may have a lasting levelling effect, reducing differences between children with varying metalinguistic abilities.

scholarly journals Towards a better understanding of the L2 Learning Experience, the Cinderella of the L2 Motivational Self System

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltán Dörnyei
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Motivated Behavior ◽  
L2 Motivational Self System ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Main Dimension ◽  
Self System

The theoretical emphasis within the L2 Motivational Self System has typically been on the two future self-guides representing possible (ideal and ought-to) selves, leaving the third main dimension of the construct, the L2 Learning Experience, somewhat undertheorized. Yet, this third component is not secondary in importance, as evidenced by empirical studies that consistently indicate that the L2 Learning Experience is not only a strong predictor of various criterion measures but is often the most powerful predictor of motivated behavior. This paper begins with an analysis of possible reasons for this neglect and then draws on the notion of student engagement in educational psychology to offer a theoretical framework for the concept. It is proposed that the L2 Learning Experience may be defined as the perceived quality of the learners’ engagement with various aspects of the language learning process.

scholarly journals Word Learning in Adults With Second-Language Experience: Effects of Phonological and Referent Familiarity

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 667-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Kaushanskaya ◽  
Jeewon Yoo ◽  
Stephanie Van Hecke
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Learning Condition ◽  
Experience Effects ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Novel Words

Purpose The goal of this research was to examine whether phonological familiarity exerts different effects on novel word learning for familiar versus unfamiliar referents and whether successful word learning is associated with increased second-language experience. Method Eighty-one adult native English speakers with various levels of Spanish knowledge learned phonologically familiar novel words (constructed using English sounds) or phonologically unfamiliar novel words (constructed using non-English and non-Spanish sounds) in association with either familiar or unfamiliar referents. Retention was tested via a forced-choice recognition task. A median-split procedure identified high-ability and low-ability word learners in each condition, and the two groups were compared on measures of second-language experience. Results Findings suggest that the ability to accurately match newly learned novel names to their appropriate referents is facilitated by phonological familiarity only for familiar referents but not for unfamiliar referents. Moreover, more extensive second-language learning experience characterized superior learners primarily in one word-learning condition: in which phonologically unfamiliar novel words were paired with familiar referents. Conclusions Together, these findings indicate that phonological familiarity facilitates novel word learning only for familiar referents and that experience with learning a second language may have a specific impact on novel vocabulary learning in adults.

scholarly journals The effects of drama-based activities as a language learning tool on learners’ motivation in Non-Malay-medium national schools in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Fui Man ◽  
Sabariah Sharif ◽  
Andrea Lee Jen May ◽  
Rosy Talin ◽  
Soon Singh Bikar Singh
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Affective Filter ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Language Learning Motivation ◽  
Language Learning Strategy ◽  
The Trinity

Transitioning from Non-Malay-medium national primary schools to Malay-medium or English-medium secondary schools proved to be a struggle for many students due to the lack of emphasis on audio-lingual skills of the second language (L2) throughout their six-years of primary education. This study aims to explore the effects of drama-based activities as a language learning strategy on L2 learning motivation among students aged between 12 to 13 years old from Non-Malay-Medium National Schools. Six students were recruited through purposive sampling to participate in this qualitative experimental research. Over a period of 14 weeks, pre-intervention interviews (on the first week), intervention (over the span of 2 hours per week for 12 weeks), and post-intervention interviews (on the fourteenth week) were carried out. The content of the intervention was adapted from the Trinity College London’s Grade 4 Communication Skills syllabus. The instruments used for data collection include:(1) pre-determined pre-and post-intervention interview protocols and (2) classroom observation rubric. Two themes emerged in the analysis of this study: (a) language learning motivation and (b) affective filter. Findings revealed that participants were motivated and possessed self-confidence in the language learning process. The current study provides instructional implications for instructors and learners besides contributing to the novelty in the area of the research setting and sampling for future studies.

scholarly journals Will the “normality” times come back? L2 learning motivation between immigrants and refugees before Covid-19

XLinguae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-196
Author(s):  
Monica Ortiz-Cobo ◽  
Jose Garcia-Martin ◽  
Rosella Bianco
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Learning Motivation ◽  
Family Ties ◽  
Immigrants And Refugees ◽  
Educational Processes ◽  
Turbulent Times ◽  
L2 Learning

In these turbulent times of changes and transformations where educational processes are being virtualized due to the pandemic, we must not forget the difficulties that this implies for certain vulnerable learners and some learning contexts. That is the case of the L2 learning by immigrants and refugees. Such learners already have a starting difficulty, both for not mastering the language of learning and for the digital divide, which is increased by the migration variable. This work analyses, within a context of “normality”, the motivation of immigrants and refugees, in the light of their links and expectations. The differences in the relation with the Italian language are shown. The results show that the dependency on the host society, the uncertainty of the future and the absence of family ties are influential factors for refugees learning motivation. On the contrary, immigrants are not subjected to these factors, and therefore their Italian L2 learning motivations are different. By this research we conclude that adult refugees and immigrant students have different attitudes through the residency country language learning.

Woordverwerving Door Eentalige en Tweetalige Kinderen bu Engels in Het Basisonderwijs

1989 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 67-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guust Meijers
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Test Construction ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Third Language ◽  
English Classes ◽  
Moroccan Children ◽  
The One

Since 1985 English has been an obligatory subject in the last two classes of Dutch primary schools. This fact provided an inducement to carry out an investigation to examine if balanced bilingual Turkish and Moroccan children would react differently from Dutch monolingual children to these English classes. Surprisingly research into third language learning appears to be very rare and seems to indicate on the one hand that bilingualism is not always an advantage. On the other hand research on cognitive and metalinguistic abilities of bilingual children suggests that bilinguals may benefit from having this specific learning experience. This research therefore aimed at testing the hypothesis that bilinguals would learn a third language in a different and more efficient way than monolinguals with the same IQ-level and socio-economic status. In this article a word production and a word comprehension test are discussed, which were administered to the subjects' groups after two years of learning English. The selection of subjects, a lexical analysis of textbooks and the test construction are described. The results of the two tests do not show any differences between mono- and bilinguals, which means that, with regard to vocabulary acquisition, bilingualism does not have a positive influence on learning a new language. The results of other tests (grammatical judgements, spontaneous production and word recognition) will show if this finding can be generalized to other skills.

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