L2 attitude and motivation of secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate ESL learners in India

Second language (L2) attitude and motivation-related studies focusing on differences caused by age have mostly highlighted the temporal dimension of L2 attitude and motivation. Age-related L2 motivation studies have also been gainfully employed at comparisons between L2 learners of different age groups recruited from different L2 learning environments. Such studies have not, however, attempted an analysis of the L2 attitudinal and motivational differences that may exist among L2 learners within a closer age range, e.g., 18 to 25 years. This article presents the findings of an L2 attitude and motivation survey, using a modified version of Dӧrnyei et al. (2006) and Ryan (2005), conducted among secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate English as a second language (ESL) learners (N210) in India. It primarily presents a comparative analysis of the L2 attitudinal and motivational constructs of integrativeness, instrumentality, cultural interest, linguistic self-confidence, and L2 anxiety attested in the sample. Additionally, it offers a description of the correlation between the five L2 attitudinal and motivational constructs concerning the different ESL groups. As the ESL learners across the academic levels demonstrated ESL motivation more on the side of instrumentality, they also reported linguistic self-confidence more in the familiar environment of an L2 classroom than outside of it. Since better motivational strategies enhance learner dedication to the learning of a certain L2, an elaborated understanding of the specific differences in L2 attitude and motivation within this important age range should help design more useful and effective L2 pedagogical methods.

Measuring and applying motivational constructs in a brief intervention for reducing harmful alcohol use in ED patients in Moshi, Tanzania (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Self Determination Theory (SDT) conceptualizes human motivation in terms of a spectrum. However, literature is scarce on how to measure self-determination in different languages or how self-determination can influence the effectiveness of healthcare interventions. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to translate and culturally adapt a psychometric questionnaire on self-determination (TSRQ) as well as SMS booster messages for a Brief Negotiational Intervention (BNI) aimed at reducing harmful alcohol use among injury patients presenting at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Moshi, Tanzania. METHODS A mixed-methods approach was used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the TSRQ and SMS booster messages. Likert-scale surveys were administered to expert panels to assess translation quality and adherence to theory. RESULTS Quantitative analyses confirmed that the Swahili translation of the TSRQ accurately reflected SDT constructs. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed a two-domain model had a better fit than the original three-domain TSRQ. Expert panel surveys indicated that the SMS booster messages maintained strong connections to tenets of SDT. CONCLUSIONS This was the first study to conduct a cross-cultural validation of the TSRQ in Tanzania and Tanzanian Swahili and the first to implement and assess motivational constructs in SMS booster messages for a BNI to promote safe alcohol use. The TSRQ is a valid, clinically useful scale, but could be improved with more items. SMS booster messages touch on many SDT constructs, affirming their motivational utility.

Project-based engineering learning in college: associations with self-efficacy, effort regulation, interest, skills, and performance

This quantitative study examined student participation in an introductory project-based engineering course offered in fully face-to-face and hybrid course modes (N = 160). This course attempted to counteract trends of decreased student motivation and high attrition rates among engineering majors. Mixed-design analysis of variance examined differences in motivational constructs including student self-efficacy, effort regulation, and interest in engineering, as well as engineering skills throughout the course and across instructional modes. None of the motivational constructs were associated with significant decreases throughout the course nor with differences across instructional modes. However, students’ engineering skills increased throughout the course with no significant differences across course modalities. Furthermore, interest in engineering and effort regulation were positively associated with course performance. The instructional modality was not significantly associated with course performance. Overall, this study provides an example of a project-based introductory engineering course which may help maintain student motivation and foster student success in engineering.

ICT-related variables as predictors of ICT literacy beyond intelligence and prior achievement

This study examined the incremental validity of different information and communication technologies (ICT)-related person characteristics over and above intelligence and and prior achievement when predicting ICT literacy across a period of three years. Relative weights analyses were performed to determine the relative contribution of each predictor towards explaining variance in ICT literacy. We used data from German NEPS that tracks representative samples of German students across their school careers. The sample consisted of 14,436 fifteen-year-old German students who provided self-reports on several ICT-related variables: self-confidence, usage motives, breadth of usage, access, experience, usage at home and at school. Data were analyzed cross-sectionally and longitudinally with structural equation models and path analyses, respectively. Cross-sectionally, all ICT-related variables incrementally predicted ICT literacy after controlling for intelligenc (explained variance: 0.4%–14.1%). Longitudinally, ICT self-confidence, ICT-related usage motives, breadth of ICT usage, ICT usage at school, and ICT experience incrementally predict ICT literacy after controlling for intelligence and prior achievement.three years later (explained variance: 0.3%–8.1%). Relative weights providing estimates of relative importance of each predictor showed that intelligence (cross-sectional) and prior achievement and intelligence, respectively (longitudinal) explained the largest portion of variance in ICT literacy, followed by ICT self-confidence, and ICT usage motives as the strongest ICT-related variables. These results emphasize that ICT-related motivational constructs play an important role in the development of ICT literacy.

When Do Students Begin to Think That One Has to Be Either a “Math Person” or a “Language Person”? A Meta-Analytic Review

Believing that one is either a “math person” or a “language person” can have important implications for students’ engagement and performance in different activities and for their educational and career choices. One important source of information children use to form such self-relevant motivational beliefs are dimensional comparisons; that is, students engage in intraindividual comparisons of their subjective abilities across domains such as math and language arts when making self-evaluations. Despite their fundamental impact on students’ educational outcomes, our understanding of when dimensional comparisons begin to influence children’s self-perceptions, how this influence might change as children grow older, and whether the pattern varies across different types of motivational beliefs is still limited. A meta-analysis of 142 independent samples, 210,954 participants, and 426 effect sizes showed that the correlations between students’ math- and language-related motivational beliefs decreased from r = .32, 95% CI [.26, .37] for Grades 1-4 to r = -.01, 95% CI [-.07, .04] for Grades 9-12/13. A meta-regression revealed a significant moderating effect of students’ grade level on the association between students’ math- and language-related motivational beliefs (b = -.06, 95% CI [-.06, -.05]), indicating an increasing differentiation in these beliefs. Findings generalized over samples across the world and studies using different research designs and held true for motivational constructs such as ability self-concepts and interests. Our results suggest that dimensional comparisons are involved in the formation of students’ domain-specific motivational beliefs across the childhood and adolescent years and that their relative importance increases over the school years.

Wildlife Tourism Motivation: A Case for Manyeleti Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga

This study explores key motivators of wildlife tourism to Manyeleti Game Reserve, a private nature reserve in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The primary objective of the study was to establish what motivates tourists to visit privately owned game lodges in Mpumalanga, and Manyeleti game reserve in particular. The intention was to focus on both the supply and demand perspective of wildlife tourism. The Push and Pull theory was adopted to contextualise its applicability on Manyeleti Nature Reserve. This study is quantitative in nature. Structured questionnaires were used through a convenience sample of 400 visitors to Manyeleti Nature Reserve. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was adopted to identify the fundamental wildlife motivational constructs. Six pull factors were identified as motivators of wildlife tourists (escape, relaxation, social, enriching and learning experiences, novelty, and adventure) as well as four push factors that emerged from the study. Although nature – based parks serve as a key tourist attraction for nature enthusiasts, this study revealed that there is a need for park managers to promote outdoor activities (recreational) and ‘visitors’ learning experiences’ as these were rated highly by the visitors.

Propensity to Selling Scale

Sales occupation is one of the most frequent in the job market, and selection of successful sales people is typically among the highest priorities of their companies. Research aimed at explaining sales performance shows that traditional psychometric predictors are limited in achieving this goal. Common constructs that are typically related to work behaviour, such as abilities or personality traits, typically show non-significant or low relations with sales performance. Taking that into an account, we developed a new measure for assessing one’s propensity for selling, based on motivational constructs that underlie successful sales job. In the first study, we developed an initial set of items and assessed its content validity using a sample of sales professionals. In the second study, we assessed the scale’s dimensionality, divergent and predictive validity. A sample of 99 contact centre agents were asked to describe themselves using newly developed items and measures of personality and explicit motives. Besides psychometric measures, the data on agents’ objective sales performance was provided by their employer. First, a unidimensional, three-item solution was shown to be the most appropriate in the exploratory factor analysis of initially developed items. Second, an aggregated result of these three items, representing a total scale score, showed to be largely independent of personality and explicit motives measures. Third, propensity to selling, compared to personality and motives measures, showed to be the most important predictor in explaining the variance of objective sales performance. The scale was labelled Propensity to Selling Scale, and its theoretical and practical implications were further discussed.

A systematic review of the relationship between motivational constructs and self-regulated learning

<span>The aim of this review was to identify the motivational constructs which were mostly associated with self-regulated learning and how these motivational constructs were related to self-regulated learning. There were 20 studies (N=8,759) met inclusion criteria for this review. In overall, the evidence of the included studies showed that motivational constructs such as self-efficacy, intrinsic goal orientation, task value, and control of learning beliefs were positively and significantly related to and in predicting self-regulated learning; test anxiety was negatively and insignificantly related to and in predicting self-regulated learning; inconsistent results were observed for extrinsic goal orientation as it could be positively or negatively related to and in predicting self-regulated learning.</span>