Students Attitudes towards Motivation and Technology in a Turkish Language Classroom - Research Proposal Example

Research proposal attitudes towards Motivation and Technology in a Turkish Language room Abstract The attitudes that students hold in regard to the learning environment have a critical role in the outcomes achieved from learning. Within the language learning environment, motivation and the application of technology are two elements that have been increasingly identified as affecting the effectiveness and capacity for students to understand the language. Existing perceptions, however, result in positive or negative attitudes towards these fundamental elements of motivation and technology. This article presents an investigation into the role of the attitudes of students on motivation and technology in language learning, within a Turkish language classroom. The study focuses on how the existing attitudes affect the motivation and technology use by students, within this environment. Within the scope of the review, various studies are undertaken in relation to motivation, attitudes and technology in language learning. The participants are adult students enrolled into a B1 Turkish language. The main topics discussed are the attitudes of students and their roles in motivation and the utilisation of technology in the language learning environment Keywords: attitudes, CALL, Technology, motivation, language learning Introduction The motivation and attitudes expressed by students is one of the critical factors that has been determined as having significant impact on the success of computer assisted language learning (CALL) environment (Doherty 2002; Brandl 2002). The attitudes that students hold are examined within a socio-educational context, while the language acquisition contexts are examined according to the motivation for the foreign language learning. The application of technology through the CALL approach appears to be a motivating factor for the students when learning a new language. Motivation has been identified as a condition that results from and can also be affected by effective instruction in language learning (Winne & Marx 1989). The application of technology within the CALL environment seeks to enhance the effectiveness of the instruction provided to learners. Based on such presumptions, it becomes plausible to speculate that motivation could have significant effect in successfully implementing CALL; and the CALL environment can be able to motivate learners once technological elements have been integrated within the environment. Within the education system language teachers and students have integrated modern technology into their teaching and learning processes respectively. There is need however to be selective of the technological method that a teacher utilises in delivering the material required to conduct the teaching. In the past, the process has included providing theory first before a practical follows on the same subject matter (Li & Ni 2011). During this era of technological advancement, the theory is delivered together as a way of trying to motivate the students into adopting the new methodologies of learning, which could be helpful in the process of understanding the information being taught (Hrastinski 2009). According to Li & Ni (2011), comprehensive delivery of the teaching process requires teachers and students to have computer skills in order to utilise the CALL environment in teaching language. While computers have a significant importance in education, they are fundamentally utilised in the delivery of technological learning methods in language classes (Bordbar 2010). The utilisation of computers provides technological opportunities for enhancing language education and leads to wider development. The utilisation of computers in language education is not a methodology for delivering learning, but rather a medium through which the education can be delivered, when it is integrated into the methodological practice (Kuo 2008). Despite the advantages that the application of computers brings to the learning environment, the implementation of CALL remains relatively low within many learning environments. Within the many schools where computers are available their utilisation in language teaching is limited due to the skill level of the teachers (Gülbahar 2007). Although technology has been significantly advanced and can be effectively adopted to enhance the teaching of language, technological tools have not been greatly utilised in the learning environment. There are numerous problems which have faced the implementation process of the technological tools for teaching language. The perceptions of teachers and students regarding the utilisation of computers in the language learning platform have resulted in the development of different attitudes towards technology. Although there are studies which have been conducted in different countries regarding the attitudes of learners on CALL, there are limited studies which have been conducted in Turkey. Conducting such studies could involve the utilisation of the available information regarding the attitudes of students towards motivation and technological tools in language learning. This study will seeks to answer the following questions What are the perceptions of students that hinder their utilisation of technological tools in language learning? How do these attitudes, held by students, affect their level of motivation and the utilisation of technological tools? What changes can be implemented in CALL to overcome the various challenges which have caused the reduced utilisation of CALL within the learning environment. Literature review Motivation is a widely studies field in psychology and education as the stakeholders seek to understand the role it plays in learning capability. The interest of psychological studies within educations seeks to explore the perceptions of teachers that motivation is a fundamental factor that affects the performance of students (Dörnyei 2001). Gardner’s socio-educational model of motivation has identified motivation as a factor comprising of the integration of attitudes of the students towards the learning situation. This models seeks to determine the impact which the attitude of students has on the motivation of learners within different learning environments (Gardner & MacIntyre 1992). Alternative models for understanding motivation have also been proposed by other different studies conducted later. Many studies have been conducted seeking to understand the causal relationship between the attitudes and motivation, but focus on existing variables affecting this relations is also necessary (Dörnyei 1998). Individual indifference factors have been identified as elements which could affect the development of attitude and ultimately influence the motivation of learners. These factors cause the learners to have different attitudes towards the motivations and the learning environment in general (Gardner & Lambert 1959). According to Gardner and MacIntyre 1992, the attitudes of students emanate from both formal and informal factors, which influence both linguistic and non-linguistic outcomes. The instructional aids used by teachers are deemed essential since they have a significant impact on how the students react to the learning (Lee 2010). The degree of success in language acquisition affects the feelings of students and therefore influences the various variables which have been identified to impact attitude and motivation. The attitudes of learners are expressed through the behaviours shown by the students while within the classroom setting. This can be utilised to determine the motivation of students towards the learning environment and the entire classroom experience (Dörnyei & Ushioda 2013). A positive attitude could instil a desire by students to learn and create satisfaction to the students form the learning experience. While the role of attitudes upon motivation and the technology used within the classroom might be explored, these elements have a relationship in which they can also influence each other (Gardner 2000). The learning situation, which involves the application of technological tolls, could also affect the development of attitudes and motivations of students towards the language acquisition. Investigation undertaken by Van Aacken in 1999 sought to determine the role of attitudes and motivation among learners using CALL. Contents of the technological programme being utilised in delivering the learning have been found to have a significant effect upon learners, while mastering of the language was significant affected by a positive attitude towards the CALL programme (Van Aacken 1999). Despite the study having utilised quite a small sample, it supports the notion of positive perception, indicated through the attitudes of students, has a significant effect on the effectiveness of CALL as a learning tool (Laurillard 2013). Many teachers commonly utilise CALL in creating a technology enhanced learning environment within their classroom. The application of technology appears to ease the peer pressure upon the learners and reduce anxiety, consequently making the students feel comfortable with the learning environment. The components of the technological tool are essential in the enhancement of students’ activity. The application of technology within the learning environment enhances the process of sharing while making some manual aspects of learning to become relatively simplified (Adair-Hauck et al. 2000). This has been identified as the most probable reason why learners appear to be more motivated and holding positive perceptions bout the technological tools in delivering the learning in class. The application of technology enhanced instruction in various language classrooms has been increasingly utilised within many setting. This is because various positive aspects have been achieved through the inclusion of technology as a tool for delivering learning (Salaberry 2001). While there are many benefits that have been achieved through technology enhanced instruction the most notable include motivation to the students, mastery of basic language concepts and improvement of the self-concept. This has mainly been associated with the fact that technology enhanced learning delivery methods are more interactive hence the students become better engaged within the learning process (Dwyer 1996). Additionally, the multimedia effect in the utilisation of technology enhanced learning has also been beneficial to low achieving individuals when effectively utilised to demonstrate concepts and present factual information (Nowaczyk et al. 1998). There are numerous advantages that can be gained from the application of technology within a classroom setting. Many of these factors have been identified as the reasons that result in students preferring the technology tools in delivering teaching. The utilisation of CALL has been associated with improved writing skills among learners as well as fluidity in conversation (Beauvois 1998). The interaction of the students with the machines utilised in creating the technological tools ensures that they fells a level of independence from the interferences and dominance of the teacher. The levels of confidence amongst students increase within the independence and attitudes change towards the approaches being utilised in delivering the language learning process. Methodology and procedures Participants The participants are students who have enrolled from Turkish language classes and they are all adults. This category of participants are all adults and their participation will provide important information to determine the thoughts about CALL, and how it has helped them in learning the Turkish language. The research utilises the entire census of the study and there is no sampling process since the total number of students is 16 and each can be accessed for research to be undertaken. The study only focuses of the students and does not include the teachers. Within the learning process, the students meet with the teacher 2 times a week and the entire course is supposed to consumer 140 hours of classwork. Despite the students meeting with the teacher, the learning classrooms have a computer allocated for every student through which the CALL programme is delivered. The students study independently using these computers on the CALL platform which is accessible through the computer allocated to each student. Data collection Both quantitative and qualitative data will be collected in studying the role of attitudes held by students on motivation and use of technology within the language learning environment. The data collected will include the background of the students, various measures of attitudes and motivation towards the technological tools as well as descriptive data for the learning environments where the learning takes place. The data collection will take place through the entire semester as several numbers of questionnaires will be administered. The duration will allow for any significant changes to be observed and be recorded in order to develop clearly conclusive findings. Questionnaire Three sets of questionnaires will be administered to all the participants over the period of the study. These questionnaires will seek to determine the background, attitudes, motivation and the use of technology within a language learning class. The background questionnaires will be administered to determine, the general background and the technological background for the participants. The general background questionnaire will gather demographic information about the participants like age, native language, other languages, and even the reason for enrolling into a language class. The technology background questionnaire on the other hand will establish factual information about the participants experience in using technology like games, internet, chats and many other methods. Observation The researcher will make observation as the semester continues to assess any observable changes in behaviours of the students which result from any observable changes in attitudes. These observations will be made in relation to the information contained within the questionnaires in seeking to authenticate them. Data analysis The analysis of collected data will be focused on the questions which have developed for the purpose of the research. This will include analysing the data through grouping it into necessary categories aiming at answering the questions of the research. Repeated-measure analyses of variance will be utilised in assessment and comparison of gains over time in technology and motivation. ANOVA will be used for the variables identified in comparing attitudes towards motivation and technology Research question 1 The background information will be critical to the analysis of the data when answering the question. An Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (ATMB) design for university students will be utilised in studying the attitudes of students. The attitudes will be studied in relation to motivation and technology within the classroom setting. The mean of the data collected will be established for researcher to determine the levels of impact of attitudes on the motivation and technology use within the language learning environment. Research question 2 Within the socio-educational framework, there are multiple factors which have been identified as possible affecting the technology use and motivation as a result of attitudes. These factors which influence attitudes will be analysed in order to determine the impact of the attitudes on technology use and motivation. Correlational analysis of the results established from question one will be undertaken in order to examine any existing relationships. Factorial analysis could be inappropriate because of the small number of participants in the study. Research question 3 Qualitative data collected will be analysed through descriptive statistics in seeking to determine different approaches which could be utilised to enhance the positive effects while mitigating the negative ones. NVivo will be used to make the analysis of the qualitative data collected, because it enables deep analysis to be conducted on small volumes of data. Through this approach various patterns of motivation and technology use will be established through focusing on the existing attitudes of students. This will enable essential changes to be adopted in seeking to improve the process of delivering learning through CALL. Conclusion This study will empirically investigate the role of students’ attitudes towards motivation and technology within the language learning environment. The proposed Gardner and MacIntyre framework will be utilised in interpreting the findings of the research. This is one of the best known approaches which has been developed in studying motivation and technology use within the language learning environment (Rifai 2010). The element of procrastination has been commonly reported within the context of CALL in language learning. This could be a motivating factor for students when they are utilising technological tools in learning and they could find it more interesting (Ushida 2005; Gilbert 2001). The attitude which the students hold towards these approaches can emanate from their understanding of the advantages presented by the technological methods of language learning. While the attitude that students hold have a significant effect on their perceptions of technology and motivation, these elements also affect the development of attitude as well. The existence of different attitudes towards these determinants of the learning environment creates a significant discrepancy between the students through the outcomes of the learning. The background of the individuals results in attitudes which might make it difficult for some students to adapt to the learning environment regardless of the techniques and tools being used in teaching. Positive attitude could lead to motivated students and also enhance their effective utilisation of technology, which is essential in enhancing learning (Harrison & Thomas 2009). Further research is however essential in seeking to increase the understanding of technology enhanced language learning (TELL) environment. This would enable the approach to be implemented in an effective manner. References Van Aacken, S., 1999. 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