Attitude and motivation has been a huge part of language learning process. Since 1985, Adnan & Nor Azmi (1985:1995) research has proven that motivation and attitude has significant effects on second language (L2) learning. Due to the historical and educational framework, the status of languages in Malaysia has changed drastically. Ever since British Colonization in 1900s English language has been widely used for globalization, economical and especially for educational purposes (Mandal, 2000). Students in Higher Education Malaysia are supposed to be exposed with approximately 11 years of English language throughout their academic journey: 6 years of English language exposure in primary school and 5 years of language learning in secondary school …show more content…
Asmah (1982) linguistically speaking added that since Bahasa Malaysia is the official language and medium of instructions in schools and even higher education. With the treatment, National Language Policy (NLP) implemented by Ministry of Education sets English just as an official second language (L2) of Malaysia. According to Pillai (1994) Malaysia language problems, in effort of strengthening Bahasa Malaysia as national language but English-language schools in both British and American curriculum still exists to cater to expatriates children. (Pillai, …show more content…
For instance, Alshamy (2012) Attitudes and Motivation of EFL Learners towards English: A Case Study of PYP Saudi University investigated on gender effects on English language learning whilst other research uses Social Economic Status (SES) by Bidin, Jusoff & et. al. (2009). Other variables that were used are the discipline or the participants that have an influence on their success in English language outcomes. Tamimi does this research & Shuib (200) HADRAMOUT shows that Petroleum Engineering students have a positive attitude and high interest on the English language and
Within this paper we will take a brief look at the Language Acquisition Principles and how they work on the behalf of ELL students. We will see how these principles can be applied within our own learning environment. There is much information from Walqui article that gives a brief overview of ELL students and how things looked in the past for these students. Now that times has change we will see how educators can make the requirements for ELL students better and more effective for teacher and students. Hopefully, as we look at ways of changing learning for our ELL students we must remember that every student learns differently. Even if you follow the principles from 1-8 we must keep in mind that everyone is unique and process things within their own time table.
In the above cited article (Norton, 1997) we can find the case of Mai, an interview which is particularly revealing in terms of motivation. Mai is an immigrant girl living in English speaking country. She explained that after attended to a 6 months-ESL intensive course, after achieving successfully some expected goals, she continued with an ordinary course. Mai had to do a big effort after working long hours to attend to this course. So, it could be said that her motivation was considerably high. However, she expressed an enormous frustration because despite all the sacrifices she was meant to do, she ended up learning “nothing at all”. Her reflection, as the reflection of many L2 students,
The L2 Motivational Self System represents a major reformation of previous motivational thinking by its explicit utilization of psychological theories of the self. The actual model has grown out of the combined effect of two significant theoretical developments, one taking place in the L2 field, the other in mainstream psychology. Indeed, L2 motivation researchers have always believed that a foreign language is more than a mere communication code that can be learnt similarly to other academic subjects, and have therefore typically adopted paradigms that linked the L2 to the individual’s personal core, forming an important part of one’s identity. Thus, proposing a system that explicitly focuses on aspects of the individual’s self is compatible with the whole-person perspective of past theories (Dörnyei, 2009). (Study 8, p. 1) The L2 motivational self system is based on the idea that learners’ drive to reduce the perceived discrepancy between one’s here-and-now (actual) self and their future L2 selves provides the necessary motivation for language learning behaviors (Mostafa & Papi, 2014). (Study 11, p. 4) This model of motivation contains two self-related components: Ideal L2 self and Ought-to L2 self. In this model, Ideal L2 self is one’s ideal self-image expressing the wish to become a competent L2 speaker. The Ought-to L2 self contains ‘attributes that one believes one ought to possess (i.e. various duties, obligations, or responsibilities) in order to avoid possible negative outcomes’ associated with not being able to speak the L2 in question (Kormos, Kiddle & Czice, 2011). (Study 3, p 3)This study is the most updated one regarding the field of motivation and it’s widely used nowadays; although, you can’t forget all previous
In second language acquisition, it is crucial to take into account specific factors which influence the attitude held by different groups of learners leading to different levels of L2 proficiency. Some of these important factors comprise age, sex, social class, and ethnic identity (Ellis,
Moreover, Gardner (2001) insists that there is a close contact between motivation and language learning success. Additionally, Engin (2009) insists that learners need to know what types of motivation they have them to achieve greater success. There are two important types of language learning motivation, which are the integrative and instrumental motivation. Gardner (2001) defines integrative motivation as willingness to be a member of the target language’s community (p. 9). Those learners have strong interests in the target language and its culture. On the other hand, Gardner (2001) describes instrumental motivation as using the language as a tool to get decent job and being well educated (p.10). He also learners have the possibility to have
“Knowing the language can help us to express our opinions, hopes, and even our dreams” (Abidin, Pour-Mohammadi, & Alzwari, 2012, p. 119). There are diverse constituents that manipulate process of learning such as motivation, attitudes, anxiety, learning achievements, aptitudes, intelligence, age, personalities, etc. (Shams, 2008). Acceptably, one of the most significant constituents that effect on language learning is learners’ attitude (Fakeye, 2010).
The present reaction paper is based on the article called Language Learning Strategies in a Nutshell: Update and ESL Suggestions, written by Rebecca L. Oxford (2004). In her article, the author refers to learning strategies in and out of the field of second language (henceforth L2). She defines strategies as the conscious plans or actions taken by learners to improve their progress in developing L2 skills and their communicative abilities. Oxford claims that according to research, explicit instruction on language learning strategies is beneficial for students in one of two main areas: overall proficiency or specific skill improvement. From this perspective, it is believed that explicit instruction on language learning strategies allows students to become good language learners who know, and understand that the use of strategies can be beneficial and even transferable to other fields of study.
Initially, some subjective questions were addressed to the students to provide a brief background about the individuals language. In addition, the answers to the questions provided helped in supporting the analysis carried throughout this project, as they are factors in affecting the acquisition and learning of the language. The first query required the age of the student, nationality, mother tongue, gender, languages spoken, personal desire to learn English and whether the school they attended was a private or public
It has been shown that Second Language Acquisition (SLA,) takes time and occurs in stages (Ferris, 1995). In addition, second language (L2) learners go through various stages of acquisition of different elements of the second language and they may make errors. These errors may be caused by inappropriate transference of first language patterns or by incomplete knowledge of the L2 (Ferris, 1995).
Learning a second language is a hard and complex task because it involves much commitment from both the learner and the facilitator. In addition to the commitment and the hard mental process that the learner goes through, there is a group of factors involved in the learning process. Among these factors are the person attempting to learn the second language is, and what is meant by this is, where they come from, the economic limitations they may have, how, when, and where the learning takes place. It is also important to understand their social and cultural background, to be aware of their intellectual capacity, and what inclines them to learn a second language, as well
First of all, we have to find out the reason of why a people cannot learn English in an efficient way. According to Gardner and Symthe (1981), because of getting interest in something, therefore they hope to be success in learning English. This Intrinsic motivation or emotion is called English Learning Motivation. And according to Cheung Chun Hing (1996), Motivation makes a student start and maintain the learning activities. And for Learning a second language, motivation is also a really important streng...
In spite of the fact that students usually think they have trouble in learning a new language, it is undeniable that there are many advantages because of it. Learning second language can give assistant to enriching experience, doing research and advancing study in the student life and being more competitive to get a job. Moreover, it can strengthen the brain and create a new aspect to think in the whole
Your personality plays a huge role in how you learn a language. Students that are shy, introverts may struggle with acquisition, but may not struggle with learning language. Acquisition requires you to step out of your comfort zone, and learn through putting yourself out there and making those mistakes and learning from them. The best way to acquire a language is by using it, and if you are uncomfortable talking or if you are afraid of sounding silly, then you will have a harder time learning a language. Sociocultural factors also have a major influence in acquiring a second language. Some students come from cultures that believe it is most appropriate when students go to school to sit and listen. Also, some students grow up in a situation where their culture is very tight knit and strives to keep their native language and culture intact. As a result, someone might not feel motivated to learn an L2 because they prefer their native language and don’t want to immerse themselves into the American culture. Some cultures remain more distant than others, and this can make it harder for
As the global communities migrate from their native home lands to new countries and regions, the need to learn a new language becomes an imminent requirement. Learning second language for an individual with not back ground to the language can be a serious proposition which can results in seriously straining the individual. This makes it very important to select a learning strategy very carefully to prevent complicating the learning process and also one which will help speed up the entire learning process (Bitchener 2007). With this in mind there are three main approaches linked to learning a 2nd language namely the behaviourist, Halliday’s and Chomsky’s approaches. Each of these adopts different learning theories but that all promote
Second Language learning is necessitated by the different situations of different people. For instance, it can be for social or academic purposes. Learners are affected by many factors in the second language acquisition process such as level of cognitive development, socio-economic and cultural background, age, motivation or ability and intelligence (Gomleksiz, 2001; Wisniewski, 2007). This paper will however concentrate on how intelligence or aptitude and motivation affect the learning of a second language.