On Motivation of College Students in Learning English.docx
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On Motivation of College Students in Learning English.docx
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OnMotivationofCollegeStudentsinLearningEnglish
Introduction
Motivation,asanimportantfactorfromtheviewofpsycholinguisticsinlearningasecondlanguage,helpstodeterminethelevelofproficiencyachievedbydifferentlearners.Thus,agreatdealofresearcheshavebeendoneontheroleofmotivationinsecondlanguagelearning,especiallyinEnglish.Thelastfourdecadeswitnessedmanyresearchesthatinvestigatedthenatureandroleofmotivationinsecondlanguagelearning.Gardner&Lambert(1972)andalotofotherforeignscholarshavedonemostpioneeringinvestigationonmotivation.
ThereisnodoubtthatmotivationisavitalfactoranddeterminantinEnglishlearning.Forcollegenon-Englishmajorstudents,Englishteachinghasbecomeespeciallyimportant.SomeresearchesonChinesestudents’Englishlearningmotivationhavebeenmade.Butithasputmuchfocusontheexternalfactorswhichconcernthelanguageitselfandtheteachingsuchastheresultofexams,neglectingtheimportanceoftheinternaloneslikethestudents’interestsoflanguageitself.However,inordertofindoutwaystopromoteeffectivelearning,theintegrativefactorsmustbeputintoconsideration.ThispaperexplorestwotypesofmotivationofcollegestudentslearningEnglishasaforeignlanguage.
Tobespecific,besidestheIntroductionandtheConclusions,thisthesisconsistsofthreechapters:
ChapterOnereviewsthefundamentalconceptsandtheoriesofmotivation,thentheimportanceandthemaintheoriesonmotivationaresimplyintroduced.
ChapterTwopresentstheresearchmethodology,includingselectionofthesubjects,theresultsanddiscussionabouttheinvestigationaswell.
InChapterThree,suggestionsforenhancingEnglishlearningmotivation,suchasinspiringstudents’interestanddevelopingapleasantclassroomatmosphereinEnglishteachingarepresented.
Chapter1:
LiteratureReview
MotivationisconsideredasoneofthemostinfluentialfactorsinthefieldofL2learning.TeachersandresearchersviewmotivationasakeyfactorinL2learningandtheyconcernwhetherthestudentsarewellmotivatedandwillingtolearn.Tolookfortheanswer,manyscholarshavebeendoneinrecentyears.Butstillthereisalongwaytogotofindwaystomotivatethelearners.
1.1TheDefinitionofMotivation
Whatismotivation?
Thenotionofmotivation,asineveryotherfieldofhumanengagement,isacrucialforcewhichdetermineswhetheralearnerembarksonataskatall,howmuchenergyhedevotestoit,andhowlongheperseveres.Gardner(1985)indicatesthatthemotivationofforeignlanguagelearningcontainsfouraspects:
agoal,effortfulbehavior,adesiretoattainthegoalandattitude.StudentswhohavestronglearningmotivationtakeacorrectandpositiveattitudetowardsstudyandmakegreateffortstomasterEnglishwithcleargoalanddesireandconsequentlygainbettergradethanthosewhohaven’tacquiredmotivationandthosestudentsusuallyregardEnglishlearningasaheavyandboringburden.Inaword,motivationissomethingbehindone'sbehaviorthatimpelsonetoaccomplishcertainneedsortoattainsomegoals.Onlywhenwehaveastrongdesiretodosomethingandmakegreatefforts,canwemakesomeachievements.ItisthesameforthemotivationofleaningEnglish.Studentsarewillingtolearntheknowledgethatisnewandinterestinginthepurposeoffulfillingoftheircuriosity,theneedtoknowandfeelingofcompetenceandgrowththatcauseintrinsicmotivation.Theirpurposeoflearningisalsotheenjoymentofthelearningprocessnotforpraiseorrewards.
Motivationhasbeenidentifiedasthelearner'sorientationwithregardtothegoaloflearningasecondlanguage(CrookesandSchmidt,1991).Motivationcanbedescribedinmanytypesandthemainbroadcategoriesareintegrativemotivationandinstrumentalmotivation.Duringtheprocessofsecondlanguagelearning,learnersmustbalancebothtwotypesofmotivation.Onlywhenthedesireofachievingagoal,rightattitudeandrealactioncombinedcantherealmotivationbeformed.
1.2TheClassificationofMotivation
Motivationhasbeenconsideredavitalfactortosuccessfullanguagelearning.AccordingtoGardnerandLambert(1972),motivationcanbeclassifiedintointegrativemotivationandinstrumentalmotivation.
(1)IntegrativeMotivation
Theusualmeaningofmotivationfortheteacherisprobablytheinterestthatsomethinggeneratesinthestudents.Aparticularactivity,aparticulartopic,aparticularsong,maymakethestudentsactivelyappearinvolveintheclass.Ofcourse,mereenjoymentshowedbythestudentsisnotnecessarilyasignthatlearningistakingplace.Inthissenseitisjustashort-termaffairfrommomenttomomentintheclass.
Motivationinsecondlanguage learninghas,instead,chieflybeenusedtorefertothelong-termfairlystableattitudesinthestudents’minds. Itisthoughtthatstudentswhoaremostsuccessfulwhenlearningatargetlanguagearethosewholikethepeoplethatspeakthelanguage,admirethecultureandhaveadesiretobecomefamiliarwithorevenintegrateintothesocietyinwhichthelanguageisused(Falk1978).Thiskindofmotivationisknownasintegrativemotivation.Itreflectswhetherthestudentidentifieswiththetargetcultureandpeopleinsomeother’s,orrejectsthem,whichmeanswhetherthestudentswillbeabletoparticipatemoreactivelyintheactivitiesofotherculturalcommunities.Themoreastudentadmiresthetargetculture,readsitsliterature,visitsitonholiday,looksforopportunitiestopracticethelanguage,andsoon;themoresuccessfulthestudentsinlearningthelanguage.Whensomeonebecomesaresidentinanewcommunity,heneedstousethetargetlanguageinitssocialinteractions.Itbecomesnecessaryforhimtooperatesociallyinthecommunityandbecomeoneofitsmembers.Then,integrativemotivationplaysakeyroleinassistingthelearnertodevelopsomelevelofproficiencyinthelanguage.Itisalsotheorizedthat"integrativemotivationtypicallyunderliessuccessfulacquisitionofawiderangeofregistersandanative-likepronunciation"(Finegan1999:
568).
(2)InstrumentalMotivation
Incontrasttointegrativemotivationistheformofmotivationreferredtoasinstrumentalmotivation.Instrumentalmotivationmeansthatstudyispushedforwardbyexternalforceanddominatedbyexteriorcircumstances,suchasdiplomaandscore,upgradingandgettingemployment,praisingandcriticizing,thepressurefromparentsandteachers,competingforwinningvictory.Itisasanoutwardforceintheformofexpectation,praiseandrewardspowersstudentsinEnglishlearning.Itexistswhenindividualsaremotivatedbyanoutcomethatisexternalorfunctionallyunrelatedtotheactivityinwhichtheyareengaged(CherylL.Spaulding,1992,P4).Instrumentalmotivationisalsocalled“task-orientedmotivation”or“certificatemotivation”.Thisisgenerallycharacterizedbythedesiretoobtainsomethingpracticalorconcretefromthestudyofasecondlanguage(Hudson,2000).Withinstrumentalmotivation,studentslearnasecondlanguageforanulteriormotiveunrelatedtoitsusebynativespeakers.Thepurposeoflanguageacquisitionismorepractical,suchaspassinganexamination,gettingacertainkindofjob,requestinghigherpaybasedonlanguageability,readingtechnicalmaterial,translationworkorachievinghighersocialstatusandsoon.Instrumentalmotivationisoftencharacteristicofsecondlanguageacquisition,wherelittleornosocialintegrationofthelearnerintoacommunityusingthetargetlanguagetakesplace,orinsomeinstancesisevendesired.Inaword,instrumentalmotivationisgenerallycharacterizedbythedesiretoobtainsomethingpracticalorconcretefromthestudyofasecondlanguage.Aninstrumentalmotivationseemstobethemajorforcedeterminingsuccessinthesecondlanguagelearning.
(3)Integrativevs.InstrumentalMotivation
Bothintegrativeandinstrumentalmotivationsareimportant,inseparableandcomplementarytoeachotherinEnglishlearning.Integrativemotivationisthetypeofinnerdrivethatpropelsstudentsforwardandonwardwithcontinuousenergyfueledbyitsowncuriosityandinterest.However,intherealworldnotallofthestudentsareautomaticallyenergizedtoperformthisorthattask,ortolearnaboutthisorthattopic. Itisclearthatinstrumentalmotivatorsaresometimesnecessaryeither1)togetstudentsstartedinthefirstplace,or2)tostartthemdownatrackthattheymightnotknowexists(DonHamachek,1989,p267).However,overstressingtheuseofinstrumentalmotivationcanstifleintegrativemotivation.
Whilebothintegrativeandinstrumentalmotivationsareessentialelementsofsuccess,itisintegrativemotivationthathasbeenfoundtosustainlong-termsuccesswhenlearningasecondlanguage(Taylor,MeynardandRheault1977;Ellis1997;Crookesetal1991).InsomeoftheearlyresearchconductedbyGardnerandLambert(1972)integrativemotivationwasviewedasbeingofmoreimportanceinaformallearningenvironmentthaninstrumentalmotivation(Ellis1997).Inlaterstudies,integrativemotivationhascontinuedtobeemphasized,althoughnowtheimportanceofinstrumentalmotivationisalsostressednowadays.Theintegrativemotivationisusuallyregardedasapartoflearners’character.Itchangeslittleandsubtleastimepasses.Onthecontrary,instrumentalmotivationlastsforashortperiodoftimeandneedstobestrengthenedcontinuously.Itisbasedoncertainintentions.Ithasbeenfoundthatgenerallystudentsselectinstrumentalreasonsmorefrequentlythanintegrativereasonsforthestudyoflanguage.
Inconclusion,integrativemot
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