Success or Failure in the Second Language Learning - Assignment Example

When trying to explain any success or failure in second language (L2) learning, the term motivation is often used by teachers and alike. Indeed, motivation is one of the key learner factors that determines the rate and success of L2 attainment: it provides the primary impetus to initiate learning the L2 and later the driving force to sustain the long learning process. Without sufficient motivation, even individuals with the most remarkable abilities cannot accomplish long-term goals. Motivation has been regarded as one of the most important factors in the process of second language learning in recent years. According to the study, the reasons why some motivated students become demotivated are multifaceted. But we found teachers played an important role in this process. Most students depend greatly on their teachers to motivate them. So teachers should attach more importance in this field and try to find out ways to maintain the high motivation and create situations to make students become more motivated. In recent years, motivation has become a familiar term in second language learning. Many teachers and researchers now believe that motivation is one of the most important factors that determine the rate and success of L2 attainment: it provides the primary impetus to initiate learning the L2 and later the driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning process. Without sufficient motivation, even individuals with the most remarkable abilities cannot accomplish long-term goals, and there are no appropriate curricula and good teaching to ensure student achievement. On the other hand, high motivation can make up for considerable deficiencies both in one’s language aptitude and learning conditions; indeed, for the great majority of L2 learners the principle that ‘you can get it if you really want to’is true. However, as English teachers, we often find that in the language-learning classroom, English practitioner can easily find that quite a few students are demotivated. They are unwilling to get involved in activities and various tasks. They seem to have lost interest and become more and more numbed or frustrated with their learning. Consequently, they lose their confidence. De motivation has detrimental impact on students ’foreign language learning outcomes. Zoltan Dornyei book takes a practical approach to teaching motivational strategies in the language classroom, and gives the teacher strategies that they can use to motivate language learners .His book gives the teacher examples of strategies they can use to motivate language learners. Motivation is one of the key learner factors that determines the rate and success of L2 learning. This book takes a practical approach to teaching motivations strategies in the language classroom, and gives the teacher strategies that they can use to motivate language learners. Some feature of his book is as follow Features * Offers an up-to-date summary of the latest developments in both applied linguistics and motivational psychology. * Provides a theoretical summary of the various facets of motivation. * Covers both theory and practice in a down-to-earth and accessible style. * Includes concrete research guidelines and tips for both novice and experienced users. * Examines how the theoretical insights can help classroom practitioners in their everyday teaching practice. * Looks at how motivation can be researched and assessed, describing the main research traditions and offering many practical recommendations and tips. * The final section of the book contains a variety of useful resources, including relevant web-sites, lists of key reference works and over 150 actual questionnaire items that the author has successfully used in the past. * Addresses two related, but so far largely overlooked topics of demotivation and teacher motivation * The text is accompanied by regular concept boxes, quote boxes and sample boxes which summarise basic issues, present the individual voices of key scholars in the field, and provide concrete classroom examples and strategies. * The research section contains the description of several sample research studies, and also lists a large variety of research questions and researchable topics to inspire future research. Indeed, research has shown that for many teachers problems about motivating pupils are the second most serious source of difficulty (after maintaining classroom discipline), preceding other obviously important issues such as the effective use of different teaching methods, a knowledge of the subject matter, and the capable use of textbooks and curriculum guides. If you have ever tried to teach a language class with reluctant, lethargic or uncooperative students, you will know from bitter personal experience that researchers got it right this time (for a review of L2 motivation research, see Zoltán Dörnyei: Teaching and Researching Motivation; Longman, 2001). Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom by Zoltan Dornyei is a delightful quick read. It flows and excites us with many of the familiar psychological concepts that most of us have had in bits and pieces spread out over our careers. It collects all these together in an orderly framework, and goes further by offering a process-oriented conception of motivation, one that contests the idea of a pre-set and constant motivational disposition in students. This process-model allows us to understand more completely the "roller coaster of language learning" (Murphey 1998, p. 1) that not only students but also teachers seem to be on. After briefly reviewing previous theories and concepts in chapter one, Dornyei organizes the rest of the book in terms of his process model in the next four chapters: (Ch. 2) Creating the basic motivational conditions, (Ch. 3) Generating initial motivation, (Ch. 4) Maintaining and protecting motivation, and (Ch. 5) Rounding off the learning experiences: Encouraging positive self-evaluation. Dörnyei introduces his new model, which relates L2 motivation to a theory of self and identity. A key aspect of the model is the notion of the possible self, which represents an individuals ideas of what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they are afraid of becoming (p. 99, italics in original), while the ideal self represents the attributes that someone would like to possess (p.101) and the ought self refers to the attributes that one believes one ought to possess (p.101). According to Dörnyei, motivation involves the desire to reduce the discrepancy between ones actual and ideal or ought selves (p.101). By drawing on the concept of the ideal self, the author explains an apparently curious finding in Cziser & Dörnyeis (2005) study, i.e. that integrativeness is related to instrumentality and attitudes to the L2 community. The final, concluding chapter of the book pulls all the threads together and addresses the crucial question of what might be the best way of establishing a motivation-sensitive teaching practice. There is so much for L2 teachers to pay attention to in the classroom – language content, teaching methodology, timing, administration, discipline, etc. – that for many of us taking on another onerous burden (i.e. to be on a constant motivational alert) may be asking for too much. So what do we do? I believe that what we should aim for is to become a good enough motivator rather than striving unreasonably to achieve Supermotivator status. Although Motivational strategies in the Language Classroom contains over 100 practical suggestions, I dont think that we have to apply all of them to do a decent job – personally, I have consistently used only a fraction of the strategies discussed. What we need is quality rather than quantity: A few well-chosen strategies that suit both us and our learners might take us beyond the threshold of the good enough motivator, creating an overall positive motivational climate in the classroom. Indeed, some of the most motivating teachers often rely on a few basic techniques! Therefore, the book ends with outlining a stepwise approach to select our own set of personalised motivational techniques that would suit our teaching style and the learner group well. The Dialectic Communication Context I Wanting to offer a contribution in this sense, I want to call collective attention to the causative relation between the use of language for (in)formative communication and the formation of personality, and, most of all, I want to explain the educative function of what I call "negative language". The function of "negative language" has been aptly summarized by Jan Slakow, for which I warmly thank her, as follows: The way parents use language with their children has a definite impact on how the children will develop. In particular, if we wish our children to develop their capacity for Critical Thinking, Self-reliance and Flexibility, we should learn to use what is called "negative language". The concept of "negative language" must be considered in opposition to the "No-contradiction Principle" (or "positive language"). According to the "No-contradiction Principle", if one parent tells a child something, the other parent (or significant other) should concur. In this way, children become used to the idea of following authority figures, rather than questioning received wisdom and thinking for themselves. This might well be acceptable in an unchanging world. But the world we live in is constantly changing and people need to develop FLEXIBILITY in order to adapt to the changes.Conversely, if one parents makes a statement (a "positive truth") and the other expresses a contradictory opinion (a "Negative truth", or "negative language"), the child faces a dilemma. In order to go beyond this dilemma situation, if both parents statements were well-balanced, the child is obliged to use (and develop) its ability for Critical Thinking, Self-reliance and Autonomy, in a word: Flexibility. One could argue:"But children need positive language to learn the truths that are necessary for survival!" I would answer: "No, dear sir. Those truths must be taught by acts, not by words! You must not insist your child follow your words, regardless of how you act, even if your words are not in contradiction with your actions..." In any language practice that sees its "speaking subject" in the person who delivers the message and its "object" in the person who receives it, everyone who creates information seems essentially to have the purpose of obtaining the consent and trust of the "object"of the communication practice to which one delivered ones message. Further, the speaking "subject" could present her message according to two different variants, depending more or less on the adherence of the message--and of herself--to objective reality.Furthermore, whoever creates information can address it to people that are either equipped with an autonomous, critical and flexible personality, or to people who possess a rigid, psycho-dependent and conservative personality. So what Im going to consider now is both the power of a message to convince, which could depend on either the content of "truth" of the message and thereby its adherence to the reality, and/or the gullibility of the listener. And in this latter case, the quite independent issue of the adherence of the same message to reality. The problem of the relationship between a messages "content of truth" and its power to convince is of considerable importance whenever the content appears different or somehow new, with respect to what had been already said in that communication context, and had therefore already been accepted as common knowledge. Actually, the problem of the relationship between truth and belief becomes particularly evident when the message is directed to modify the context of common knowledge or its contents. Actually, from everybodys experience it emerges that just as someone who receives the message has a mentality which is rigidly dependent on their traditional leaders, that person is likewise impenetrable to any proposal for change coming from the outside; but if vice versa someone is endowed with an autonomous, flexible personality, such a person will be permeable to the novelty contained in the message, even though it doesnt come from the local leadership. it is sufficient to take as the ideal instance the more basic communication context where the neuro-psychical mind-frame of the recipient begins to attain its eventual arrangement: either dependent on, and dominated by an external authority, or autonomous and flexible. This basic context is the Family, where the child opening to life and communication can learn – or alternatively exclude, depending upon the nature of the imprinted conditioning – the use of negative language towards the synthesis of his/her own belief and behaviour. Obviously, the best condition for the child is to develop a flexible mind-frame, suitable for reflexive thinking and for an autonomous synthesis as the solution of conflicts between opposite opinions, on the basis of a considered, autonomous acceptance and responsible choice. A flexible mind-frame is the product of the critical faculties and an increase in the amount of nervous connections between the rigid nervous circuits of the brain in the area of conservative memory and “positive” thinking, and the logical simulating circuits that are the domain of “negative” language. The prospect and potential for a more balanced mind-frame in our children goes together with the parents’ deliberately adopting a well-defined, regulated model of educational family communication, called Dialectic Education. [2] Such a progressive attitude towards the young, characterized by an open, dialectical, peer-to-peer encounter between the “positive” thesis of one parent, and the possibly “negative” antithesis of the other, provides an equally good and necessary dualistic benison to offer any recipient – particularly children – the gift of creative space and a synthetic opportunity for mental growth . On the other hand, what else is human creativity but a reliance on the brain to derive a synthesis from the dialectical clash between positive and negative thoughts and language? As we hesitantly cross the threshold into the Third Millennium and enter a world of accelerated change, it is not so important to take the first step with either our right or left foot, from either the positive or the negative use of words. The best way forward is to be flexible on the highway into the unknown. Aims and functions of Communication The success of every dialectic communication depends on the speaker’s power to convince and the addressee’s extent to which he can be convinced. As mentioned above, this power depends both on the degree of adherence to reality by the speaker and the degree of cognitive autonomy, or receptivity, by the listener. Where the degree of gullibility is highest, the degree of adherence to objective reality by the addressor becomes less important. In other words it is easier to persuade a gullible person of anything, a strict regard for the reality of the objective world being not too necessary towards persuading. This fact is especially evident for messages where adherence to objective reality cannot be verified in the short term: mostly those with a political or social content. The connection between the truth-content of a message and its power to convince is particularly relevant when the message is designed to modify the conventional collective beliefs and public opinion. In such case the message appears to be different, or to some extent new, as regards what had been already stated in the given social context and had been already accepted as common knowledge by the collectivity. Such instances typically parallel that of the Thesis-Antithesis relationship in Dialectics.There is evidence that if the addressee of the “new” has a mindframe heavily dependent on the acceptance of “theses” coming from, and supported by, the collective societal authorities, he or she will very likely reject any antithetic proposals coming from another source, even if the latter’s adherence to objective reality were highest. Conversely, if an addressee with an autonomous and flexible mindframe, receives such a message, he or she will be able to take into full account the “new” contents and ramifications, even if its source did not enjoy social authority or recognition. Motivation in the Classroom Teachers responsiveness to and empathic understanding of students perceptions when they are not motivated are critical in a) promoting students ownership of the literacy learning agenda; b) in helping students with their motivational difficulties; and c) in establishing classrooms that focus on the enhancement of caring. Rohrkemper (1989) proposed a Vygotskian perspective on adaptive learning that emphasizes the role of classroom interactions. Rohrkemper defined adaptive learning as "the ability to take charge of frustration and maintain the intention to learn while enacting effective task strategies in the face of uncertainty - taking charge of ones motivation, emotion, and thinking" (1989, p. 143). Rohrkemper emphasized the importance of interactions with others, as well as with tasks, in working through problems with difficult learning. Rohrkemper and Corno (1988) found that children can learn important adaptive strategies when they are confronted with stressful situations, and argued that these adaptive strategies can and should be deliberately promoted within classrooms. As students learn to cope with stress and boredom and to respond flexibly to new situations, they become able to take control of their own learning. Cullen (1985) identified four types of responses in students reacting to school failure: a) strategy oriented, b) action oriented, c) anxiety oriented, and d) anger oriented. Parallels to Cullens four types were found in the students responses to motivational struggles reported in this paper. Cullen (1981) also found that the negative emotions that children felt when they failed in their first attempts to complete a task interfered with their ability to use meta cognitive strategies “The only facts that stay are the ones we were forced to memorize again and again, and those we were not forced to memorize at all but that we learned because we truly needed to know them, because we were motivated to know them. Motivation can be induced artificially, but its effects then are temporary. There is no substitute for the real thing Failure of Extrinsic Motivation Students who are naturally curious when faced with an extrinsic reward do generate questions, but those questions have little to do with the content the teacher wishes to convey. Instead the questions are of the nature of: "How can I bend the rules to win the game?" or "Whats the least amount of effort I can put in and still satisfy the teacher?"A better way to motivate students to learn dull material is to give them the opportunity to achieve some goal that satisfies two conditions: One, that students have had a real interest in the goal, and two, that the uninteresting information is "intrinsically" related to the goal; in order to achieve the goal, one sometimes must use the uninteresting information Not only does it make the facts seem less trivial, it allows students to properly index those facts. They learn them in a context in which they can 1. Explain. Some recent research shows that many students do poorly on assignments or in participation because they do not understand what to do or why they should do it. Teachers should spend more time explaining why we teach what we do, and why the topic or approach or activity is important and interesting and worthwhile. In the process, some of the teachers enthusiasm will be transmitted to the students, who will be more likely to become interested. Similarly, teachers should spend more time explaining exactly what is expected on assignments or activities. Students who are uncertain about what to do will seldom perform well. 8. Use positive emotions to enhance learning and motivation. Strong and lasting memory is connected with the emotional state and experience of the learner. That is, people remember better when the learning is accompanied by strong emotions. If you can make something fun, exciting, happy, loving, or perhaps even a bit frightening, students will learn more readily and the learning will last much longer. Emotions can be created by classroom attitudes, by doing something unexpected or outrageous, by praise, and by many other means.” (Vallerand, R.J. (1997.) “Towards a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic Motivation.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 29. Pp. 271-360. ) IV. Conclusion Conclusion can be drawn from the study that motivation is an important factor in L2 learning success. However, learners with high motivation can also become demotivated and many students depend greatly on their teachers to motivate them to become good L2 learners. Consequently skills in motivating learners should be seen as central to teaching effectiveness and English language teachers should try to find out different strategies to motivate students to the greatest extent. Zolten Dornyei and Kata Csizer’s ten important strategies in motivating L2 learners can function as references in the practice of teaching. (1998: 203-229) 1) Set a personal example with your own behavior; 2) Create a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere in the classroom; 3) Present the task properly; 4) Develop a good relationship with the learners; 5) Increase the learner’s linguist self-confidence; 6) Make the language class interesting; 7) Promote learner autonomy; 8) Personalize the learning process; 9) Increase the learners’goal orient ness; 10) Familiarize learners with the target language culture References: Gardener. The Role of Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language Learning: Correlational and Experimental Considerations. Language Learning, 35, 2, 207-227, 1985. Good, T.L. and Brophy, J.E. Looking in Classrooms (sixth edition). New York: Harper Collins.1994. Zoltan Dornyei and Kate Csizer. Ten Commandments for Motivating Language Learners: Results of an Empirical Study. Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom Zoltan Dornyei Rohrkemper and Cullen (1985) Truth, belief and Negative language, A Rossin. Dornyei, Zoltan. (2001.) Teaching and Researching Motivation. Harlow; Essex Pearson Education. Vallerand, R.J. (1997.) “Towards a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic Motivation.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 29. Pp. 271-360. Murphey, T. (1998). Language Hungry! Tokyo: MacMillan LanguageHouse. Cziser, K. & Dörnyei, Z. (2005) The internal structure of language learning motivation: results of structural equation modelling. Modern Language Journal 89(1), 19-36. Dörnyei, Z. (2001) Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge: CUP. Dörnyei, Z., ed. (2003) Attitudes, orientations, and motivations in language learning. Oxford: Blackwell. Read More

Some feature of his book is as followFeatures* Offers an up-to-date summary of the latest developments in both applied linguistics and motivational psychology.* Provides a theoretical summary of the various facets of motivation.* Covers both theory and practice in a down-to-earth and accessible style.* Includes concrete research guidelines and tips for both novice and experienced users.* Examines how the theoretical insights can help classroom practitioners in their everyday teaching practice.

* Looks at how motivation can be researched and assessed, describing the main research traditions and offering many practical recommendations and tips.* The final section of the book contains a variety of useful resources, including relevant websites, lists of key reference works, and over 150 actual questionnaire items that the author has successfully used in the past.* Addresses two related, but so far largely overlooked topics of 'demotivation' and 'teacher motivation'* The text is accompanied by regular concept boxes, quote boxes, and sample boxes which summarise basic issues, present the individual voices of key scholars in the field, and provide concrete classroom examples and strategies.

* The research section contains the description of several sample research studies and also lists a large variety of research questions and researchable topics to inspire future research.Indeed, research has shown that for many teachers problems about motivating pupils are the second most serious source of difficulty (after maintaining classroom discipline), preceding other obviously important issues such as the effective use of different teaching methods, a knowledge of the subject matter, and the capable use of textbooks and curriculum guides.

If you have ever tried to teach a language class with reluctant, lethargic, or uncooperative students, you will know from bitter personal experience that researchers got it right this time (for a review of L2 motivation research, see Zoltán Dörnyei: Teaching and Researching Motivation; Longman, 2001). Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom by Zoltan Dornyei is a delightful quick read. It flows and excites us with many of the familiar psychological concepts that most of us have had in bits and pieces spread out over our careers.

It collects all these together in an orderly framework and goes further by offering a process-oriented conception of motivation, one that contests the idea of a pre-set and constant motivational disposition in students. This process model allows us to understand more completely the "roller coaster of language learning" (Murphey 1998, p. 1) that not only students but also teachers seem to be on. After briefly reviewing previous theories and concepts in chapter one, Dornyei organizes the rest of the book in terms of his process model in the next four chapters: (Ch. 2) Creating the basic motivational conditions, (Ch. 3) Generating initial motivation, (Ch. 4) Maintaining and protecting motivation, and (Ch. 5) Rounding off the learning experiences: Encouraging positive self-evaluation.

Dörnyei introduces his new model, which relates L2 motivation to a theory of self and identity. A key aspect of the model is the notion of the 'possible self', which represents an ''individual's ideas of what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they are afraid of becoming'' (p. 99, italics in original), while the 'ideal self' represents ''the attributes that someone would like to possess'' (p.101) and the 'ought self' refers to ''the attributes that one believes one ought to possess'' (p.101). According to Dörnyei, motivation ''involves the desire to reduce the discrepancy between one's actual and ideal or ought selves'' (p.101). By drawing on the concept of the 'ideal self', the author explains an apparently curious finding in Cziser & Dörnyei's (2005) study, i.e. that 'integrativeness' is related to 'instrumentality' and 'attitudes to the L2 community.

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