Motivation and Its Role in Second Language Learning - Essay Example

Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 1.1 Importance of This Paper to Second Language Teaching and Learning 3 1.2 Objectives 3 2.0 Literature Review 4 2.1 Factors Influencing Motivation 4 2.1.1 Integrativeness 5 2.1.2 Instrumentality 5 2.1.3 The Attitudes Towards the Second Language Speakers 6 2.1.4 Cultural Interest 6 2.1.5 Vitality of the Second Language Community 6 2.1.6 Milieu 7 2.1.7 Linguistic Self-Confidence 7 2.2 Types of Motivation 7 2.2.1 Intrinsic Motivation 8 2.2.2 Extrinsic Motivation 8 2.3 Motivation and Language Skills 10 2.3.1 Listening Skills 10 2.3.2 Writing Skills 12 2.3.3 Reading Skills 12 2.3.4 Speaking Skills 13 2.3.5 Vocabulary Skills 13 2.3.6 Translation Skills 14 2.4 Gap Statement 15 3.0 Conclusion 17 4.0 References 19 1.0 Introduction Motivation is considered as the driving force towards accomplishing and realizing the set objectives and targets for any learner. A number of studies have been conducted concerning the key issues behind the learning of the second languages. Among these issues, motivation stands out to be the most fundamental and influential factor in stimulating understanding of the second languages among the learners. This has been “a major subject of research by many scholars who have come up with various ways and strategies that can be applied in order to motivate and cultivate an interest in the learners of a particular language” (Wan-er, 2008, p. 7). Having already learned one language, it becomes a little difficult for an individual to fully master a second language, especially where the new language conflicts with the language that is familiar with the learner in terms of accent and pronunciation (Wan-er, 2008, p. 10). Therefore, it is an obligation to those teaching second language learners to look for and employ strategies that will make their students gain an in depth understanding of the language they are studying. Research shows that infants struggle less in learning the first language which unites and connects them to their immediate environment. However, learning the second language has become a major challenge to most of the learners due to the influence of their first language that might highly conflict with the second language (Wan-er, 2008). Despite the various proposals and theories forwarded by a number of scholars, it is has been shown that motivation as one of the factors that plays a major role in ensuring a successful understanding of the second language. Both the students and tutors have a major role to play in ensuring their success (Wan-er, 2008). 1.1 Importance of This Paper to Second Language Teaching and Learning This paper approaches the topic of second language learning from a perspective that motivation is key to the learning of the second language. Since this area has been neglected by many researchers, I opted to settle for the option of giving an in-detail analysis of the topic by looking at the various factors related to motivation and the role played by each factor in ensuring better understanding of the subject matter (Run-mei, 2007). First, this paper highlights the various areas that have so far been neglected by a number of scholars in their researches. The identified gap can then be used for future research. For instance, most of the scholarly works on motivation are general and do not narrow down to analyze the various aspects of motivation (Run-mei, 2007). Motivational factors and types are broad and each factor needs a comprehensive analysis so as to bring out the picture depicting the strong relationship existing between motivation and second language learning as opposed to whatever has been provided so far. This will then facilitate faster and easier learning among the students, especially those experiencing difficulties grasping their second languages. Farther research as well as the discussed information here will help second language tutors to help their students to learn their second languages even better and faster (Run-mei, 2007). 1.2 Objectives The writing of this paper is based on the following objectives: To facilitate reliable and efficient teaching techniques for tutors To provide an alternative approach for tutors when second language students have little interest in their studies To help motivate students to cultivate interest in their studies especially regarding learning second language To serve as a foundational basis for further future research on motivation by identifying the gap and bringing it to the surface for researchers to act on it (De Bot & Kroll, 2002). The following section will start by looking at the role of motivation in influencing fundamental language skills required for second language learning, then the various types of motivation and the role each play in facilitating second language learning and end with the factors influencing motivation as the main force behind second language learning (Dornyei, 2003, p. 6). 2.0 Literature Review This section seeks to analyze the various language skills that form the backbone of any second language learning and the components of motivation. By looking at the language skills, this paper examines how motivation influences acquisition of these skills and their importance to second language learning (Cheng & Dörnyei, 2007). Then, it goes ahead to shed the light on motivation by looking at the types of motivation and the factors affecting it so as to facilitate a better understanding of motivation from all dimensions. Consequently, this helps bring forth an in-depth analysis of motivation and comprehensively describe its role in influencing second language learning (Dornyei, 2003). 2.1 Factors Influencing Motivation Motivation being the centre of second language learning is highly influenced by a number of factors which work together to bring forth an appreciable change in the learner’s attitudes and orientation towards their second languages as observed in the articles reviewed for this paper (Cheng & Dörnyei, 2007, p. 173). It was discovered from the articles studied that when compared to other factors like attitudes and orientations, motivation stands out to be key and somehow influences the other factors. Therefore, it becomes crucial and important to analyze these factors that influence motivation. The following are just but a number of factors that have so far been deemed critical as far as motivation in second language learning are concerned. 2.1.1 Integrativeness It is an important factor that greatly influences motivation in general. A lot of research conducted on motivation has always leaned more on this factor as compared to the other factors of motivation (Ushioda, 2010, p. 5). It involves the motivation of learners to undertake a certain second language not because of the rewards associated with it but as a way of identifying with the second language culture. 2.1.2 Instrumentality This generally refers to the apparent benefits accruing to the better understanding and mastery of the second language. It also entails the importance the learners attach to the understanding and fluency in the second language and its significance to their goals and targets. Before deciding to learn the second language, learners have always had their goals, targets and expectations that they want to meet after learning the second language (Csizér & Dörnyei, 2005, p. 176). Such targets and goals might include getting a better job or getting recognition or identifying with other international communities, especially when the second language is an international language. 2.1.3 The Attitudes Towards the Second Language Speakers When learning a second language, the learners always develop an interest in associating with the second language speakers, meeting them, staying among them, or travelling to their countries and mingling with them (Dornyei, 2003, p. 8). This admiration aspect keeps the learners going and motivates them to keep on learning new concepts in the language with the motive of being fluent and proficient in the respective second language (Dornyei, 2003, p. 18). 2.1.4 Cultural Interest This involves the acknowledgement of the cultural aspects associated with a certain second language that motivates the respective second language learners to strive understanding the new language in order to identify themselves with that culture (Noels, Pelletier, Clement & Vallerand, 2000, p. 37). This may include videos and advertisements related to the second language that are displayed by the media. This factor sustains the learner’s motivation to keep trying until they have a full understanding of the second language (Noels, Pelletier, Clement & Vallerand, 2000, p. 59). 2.1.5 Vitality of the Second Language Community This basically involves the admiration of certain aspects in a given community. This may be the minority clan admiring the majority clan (Kormos & Csize´ r, 2008, p. 346). When analyzing this factor, various factors have to be reviewed including the economic and socio-political factors, population size and distribution factors, the dominance of the respective community in certain important positions. All the above factors would make one who is not a speaker of that language to develop an interest in their language and to always want to identify with them by learning their language as the second language (Kormos & Csize´ r, 2008, p. 355). 2.1.6 Milieu It entails the social influences affecting one’s attitudes and orientations emanating from the internal environment surrounding the learner (Csizér & Dörnyei, 2005, p. 174). This includes the role played by people such as the parents, friends, and family members in shaping one’s motivation towards learning a certain language. When the parents and friends have positive opinions for learning the respective second language, the learner’s attitude towards the second language will be positive, therefore, motivating the learner to passionately learn the language (Csizér & Dörnyei, 2005). 2.1.7 Linguistic Self-Confidence It refers to the learner’s belief and attitude that the new second language falls within their ability and therefore giving them a notion that they can sufficiently learn the respective second language (Ushioda, 2010, p. 7). With such a belief, the learners will be motivated even more and help them cope up with the new language hence enhancing their understanding. 2.2 Types of Motivation Apart from the aforementioned skills required of learners as far as motivation is concerned, there are other aspects of motivation that need to be considered to elaborately bring out the picture of the role played by motivation in second language learning (Kissau, 2006, p. 74). To help discuss this, the articles reviewed presented incredible insights about different types of motivation that is plays a specific in motivating learners learning a second language. These are discussed as follows. 2.2.1 Intrinsic Motivation This basically entails engaging in something because of the enjoyment that comes along with it. It is generally dependent on the personal motivation and will to take part in or undertake certain activities mainly because they are enjoyable (Basista & Hill, 2010, p. 164). In the course of the enjoyment, learners have additional advantage of having gained some skills that contribute to their learning either directly or indirectly. There are three types of intrinsic motivation including: Intrinsic motivation related to knowledge where the learner develops curiosity in certain issues related to the language and this prompts him or her to explore newer areas that will add value to their understanding (Spolsky, 2010). Intrinsic motivation related to accomplishment where the learner is highly motivated to undertake to meet certain goals which in the course of doing, helps the leaner achieve certain positive results that will add value to their general mastery of the second language (Basista & Hill, 2010, p. 165). Intrinsic motivation related to stimulation where the learner is mainly motivated to perform certain tasks because of the feelings he or she gets as a result of doing the same. It may be the artistic value or excitement that may come along with it (Cheng & Dörnyei, 2007, p. 169). However, after gaining the experience, learners end up learning and grasping certain concepts associated with their second language (Do¨rnyei, Csize´r & Ne´meth, 2006, p. 63). 2.2.2 Extrinsic Motivation This mainly involves those tasks that are performed with a motive of dodging certain consequences or benefiting from certain rewards that accompany the task. There are various categories of extrinsic motivation classified in accordance to how close they relate towards individual effort. They include the following (Kissau, 2006): 2.2.2.1 External Regulation It basically includes all those issues that are outside the individual control but highly influence one’s determination towards achieving certain results. They include such aspects as rewards and tokens that motivate learners to strive gaining certain concepts that adds value to their second language learning. These rewards may come from the tutors or any other third party 2.2.2.2 Introjected Motivation This involves that intense internal pressure that stimulates learners to learn new concepts related the second language. Even though it is internal, it is not out of voluntary choice hence acts as an external factor compelling them to achieve certain results (Basista & Hill, 2010, p. 176). This will influence their determination and commitment to learning the new language passionately. For instance, the learners might feel ashamed of failing to speak the second language fluently therefore forcing them to try as much as they can to fully understand the language in the allocated time frame (Basista & Hill, 2010, p. 175). This will mean they fervently strive to always learn newer concepts and putting in all their personal effort to ensure a better understanding of the second language. 2.2.2.3 Identified Regulation This is where learners do or take part or commit themselves to doing certain tasks because they think those tasks are fundamental to learning the respective second languages. It is more of a personal decision that is influenced by one’s ambitions (Do¨rnyei, Csize´r & Ne´meth, 2006). For instance, learners may see it important to be fluent in their second language and this as a result will motivate their efforts towards trying repeatedly to speak the respective second language without making grammatical errors (Spolsky, 2010). 2.3 Motivation and Language Skills Language skills are fundamental to the learning of any language and therefore highly required of anyone undertaking the same. In order to develop a better insight and mastery of the second language, it stands out that the students should be motivated to gaining the basic language skill that will enable them have a better understanding of the respective language (Rubenfeld, Sinclair, & Clément, 2007). There are various skills involved in attaining a better strategy as far as the language skills are concerned. Some of these skills include listening skills, writing skills, reading skills, speaking skills, vocabulary skills, and translation skills (Rubenfeld, Sinclair, & Clément, 2007, p. 312). 2.3.1 Listening Skills In Csizér’s & Dörnyei’s article The Internal Structure of Language Learning Motivation and Its Relationship with Language Choice and Learning Effort (2005), one of the main discussion points is listening skills as central concepts in learning a new language. The authors state that listening skills involves listening to the spoken language and how stress is achieved in uttering certain syllables and sentences. In addition, they surmise that the learner should be motivated to listen to radio programs and Television shows involving their respective second languages (Csizér & Dörnyei, 2005, p. 178). This will help them gain a better understanding and insight of the second language. Additionally, Rubenfeld, Sinclair, & Clément add that there is a real need for the learners to be fully conversant with the sounds of phrases and words in their second languages as well as the pronunciation of the same. They should also be motivated to listening to conversations related to the particular second language in order to grasp all the essential attributes of the second language which will consequently bring forth a better understanding of the second language (Rubenfeld, Sinclair, & Clément, 2007, p. 321). When student are encouraged to listen to such things as conversations and radio programs relating to the respective language, they will develop a liking to the second language and this will speed up their understanding of the new language (Rubenfeld, Sinclair, & Clément, 2007, p. 309). A research was conducted by Basista and Robyn on four second language learners basing on their fluency. Inasmuch as this study is not entirely about listening skills it harbors great insights about the importance of listening skills as a specific requirement for learning second languages (Basista & Hill, 2010, p. 176). Three of the four participants were undertaking English as their second language while the remaining one was an English native but undertaking Spanish as the second language They had already written some publications in their second languages and the details that were to be contained in these publications were to be obtained from oral interviews they did with their supervisors which meant that they had to be very keen with their listening skills so as to capture all the relevant information that was required. Here the effectiveness of their response was centrally dependent on each one’s capacity to listen well and make mental notes of what was important (Basista & Hill, 2010, p. 176). The authors found out that that since they were required to write their own autobiographies of their second language acquisition and fill in a questionnaire, those students who had mastered their listening skills were the ones that were able to produce autobiographies that were coherent and detailed as required. This shows that listening skills are very important in learning second languages for students. 2.3.2 Writing Skills Students should be motivated to gain the basic writing skills in their second languages. This is an exhortation that is well captured in Do¨rnyei’s, Csize´r’s & Ne´meth’s Motivation, Language Attitudes and Globalization: A Hungarian Perspective (2006). The authors indicate that these will help them in addition to the other skills to have proper mastery of their second languages. In addition they should be encouraged to read and write essays and articles in the second languages to ensure they are fully acquainted to the new language they are learning (Lu & Ryan, 2008). Writing is primary and highly important, and every learner has to gain a better understanding of the second language writing skills. 2.3.3 Reading Skills Students should be motivated to develop a good reading culture that will see them through the learning process. Reading skill entails going a step further in referring to other materials concerning the second language (De Bot & Kroll, 2002). This will add more knowledge and proper insight of the language in question and supplement the teacher’s material. With proper motivation from the teacher hand the students themselves, students will be able to go to go further to search for other relevant materials related to their respective languages and this fastens the language learning process. Another study was conducted involving 254 and 236 male and female grade nine students respectively from Ontario aged between 13 and 18 years taking French as their second language. In this study, both teachers and students were interviewed and others filled in the questionnaires designed basing on Gardner’s Attitude Motivation Battery Indicator. It turned out that issues pertaining desire and admiration of the second language played an important role since the option was preferably selected by the majority of the students and even teachers (Lu & Ryan, 2008). This was discovered to have been influenced by the respondents’ capacity to read to a level of satisfaction what they had learnt and about the language of their interest. Ability to read the desired language was the basis upon which these students predicated their liking and desire of that language was later found to have been determined by their secret practice and improvement of their reading skills (Lu & Ryan, 2008). 2.3.4 Speaking Skills This majorly entails proficiency in grammatical aspects and fluency in constructing of sentences. It is motivation that encourages students to try pronouncing certain words and phrases. Students should be encouraged to exercise asking questions in the new languages and also try to start up conversations especially with the native speakers. According to Masgoret & Gardner (2003) in their article Attitudes, Motivation, and Second Language Learning: A Meta-Analysis of Studies Conducted by Gardner and Associates, this will help them relate the written word to speaking (Masgoret & Gardner, 2003). To further reinforce their surmise, the authors add that in doing so, practicing speaking verbatim will be encouraged which is among the most successful strategy of mastering the speaking skill (Masgoret & Gardner, 2003, p. 189). 2.3.5 Vocabulary Skills The students should be able to grasp the vocabularies in their second language to help them in writing and speaking. Vocabulary is important, and they form the structural basis for the learning of new languages. They help students in constructing sentences and communicating messages in the new language without changing the intended meaning (Li, 2006). With motivation, students will be prompted to develop an interest in the learning of newer that will add to whatever they already know. Vocabulary forms the backbone of any language and, therefore, become an excellent indicator of whether or not the students have properly understood the second language or not (Basista & Hill, 2010). Motivation plays an important role achieving this since the students need to be motivated, so that they become curious of learning new vocabularies and knowing their meaning and how to apply them in both the written and spoken (Masgoret & Gardner, 2003, p. 206). A survey was carried out on 387 Taiwanese tutors for English language including 49 males and 330 females with another eight of unknown gender. The scope of the survey was to investigate the importance of the motivational strategies and how often they were applied with specific reference to use of vocabularies (Li, 2006). The results obtained from the questionnaires were grouped into ten motivational clusters and computed by calculating their mean. The results showed that motivational factors especially as regard vocabulary skills were determined by students’ knowledge of relevant vocabulary in that specific language. For those students who exercised extensively with their language regarding the learning and using vocabularies were easily motivated when faced with challenging concepts in the course of their study as opposed to the students whose vocabulary skills were below average (Li, 2006; Basista & Hill, 2010, p. 177). 2.3.6 Translation Skills Translation requires that the students have a clear and proper mastery of the second language. It is an indicator that the students have grasped important concepts concerning the new language. It involves the ability of the students to convey their intended meanings in the new second language (Li, 2006). The students should be able to translate meanings from their first language into the second language, and they fluently and accurately convey them either in writing or by speaking. The teacher has the obligation of motivating and encouraging his or her students to practice speaking in their new languages to get familiar to it as fast as possible. Students, on the other hand, should also motivate themselves and develop a tendency within themselves to continuously try speaking and writing in their respective second languages (Li, 2006). Four first year Chinese research students visiting the UK for their first time participated in a survey conducted to investigate whether or not Chinese students preferred learning English and why and also investigate the challenges they were facing in a bid to learn English language as regards translation (Kissau, 2006, p. 85). The results were obtained via a series of interviews. The results obtained were more of instrumental orientation since all of them saw need in being fluent in English especially because of their future research presentations. There was also an aspect of integrative orientation since they also wanted to know English in order to communicate well with the English speakers and identify with them. With these factors, the results showed that the students whose interpretation skills were good had an easier time learning English as opposed to those whose interpretation skills were below average which showed that interpretation skills are equally important in the learning of a second language (Kissau, 2006, p. 87). 2.4 Gap Statement The Gap statement for this paper is: Despite the fact that scholars and articles have shown significant things about the significant role of motivation in second language learning, these studies and what the scholars have said about the motivation and its importance in language skills do not focus on how to reinforce language skills. From the established fact that different language skills have different weaknesses, the study will set out to establish the reasons as to why this is so and this will be done by questionnaires given to teachers and students from whose responses reinforcing each skill separately will be figured out. Using the above as the working gap statements, there are a number of insights that can be discussed. For instance, despite the fact that motivation has been the central pillar for the study of second language learning, there is still some element of deficiency as far as the subject matter is concerned especially in the approach used in covering the entire issue of motivation. Most of the scholarly works and research have dwelt much on analyzing the significance of motivation to the second language learning but rarely have they linked motivation and social attitudes of an individual. This has had the effect of isolating motivation and leaving so many unanswered questions relating to the same (Li, 2006). This paper has attempted to find answers to these concerns but there is still a deficit that needs to be filled in order to comprehensively bring forth a vivid relation between motivation and second language learning. Some of the factors affecting motivation have been tackled so well in this paper but little or nothing has been said of other important factors like and gender and how they influence motivation (Li, 2006). They need to be thoroughly researched since they are some of the emerging issues as far as the role of motivation in second language learning is concerned. Also, the factors affecting motivation as well as the various types of motivation all need to be acted upon systematically and comprehensively to remove all the generalities that have so far been attached to them. This will greatly contribute to the body of knowledge and help facilitate a better second language learning approach that is suitable to both the tutors and the students (Basista & Hill, 2010, p. 178). 3.0 Conclusion Much has been discussed on the role of motivation in ensuring a better understanding of the second languages. This paper has combined ideas from various prominent research scholars as well as the additional ideas from the recent research to present a comprehensive paper encompassing the role played by motivation as the most important factor towards ensuring a successful outcome of second language learning. The paper started by examining some of the most important language skills that learners need to acquire when learning the second languages and how motivation helps learners to gain a better mastery of these skills. The various factors affecting motivation have also been analyzed properly. Motivation, being a key contributing factor to motivation is a wide and therefore should be analyzed in details in all perspectives in order to eliminate confusion and misunderstandings (Cheng & Dörnyei, 2007). This paper tackles the subject matter by first looking at the components of the second language itself and the relating it to motivation. To avoid generalizing, each factor relating to motivation has been independently tackled and its role towards second languages vividly brought to the surface (De Bot & Kroll, 2002). In addition to the above, the gap statement as indicated will set to find reasons why there are apparent weaknesses in different language skills which will be obtained through extensive research done through questionnaires administered to both students and teachers. The responses in the survey forms will form the basis upon which ways to reinforce these skills separately will be suggested. Looking at the analysis of all the sections in this paper, there is still a gap that needs to be bridged between motivation and second language learning. Areas of concern are the roles of age and gender in influencing motivation and linking motivation to some of the social attitudes of individuals. In addition, most research papers in the domain of motivation are based on the research conducted by prominent scholars like Gardner and Clement whose theories are continuously applied in most of the research (De Bot & Kroll, 2002). There is need to dwell on especially the emerging issues of gender and age in relation to motivation in second language learning and independently cover each factor affecting motivation and every type of motivation. There is still more to be explored as far as motivation is concerned. The research should be factor specific in order to clear the air on the existing generalities that accompanies the previously conducted researches. However, despite all this limitations, motivation stands out to be the major issue of concern and the main factor behind second language learning. 4.0 References Basista, L., & Hill, R. (2010). 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