Social and individual factors in second language acquisition

This study investigated the effect of the cultural background of immigrant children on affective variables in learning three different languages. Participants were students in secondary multicultural classrooms in Spain. A total of 114 students, aged 12 to 16, answered a questionnaire based on Gardner's Attitude=Motivation Test Battery assessing their attitudes, motivation and anxiety towards learning Catalan, Spanish and English. In addition, the students also completed self-ratings of their language achievement in each of the three languages.

Multilingual Matters eBooks, 2020

This chapter presents an overview of the research conducted by Gardner and colleagues on the role of attitudes and motivation in second (or foreign) language acquisition covering the years from 1959 to 2019. The intent of this presentation is to describe how it developed from an initial interest in correlates of language achievement, to the construction of the Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) assessing social psychological variables involved in the learning of a language different from one's own (dominant) language, and to the presentation of a formal socioeducational model of second language acquisition. The programme of research was directed primarily towards individuals from unilingual families learning another language largely in required language courses and was based on the assumption that such an experience could have implications for one's self-identity; hence the emphasis on social psychological variables.

2019

This qualitative case study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of Saudi adult learners of English as a second language (ESL) about what motivates them to learn English at a language school in the United Kingdom (UK). Motivation is widely considered to be an influential factor in second language acquisition (SLA), and it still draws increasing attention from theorists and practitioners. Despite significant contributions from psychological, sociopsychological and recent trends of process-oriented research there is still a marked lack of knowledge about the complexity of the context of learning and its impact on motivating students to learn English. Building on a tripartite theoretical lens grounded in Gardner's (1981) socio-educational model, Nortons' (2001) concept of investment and social interdependence theory, this research study aimed to bridge this gap and contribute more broadly to deepening our understanding about the socially constructed nature of motivation to learn a second language (L2). The findings revealed four interrelated factors that shape learners' motivation to learn English in an L2 context. These are the second language learner, the school community, the social milieu, and other macro-context factors. Implications for language learners and language schools in the UK and elsewhere and future motivation research were explored.

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...

Since the late 1960s and the early 1970s, there has been a significant shift within the field of language learning and teaching with greater emphasis on learners and learning rather than on teachers and teaching. It seems a reasonable goalfor language teachers to make their students be dependent at a given percentage from them in order to reach a level of autonomy. It is obvious that language learning is regarded as the cornerstone ofhuman existence. Acquiring a language, either the mother tongue or a foreign language, enables us to express our opinions, hopes, and even our dreams. In foreign language learning context, there are various factors that influence the learning process such as motivation, attitudes, anxiety, learning achievements, aptitudes, intelligence, age, personalities, etc. Keywords:English language learning, Attitudes, Motivations,Learner, Teacher.

TESOL Quarterly, 2001

This paper posits four stages of language acquisition, identified as elemental, consolidation, conscious expression, and automaticity and thought, and considers the role of motivation in this process. It distinguishes between two types of motivation, language learning motivation and classroom motivation, indicating how these relate to two distinct contexts, the cultural and the educational through their influence on integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning situation. It discusses how the two types of motivation are differentially involved in the four stages, and empirical support for this perspective is presented in the form of path analyses of two samples of students from Catalonia.

Linguo Didáctica, 2023

The study discusses how different language socialization (Ochs & Schieffelin, 2017) experiences and processes result in learners’ different linguistic and cultural backgrounds affecting their attitudes toward language learning, their self-perception as language learners, and ultimately their motivation to learn languages. Data were collected via linguistic autobiographies written by 14 students who came from five different countries in a multicultural classroom at a Hungarian university. The content analysis of the rich textual data pointed out a sharp contrast between the socialization of Hungarian and international students resulting in two distinct linguacultural and language learning motivational profiles. Exposure to multiple linguacultures (Risager, 2005) during socialization in the contexts of home, ethnic/multicultural communities, or sojourn generates positive attitudes toward language learning and favorable self-images as language learners. This makes learners more likely to take up additional languages in their spare time in addition to languages learned at school and enables them to move smoothly between different cultures and use their languages in authentic cultural contexts with ease. The results corroborated the inherent connection between choice, autonomy, motivation, and identity in second language acquisition (SLA). Learner testimonies pinpointed the changed status of English and German in Europe and in the world resulting in increased motivation to learn English for various reasons at the expense of German learning. In short, the findings revealed that the linguacultural vitality of a language as an environmental factor and learners’ choice to learn a language along with their desire to fulfil themselves via the chosen language as learner-internal factors greatly impact the success of SLA.

1987

A study investigated the role of attitudes and motivation in second language learning by administering a semantic differential measure to college students studying Spanish in three different tracks (linguistic, cultural, and bilingual, or native-speaker). The student's track was determined by grades and language experience. Findings suggest that students in each track have different attitudes toward the foreign language. The native speakers showed an "integrative" attitude toward the usability and need for the class. The linguistic-track students had a more "instrumental" outlook focused on the relationship of language to job opportunities. Students in the "cultural" track had a negative attitude toward the second language and anything related to it and showed a "rebound" effect whereby they reacted positively to anything related to English. The findings also suggest that attitudes toward language, the second language, and the second language teacher play a more important role in second language learning than previously described. (MSE)

Higher Education Studies, 2021

New immigrants' arrival in any country indeed brings new challenges to settle in the country. Learning the language of a new country is one of the major hassles in settling and starting a new life. In Canada, new immigrants must learn English as a second language because English is an official language and is also used day to day in almost all provinces except for a few states where the French language is more acceptable compared to English. Learning English requires motivation and there are some barriers in learning. Thus, this study addresses these barriers and assesses what motivational factors are there for new immigrants to learn English. It was a cross-sectional quantitative study conducted at a poly-cultural center, and Canada from June-2018 to December-2018. A total of 325 participants who registered and gave consent were included in this study. The results showed that factor 1 (Desire for career and economic enhancement) is significantly associated with age groups (P=0....

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

I have been asked on occasion why I think there must be some sort of motivation to learn a second language, because most people learn at least one language, and often children from a bilingual home learn two languages, apparently with ease. Moreover, these people speak the language, they understand the language, and often they both read and write it, so why should motivation be important. My answer is that generally language is an integral part of growing up (which provides motivation in its own right), and is necessary to communicate and participate in ones environment. Often, this is not the case for second languages, especially those Alearned@ in school. There are many advantages for knowing other languages but they are not absolutely necessary, and as a consequence, motivation (as well as ability) can play an important role in learning a second language. And there are many things that can affect this motivation. I hope today to convince you of the importance of motivation in second language acquisition and to demonstrate that it is more complex than merely wanting to learn the language. Our research for the past 45 years has been concerned with the role of attitudes and motivation in second language acquisition, and during this time we have obtained a considerable amount of data and have developed a model linking attitudes and motivation to achievement in the second language as well as to a host of other behaviours that relate to language learning and retention. Rather than review a number of our studies and present a bunch of statistics today, I would like to focus on the role of motivation and language learning in general and discuss the implications of our research to language teaching and pedagogy. In this vein, I intend to direct my attention to the following four points:

The global spread of English to both developed and developing countries resulted in the need to learn the language of wider communication. The main issue of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the connection between learners, the sociological and psychological context in which languages are learned, and the attitude and motivation toward language learning. The study investigates bilingual learners of English as a foreign language at university level. In order to determine the students’ learning process of English as a foreign language, students were given language background questionnaire based on Daller’s (2002) model and Gardner & Macintyre’ (1993) mini- Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). The results of the study show that although motivation is strong, attitude toward the learning situation should be promoted to help learners reach success in the learning process.

1985

This paper aims at studying the relationship between perceived ethno-linguistic vitality and second language attitudes and motivations. The impetus of the study canes fran the central theme in the social psychology of language (

This study investigates Iranian students' attitudes and motivations toward learning English. The sample of the study consists of 123 male and female students from two high schools in the second academic years. The instrument used is a questionnaire which comprises 18 items developed to achieve the aims of the study. Results showed that the Girl students are more integrative motivated and boy students are more instrumental motivated to learning English. In addition, the girls have more positive attitude toward learning English than boys, they also are more inclined to bilingualism. However, there is no significant difference between high school students in motivational orientations, while they have positive attitude to learning English as a second language.

1982

The role of affective variables in adult second language learning (SLL) has interested language specialists for a long time. Of particular note has been the work of Gardner and Lambert (1972) in which motivation is thoroughly analyzed. What emerged from their work as a particularly strong predictor of successful SLL was integrative motivation. The contrasting orientation, instrumental motivation, was found to be less predictive of SLL success among their subjects, mostly high school students in Canada and the United States. The contention here is that integrative-motivation may not be the only orientation for successful SLL. Looking at 84 foreign students at a large univerisity in the U.S., we found little evidence for an integrative orientation as it has been defined by Gardner an& Lambert. In fact, a particularly anti-integrative orientation could be seen among a subset of these students who had at the time of this Study resided in ehe U.S. for thirteen to eighteen months. It is noted that all 84 subjects were deemed "successful" with English. It is important for ESL teachers 4.n the setting of universities in the U.S. to be aware that their students-may not feel integrative taward the American culture. What is presented in ESL classes, as well as ESL textbooks, should reflect this awareness and should recognize that students' needs for achieving their goals here do not necessexily include an integrative orientation toward the American mainstream culture.