University – age learner’s preferences for foreign language motivational strategies

Journal of Science and Technology, Vol. 37, 2019

© 2019 Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City

UNIVERSITY-AGE LEARNERS’ PREFERENCES FOR FOREIGN

LANGUAGE MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES

NGUYEN TRUONG SA

Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City

[email protected]

Abstract. In adopting motivation definition as a process of continuous interaction between learner and

context, the purpose of the study was to seek in-depth insights into motivation of students of English as a

foreign language in relation to teachers‟ in-class motivational strategies and how learning proficiency and

experience affect their preferences. Cohort of this study was 90 freshman-year and 90 senior-year

students in a bachelor in English language program in Vietnam. Triangulation method combining

questionnaire and group interview was adopted. Different from findings in other research studies, there

were evidences of both negative and positive effects of the strategies; and there were significant

correlations between the learners‟ preferences for the motivational strategies and their level of proficiency

as well as learning experience. The result suggested that the use of any motivational strategies should be

put under consideration of both individual and group competence, their experience in the program, and

their on-going perception of the learning goals.

Key words: language learning motivations, learning experience, situated motivation, motivational

strategies

1. INTRODUCTION

Motivation has been widely accepted as one of the key factors that influence the rate and success of

second/foreign language (L2) learning [1], [2], [3],[4], [5]. Motivation is seen as not being permanent

inner forces and static mental or emotional state; rather motivation is the individual's thoughts and beliefs,

emotions that are transformed into the way learners behave and act in their learning process [6], [7].

Because motivation is highly situated in different learning contexts [8], and temporal dimension of

motivation and students‟ beliefs of his/her self-efficacy must be acknowledged [9], [10],[11], [12], this

study examined how learners would react to on-going motivational strategies adopted by the teacher and

how learning experiences might affect their preferences.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Motivational research provides insights into the variables influencing human behavior. Gardner [1]

defined L2 motivation as “the extent to which an individual works or strives to learn the language because

of a desire to do so and the satisfaction experienced in this activity”. Early motivational theories were

dominated by quite a mechanistic view of motivation; the emphasis on either the instinctive or reflexive

side of human behavior is vividly depicted through the “man as a machine” metaphor. In the 1990s,

Dornyei [8] proposed a motivation framework that included three independent levels: language level

(integrative/instrumental), learner level (need for achievement, self-confidence in terms of anxiety and

self-awareness), and learning situation level (course-specific components, teacher specific components,

and group specific components). The most elaborate part of the framework is the learning situation level,

which is associated with situation-specific motivation rooted in various aspects of language learning in a

classroom setting. However, this early motivational model only clusters key variables concerned with L2

motivation rather than elaborates on the relationship between them. Then, Williams and Burden‟s [10]

explicitly addressed the interactive relationship between context, individual, and the temporal nature of

motivation. The model distinguishes between a) the decision to do something b) the reasons for doing

something and c) sustaining the effort or persisting; all three aspects are connected in an interactive

fashion and influenced by the social context. Regrettably, both Dornyei [8] and Williams and Burden [10]

did not describe how situated classroom events might shape learners‟ motivation and/or their reactions to