Motivation in Second and Foreign Language Learning

'Motivation is the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained'

Pintrick and Schunk 1996:4

Motivational psychologists - focus in the motors of human behaviour in the individual rather than in the social being. (drive, arousal, cognitive self-appraisal).

Social psychologists - see the action as the function of the social context and the interpersonal/intergroup relation patterns, as measured by the social attitudes.

The gap between the perspectives is gradually narrowing.

Social cognition - cognitive concepts integrated into traditional social psychological models.

Reasoned Action theory

The chief determinant of action is a person's intention to perform the particular behaviour.

- attitude towards the behaviour

- subjective norm' i.e. the person's perception of the social pressures put on him/her to perform the behaviour in question.

Planned behaviour theory

'perceived behavioural control' i.e. the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behaviour.

Approaches: expectancy-value theories, goal theories and self-determination theory.

Expectancy-value theories:

According to the main principles, motivation to perform various tasks is the product of two key factors: the individual's expectancy of success in a given task and the value the individual attaches to success in the task.

Underlying expectancy-value theories - similarly to most cognitive theories - is the belief that humans are innately active learners with an inborn curiosity and an urge to get to know their environment and meet challenges, and therefore the main issue in expectancy value theories is not what motivates learners but rather what directs and shapes their inherent motivation.

Researchers emphasise various different factors that form the individual's cognitive process; from an educational point of view, the most important aspects include processing past experiences (attribution theory), judging one's own abilities and competence (self-efficacy theory), and attempting to maintain one's self-esteem (self-worth theory).

• The guiding principle in attribution theory is the assumption that the way humans explain their own past success and failures will significantly affect their future achievement behaviour.

• Self-efficacy theory refers to people's judgement of their capabilities to carry out certain specific tasks, and, accordingly, their sense of efficacy will determine their choice of the activities attempted, as well as the level of their aspirations, the amount of effort exerted, and the persistence displayed.

• In self-worth theory of achievement motivation, the highest human priority is the need for self-acceptance and therefore 'in reality, the dynamics of school achievement largely reflect attempts to aggrandise and protect self-perceptions of ability' (Covington & Roberts 1994).

Value:
A model of task values by Eccles and Wigfield consists of four components: attainment value (or importance), intrinsic values (or interest), extrinsic utility value, and cost.

p120

References:

Dornyei, Z. (1998) Motivation in second and foreign language learning. Thames Valley University, London.

Pintrick and Schunk (1996) Motivation in education: theory, research, and applications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Metacognition and Cognition in Second Language Teaching and Learning

 

Psycholinguistic approaches underlying SLA

Central questions for psycholinguists since SLA emerged as a discipline:

• What cognitive processes underlie success and failure in people's attempts to master the syntactic patterning of a second language?
• Is there evidence from this question to indicate that rule acquisition is involved in SLA?
• If SLA does involve rule acquisition, is there an innate linguistic capacity or can learning alone account for SLA?
• How is fluency of a L2 achieved?
• What is the importance of memory and attention mechanisms in SLA and their contribution to fluency?

Universal Grammar

Grammar = an abstract and unconscious linguistic system which underlies the use of language, including comprehension and production.

Universal Grammar (UG) = inbuilt universal linguistic principal thought to constrain native-speaker grammars.

Interlanguage = Non-native grammar.  Complex linguistic system demonstrating errors which are rule-governed rather than random mistakes.

Linguistic behaviour of non-native speakers can be accounted for in terms of interlanguage grammars which are constrained by principles and parameters of UG.

Interlanguage grammars differ from the grammars of native speakers.

Plato's Problem

Plato's Problem is the term given by Noam Chomsky to "the problem of explaining how we can know so much" given our limited experience.

Competition Model

Brian MacWhinney's homepage with links to papers.

The Competition Model views both L1 and L2 acquisition as a learning process based on universals of cognitive structure rather than on principles of UG.

Basic Cognitive Mechanisms in SLA

Attention

Noticing Hypothesis - Developed by Schmidt (1998) arguing that every aspect of SLA involves attention.  Involves the concern over whether there is such a thing as "implicit learning" or whether all learning requires explicit attention or noticing.

The Competition Model is based on the premise that learning takes place in the absence of attention, that is, learning is automatic (does not consume attentional capacity), learning is implicit (does not require attention), and repetitive exposure to input is sufficient for learning to take place.

Schmidt argues the contrary in his "Noticing Hypothesis".  He believes attention is essential for learning.  He does acknowledge that a person can register information without focal attention or awareness.  Schmidt's point however, is that, while such registration of information can take place without attention, the effects do not last long and do not affect long term learning.

There is a problem in this area in that the meaning of such terms as attention and implicit learning are not fixed.

Memory

Transfer-appropriate processing, also referred to as TAP, is a type of state-dependent memory specifically showing that memory performance is not only determined by the depth of processing (where associating meaning with information strengthens the memory; see levels-of-processing effect), but by the relationship between how information is initially encoded and how it is later retrieved.

Patys M. Lightbrown: Transfer Appropriate Processing as a Model for Classroom Second Language Acquisition

"The fundamental tenet of TAP is that we can better remember what we have learned if the cognitive processes that are active during learning are similar to those that are active during retrieval."

There is little agreement "that language features that are first learned as explicit, declarative knowledge can, through practice, become proceduralised and accessible for communicative use, that is, retrieved automatically, without conscious attention to the declarative knowledge. Some SLA researchers conclude that it cannot (Krashen, 1982), but others contend that the jury is still out (N. Ellis, 2005, for a review). DeKeyser (2003: 329) contends that ‘. . . there is no evidence in the SLA literature that explicit learning and practice cannot lead to automatized procedural knowledge, only a dearth of evidence that it can . . . Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence’."

One of the reasons for the lack of evidence is that, in both teaching and research settings, success continues to be measured in terms of discrete points of language in isolated explicit test situations rather than in contexts calling for automatized procedural knowledge of language in spontaneous language production. There are good reasons for this – both practical and theoretical. In practical terms, it is far easier for teachers  and researchers to ask students to fill in the blanks or make a choice between grammatical and ungrammatical sentences than it is to solicit (and record and transcribe and analyse) samples of spontaneous speech. The theoretical reasons to prefer discrete point measures come from the importance in hypothesis-testing research of ensuring that the conditions for assessment are as nearly identical as possible across the groups being compared. But there can be a cost to using explicit, discrete point types of measures. They may not adequately answer questions about the extent to which different kinds of instruction prepare learners to use the language under other conditions. Doughty (2003) reviewed the studies that were included in Norris and Ortega’s (2000) comprehensive meta-analysis of research on the effect of instruction and concluded that the studies overwhelmingly used ‘explicit’ assessment instruments, even when the researchers’ intention was to assess an ‘implicit’ approach to instruction. As Norris and Ortega point out, the evidence suggests that the predominance of explicit testing may not be solely responsible for the finding that explicit instruction appeared to be more effective

TAP suggests the hypothesis that what matters most is not how we learned something in the first place, but whether the learning processes are easily transferred to the retrieval processes and conditions (Franks et al., 2000).

Although LOP research initially focused on the importance of processing the semantics – the meaning – of items, subsequent research showed the importance of other components of the learning situation. These included:

• Frequency – numerous encounters with language features are almost always required for effective memory encoding (e.g. N. Ellis, 2002).

• Distribution and spacing – in general, long-term retention is better if there are multiple, spaced exposures rather than a single study session, even if the overall time devoted to learning is the same (e.g. Dempster, 1996).

• Generation – it is usually helpful for learners to produce as well as hear or see the item during the learning phase, especially if they must retrieve it from memory and use it to express their own meanings (e.g. De Keyser, 1998; Jacoby, 1978; Slamecka & Graf, 1978).

 

• Elaboration – linking the item to be learned to multiple aspects of form and meaning, as well as to related ideas, will increase the likelihood that it will be retrieved successfully (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001).

Reference:
Norman Segalowitz and Patsy M.Lightbrown (1999) Psycholinguistic Approaches to SLA.  Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 19, 43-63. CUP.

Learning Strategies

Learner differences include, among others, factors classified under the following
three areas:

1. learning styles;
2. learning strategies; and
3. affective variables.

Ehrman (2003, p.313)

Learner Strategies Defined

Learning strategies are procedures that facilitate a learning task. Strategies are most often conscious and goal-driven, especially in the beginning stages of tackling an unfamiliar language task. Once a learning strategy becomes familiar through repeated use, it may be used with some automaticity, but most learners will, if required, be able to call the strategy to conscious awareness. 

Learning strategies are important in second language learning and teaching for two major reasons. First, by examining the strategies used by second language learners during the language learning process, we gain insights into the metacognitive, cognitive, social, and affective processes involved in language learning. The second reason supporting research into language learning strategies is that less successful language learners can be taught new strategies, thus helping them become better language learners (Grenfell & Harris, 1999).

Chamot (2005, p.112)

Studies identified the good language learner as one who is a mentally active learner, monitors language comprehension and production, practices communicating in the language, makes use of prior linguistic and general knowledge, uses various memorization techniques, and asks questions for clarification.

Chamot (2005, p.115) 

Good language learners are skilled at matching strategies to the task they were working on, whereas less successful language learners apparently do not have the metacognitive knowledge about task requirements needed to select appropriate strategies.

Chamot (2005, p.116) 

A given learning strategy is neither good nor bad; it is essentially neutral until it is considered in context. A strategy is useful under these conditions: 

(a) the strategy relates well to the L2 task at hand, 

(b) the strategy fits the particular student’s learning style preferences to one degree or another, and 

(c) the student employs the strategy effectively and links it with other relevant strategies. 

Strategies that fulfill these conditions ‘‘make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations’’ (Oxford, 1990, p. 8) and enable more independent, autonomous, lifelong learning (Allwright, 1990; Little, 1991).

Ehrman (2003, p.315)

Oxford (1990, 1992) developed the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), which uses factor analyses to group strategies into six categories. Oxford (1990) identified six major groups of L2 learning strategies:

1. Cognitive strategies enable the learner to manipulate the language material in direct ways, e.g., through reasoning, analysis, note-taking, and synthesizing.

2. Metacognitive strategies (e.g., identifying one’s own preferences and needs, planning, monitoring mistakes, and evaluating task success) are used to manage the learning process overall.

3. Memory-related strategies (e.g., acronyms, sound similarities, images, key words) help learners link one L2 item or concept with another but do not necessarily involve deep understanding.

4. Compensatory strategies (e.g., guessing from the context; circumlocution; and gestures and pause words) help make up for missing knowledge.

5. Affective strategies, such as identifying one’s mood and anxiety level, talking about feelings, rewarding oneself, and using deep breathing or positive selftalk, help learners manage their emotions and motivation level.

6. Social strategies (e.g., asking questions, asking for clarification, asking for help, talking with a native-speaking conversation partner, and exploring cultural and social norms) enable the learner to learn via interaction with others and understand the target culture.

Ehrman (2003, p.316-317)

Reflection:

Q.  In what ways does learning strategies challenge the 'traditional' role of the teacher as the transmitter of knowledge?

As we learn more about SLA the role of the teacher is becoming more and more diversified to support the highly complex process of language learning and the almost infinite combinations of classroom activities that can take place.  The teacher has to assume a variety of roles to nurture learning: coach, co-ordinator, consultant, mentor, motivator, guide, role model, reference etc.

Adrian Underhill proposes three kinds of teacher to offer some simplification to the many types of teachers which could be considered: the explainer, involver and enabler (Scrivener 2011). 

References:

Chamot (2005) Language Learning Strategy Instruction: Current Issues and Research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 25, 112–130.

Ehrman, et al (2003) A brief overview of individual differences in second language learning.

Grenfell, M., & Harris, V. (1999). Modern languages and learning strategies: In theory and practice. London: Routledge.

Scrivener, J. (2011) Learning Teaching.