How to keep motivation for learning second language
Graduation Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the Department of
English Language and Literature
Notre Dame Seishin University
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirement for the Degree
Bachelor of Arts
by
Minori Itano
2014
1
Contents
Abstract
Chapter One: About motivation
1-1 Introduction
1-2 What is motivation?
1-2-1 Definition of motivation
1-2-2 Importance of motivation
1-3 Types of motivation
1-3-1 Integrative motivation and Instrumental motivation
1-3-2 Theory of self-determination.
1-4 Mastery Purpose Autonomy
1-5 Anxiety and Tolerance of ambiguity
1-5-1 Anxiety
1-5-2 Tolerance of ambiguity
1-6 Research question
1-7 Summary
Chapter Two: The study
2-1 Introduction
2-2 The questionnaire
2-2-1 Introduction
2-2-2 Method
a)
Subjects
b)
The questionnaire
c)
Procedure
2
2-3 Results
2-4 Summary
Chapter: Three: Discussion
3-1 Introduction
3-2 Summary of the questionnaire results
3-3 Discussion of the results
3-3-1 Overview
3-3-2 Purpose
3-3-3 Autonomy
3-3-4 Mastery
3-3-5 Anxiety and tolerance of ambiguity
3-3-6 Overall
3-4 Implication
3-5 Limitation of Experiment
3-6 Further research
3-7 Conclusion
References
Appendices
3
Abstract
English is used all over the world so there are many people who
study English. However, how many people succeed to get good English
ability? Many people don’t keep studying English and give up.
This thesis is about motivation toward studying English. By finding
out about motivation types and how to keep motivation, we can keep
studying English for a long time and enjoyably.
In this thesis, my aim was
to examine what type of motivation subjects have and how to keep
motivation.
In Chapter One, we looked at several definitions and types of
motivation and ways to keep motivation by Daniel Pink. Moreover we looked
at influences on motivation due to anxiety and ambiguity. We used this
information in Chapter Two.
In Chapter Two, we looked at the results of a questionnaire from 36
subjects. The questionnaire was about the subjects’ type of motivation and
ways to keep motivation. The questionnaire was divided into 5 sections.
Chapter Three, we discussed the results of questionnaire. The results
showed subjects have various types of motivation and various ways to keep
their motivation. Many subjects have intrinsic motivation and they have
high motivation. We found out intrinsic motivation is efficient to keep their
motivation. Moreover subjects use purpose, autonomy and mastery to keep
motivation. The way to keep motivation is different for each subject.
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Chapter 1: About motivation
1-1
Introduction
Nowadays English is a very important language in the world and
many subjects study English. But learning a second language is not easy. If
you want to get good English skill, you have to spend a lot of time to study
the language but many people don’t continue that because they don’t keep
motivation. When learning a language, people have various motivations. If
they can keep high motivation, they can learn language more effectively and
be successful in achieving their goals. So this thesis introduce to motivation.
In this thesis we’ll research what kinds of motivation and how
motivation keeps. In this section, we’ll look at the definition of motivation
and types of motivation.
1-2
What is motivation?
1-2-1 Definition of motivation
Dornyei and Otto (1998: 65) said “In a general sense, motivation can
be defined as the dynamically changing cultivate arousal in a person that
initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates, and evaluates the
cognitive and motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are
selected, prioritized, operationalized and (successfully or unsuccessfully)
acted out.”
Walker and Symons (1997: 16-17) said that human motivation is at
5
its highest when people are competent, have sufficient autonomy, set
worthwhile goals, get feedback and are affirmed by others.
Gardner (1985) said ‘motivation’ refers to a kind of central mental
‘engine’ or ‘energy of-center’ that subsumes effort, want/will (cognition) and
task-enjoyment (affect).
1-2-2 Importance of motivation
Many studies show motivation is important for learning. For
example, Carroll (1963b: 1063-1061) developed 5 factors for success to learn
foreign language the learner’s aptitude, general intelligence, perseverance,
the quality of instruction and the opportunity of learning.
Jakobovits and Nelson (1970: 63) showed 3 factors to influence
learning second language and the grade. Table 1 shows the percentages.
Table 1
Foreign Language Aptitude
33%
Intelligence
20
Perseverance or motivation
33
Others
14
Total
100
Intelligence and Aptitude cannot be improved easily, but motivation can be
more controlled than others. Sawada and others (1959:96-107) said that
6
people who have good English ability have interest in basic work of English
learning (reading, writing, consulting a dictionary) and they evaluate
English learning highly and have a strong desire to learn English. So
interest in English and desire are very important. Moreover Matsubara
(1969: 6, 1976: 7) shows mental health, home environment, environment of
school and neighborhood, the relationship between teacher and physical
health influence to get ability, but the main factors are methods to study and
will to study.
1-3 Types of motivation
1-3-1 Integrative motivation and Instrumental motivation
Integrative (intrinsic) motivation--- people study the language because they
want to know culture and society of the country. It is defined as a ‘motivation
to learn second language because of positive feelings toward the community
that speaks that language. (Gardner, 1985: 82-3) Intrinsic motivation comes
from inside and is derived from curiousness and interest.
Bruner (1973) suggests 4 aspects of intrinsic motivation, curiosity,
competence motivation, identification and reciprocity. Moreover Hatori
(1970a: 2-5) suggests 4 factors of intrinsic motivation for second language.
These are interest in words, interest in learning second language, interest in
context and interest in function words.
He
Instrumental (extrinsic) motivation--- people study L2 because learning
7
language has utilitarian worth. For example, if you can use English, you will
have an advantage in business. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside, for
example, rewards, money, grade. It may be effective in the short term.
1-3-2 Theory of self-determination.
Deci and Ryan (1985) proposed the theory of self-determination. They said
that people will be more self-determined in performing particular behaviors
to the extent they have the opportunity to experience autonomy, competence
and relatedness.
External regulation----For example, if teacher or parents make you study,
you are motivated by external regulation.
Interjected regulation----For example, you study English for getting good
grades, or you are embarrassed not to speak English.
Identified regulation----For example, you think studying is part of your
identity. You want to use English in the future.
Integrated regulation----It is near internal regulation. For example, people
learning English because get its proficiency to become cosmopolitan.
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Table 2 Self-determination Continuum
low
Self-determination
Demotivation
Extrinsic motivation
high
Intrinsic motivation
no
external
interjected
identified
integrated
Internal
regulation
regulation
regulation
regulation
regulation
regulation
Intrinsic motivation and Extrinsic motivation depend on these
regulations.
1-4 Mastery Purpose Autonomy
Daniel Pink (2009) said that motivation is based on autonomy,
mastery and purpose.
Autonomy
Pink (2009) said “Controlling management approaches assume
people are passive and inert and require prodding. Autonomy approaches
assume people are active, looking for interesting work and curious and
self-engaging. Autonomous motivation has proven to promote greater
conceptual understanding, result in better grades, enhance persistence at
school and in sporting activities, generate higher productivity, less burnout,
and grater levels of psychological well-being.”
For example, learners study English because they like the language
and can decide the materials, time and place by themselves when they study
English.
They use autonomy to keep motivation. Using autonomy is related
9
to intrinsic motivation. Using autonomy is effective to keep motivation.
Mastery
“Mastery is the desire to get better at something that matters. First,
mastery a mindset, in that we either believe we can get better or we don’t.
Second, mastery is a pain in that it involves not only working harder but
working longer at the same thing. Finally, mastery is an asymptote, or a
straight line that you may come close to but never reach.”
For example, learners study English because they want to get better
English skills.
Purpose
“Purpose provides a context for autonomy and mastery. Addresses
the situation that even when get what we want, it is not what we need.”
When people do something, usually they have a purpose. English
learners have various reasons to study English.
1-5 Anxiety and Tolerance of ambiguity
1-5-1 Anxiety
In general, people think anxiety disturbs our learning but Scovel
(1978: 132- 141) said there are facilitating anxiety and debilitating anxiety.
Facilitating anxiety makes learners motivated and debilitating anxiety
makes learners demotivated. Moreover, Chastain (1975: 160) found a
10
negative correlation in the audio-method and positive one for traditional
methods.
1-5-2 Tolerance of ambiguity
There is always ambiguity in learning second language. Second
language learners need to guess words or expressions from the context or
co-text when you don't understand. If you look up unknown words every time,
you cannot communicate well. If learners have a tolerance for ambiguity,
they can communicate well and study English smoothly because they don’t
worry about understanding every detail, and don’t overly rely on rules,
accept that there isn’t always a solution to every problem. If learners are
intolerant, learners refuse to study. But if learners have high level of
tolerance for ambiguity, it indicates a lack of noticing. Learners need
tolerance of ambiguity but ambiguity scales is important.
1-6 Research question
We looked above and learnt what motivation is, what kinds of
motivation are there and what influence of anxiety and ambiguity.
Therefore, I gave a questionnaire to learners studying English. In the
next chapter, we will look at the questionnaire what the respondents
answered. We will look at what kinds of motivation learners have and how
they can maintain motivation in Chapter Two and Chapter Three. The
questionnaire was designed to look for answers to these questions and the
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questionnaire is based on Chapter One.
・What types of motivation do the subjects have?
・How can subjects keep strong motivation?
1-7 Summary
Motivation is a mental engine to achieve something, it is very
important for people. Particularly English learners need motivation because
learning language need to constant efforts. We will look the experiment in
Chapter Two and we will discuss the results of the experiments in Chapter
Three.
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Chapter 2: The study
2-1 Introduction
In Chapter One, we looked the definition of motivation, the
importance of motivation in learning second languages, the way to keep
motivation and the influence of ambiguity and anxiety.
In this chapter, we will look at the results of a questionnaire. We will
research the reasons university subjects study English and the way they
maintain their motivation.
2-2 The questionnaire
2-2-1 Introduction
The questionnaire researched the reasons they study English and
what type of motivation subjects have, and how they maintain their
motivation from different aspects, purposes, autonomy and mastery.
2-2-2 Method
a) Subjects
Seishin University subjects and graduates and Shujitsu University
subjects answered the questionnaire. All respondents study English in
university because this study researched the motivation of subjects studying
a second language.
b) The questionnaire
An online questionnaire was made and
13
subjects answered the
questionnaire online. Respondents choose one from 1~5.
1 No ----------------5 Yes
1 Low--------------5 High
They were asked 58 questions. The first questions were about the
background of their English study. These questions asked about their
English levels and their motivation level towards learning English. The
second sets of questions were divided into 3 sections about Purpose,
Autonomy and Mastery. I used some questions from Strategy Inventory for
Language Learning (SILL) by Oxford (1989). The third questions asked
about the influence of anxiety and ambiguity.
c) Procedure
In order to collect the data, the subjects were asked to answer the
questionnaire online. They had no time limit to answer the questionnaire
and they filled out the questionnaire without open questions. Then the data
were analyzed by using the statistics from the questionnaire. The
questionnaire is in the Appendix.
2-3 Results
In this chapter, we will look at the data of questionnaire in several tables.
The results will be discussed in Chapter 3. 36 subjects and graduates at
Seishin and Shujitsu University took the questionnaire.
14
Table 3 Level of English and motivation
1.low 2
What your English level?
6%
How much do you have motivation? 3%
3
4
5.high
20% 69% 6%
3%
0%
31% 50% 14%
In Table 1, we can see 20% of the subjects said their English levels
are lower and 69% of the subjects said intermediate but their motivation
toward learning English are high and very high totaling 64%.
The research used this scale.
1
2
3
4
5
No
Yes
Table 4 Purpose
.
1
2
3
No
4
5
Yes
1. I am interested in foreign cultures.
0%
3%
6%
33% 58%
2. I am interested in foreign languages.
3%
0%
3%
31% 64%
3%
0%
11% 31% 56%
4. I enjoy speaking with native people.
0%
3%
8%
33% 56%
5. I want to communicate in English.
0%
0%
6%
20% 74%
6. It is important for me to learn English
0%
11%
8%
50% 31%
3. I enjoy discover new things through
English
15
7. It is important to learn foreign culture
and thinking.
8. It is worth to get English skill.
9. I want to understand foreign movies
and books in English.
0%
3%
8%
44% 44%
3%
0%
11% 44% 42%
0%
6%
6%
39% 50%
10. Learning English is somehow cool.
17% 17% 17% 31% 19%
11. I am ashamed if I cannot use English.
31% 41% 11% 17%
12. I have many opportunities to study
English.
13. I belong to the English department at
my university.
14. I think people who can speak English
0%
0%
11% 17% 36% 36%
11%
8%
11% 31% 39%
17% 31% 26% 20%
6%
15. I have to good grades.
42% 14% 17% 22%
6%
16. I want to graduate.
31% 17% 25% 19%
8%
well seem to be intellectual.
17. I use English in business in the
future.
18. I have to study in school.
17% 31% 17% 17% 19%
31% 19% 22% 19%
8%
In 2 Table, Question 1 shows that 58% of the respondents are interested in
foreign culture. Question 2 shows that 64% of the respondents are interested
in foreign language. Question 3 shows 56% of the respondents enjoy
discovering new things through English and 31% of the respondents
sometimes think so. Question 5 shows that 74% of the respondents want to
communicate and nobody wants to communicate in English. Question 6
16
shows 50% of the respondents sometimes think learning English is
important and 11% of the respondents don’t think so much. Question 7 shows
44% respondents think learning foreign culture and thinking is important
and nobody think it is not important to learn them. Question 9 shows 50% of
the respondents want to understand foreign movies and books in English
and 39% of the respondents sometimes want to understand foreign work.
Question 10 shows 31% of the respondents sometimes think learning English
is somehow cool and 19% of the respondents think so. Question 11 shows 41%
of the respondents are not ashamed much if they cannot use English and
none of the respondents are ashamed if they cannot use English. Question 12
shows 36% of the respondents have many opportunities to study English so
they study English and other 36% sometimes study English because so.
Question 13 shows 39% of the respondents belong to the English department
so they study English and 31% of the respondents study English because so.
Question 14 shows 31% of the respondents don’t think much people who can
speak English seem to be intellectual and 26% of the respondents don’t give
definite answer. Question 15 shows 42% of the respondents don’t think they
have to take good grade and 22% of the respondents sometimes study
English because so. Question 16 shows 42% of the respondents don’t think
they study English because they want to graduate university and 25% of the
respondents don’t give definite answer. Question 17 shows 19% of the
respondents study English because they use English in the future and 31% of
the respondents don’t use much English in the future. Question 18 shows
31% of the respondents don’t think they study English because they have to
17
study English in the school.
Table 5 Autonomy
Goal and plan
1
2
3
4
No
19. I set appropriate and specific goals.
20. I have clear goals for improving my
English skills.
21. I establish a regular schedule to plan
my studies.
22. I make deadlines.
23. I plan my schedule so I will have
enough time to study English.
5
Yes
0%
28% 25% 33% 14%
8%
33% 25% 19% 14%
50% 33%
8%
6%
3%
36% 28% 14% 14%
8%
47% 39%
8%
6%
6%
6%
11% 44% 33%
0%
3%
6%
44% 47%
61% 11%
6%
11% 11%
17% 23%
9%
20% 31%
0%
Material and context
24. I am interested in the materials I use
for my language learning.
25. I use foreign movie or TV drama or
music for studying.
26. I write English diary.
27. I consider the material is appropriate
for me.
28. I use texts you use in school or you can
get easily.
14% 22% 17% 31% 17%
29. I don’t continue same things and I add 14% 31% 22% 19% 14%
18
a twist to the task.
Place
30. I
change
place
if
I
cannot
be
concentrate in studying.
31. I have a good place that I can study.
8%
6%
8%
28% 50%
14%
8%
11% 36% 31%
Monitor and Evaluate
32. I can eliminate temptations.
28% 53%
11%
0%
33. English learning take first priority.
31% 39% 11% 11%
8%
34. I give myself rewards if I finish tasks.
8%
35. I give myself a reward or treat when I
do well in English.
36. I know the best way to study for me
37. I know my weak point in English
clearly.
38. I review my lessons after almost every
class
39. I record what you study and how much
you study.
40. I take test such as TOEIC, and I
identify your English level.
41. I talk to native people and I identify
my speaking skill.
8%
25% 17% 22% 28%
14% 33%
8%
22% 22%
11% 22% 17% 28% 22%
6%
6%
11% 50% 28%
58% 36%
6%
0%
0%
69% 19%
3%
6%
3%
3%
8%
3%
42% 44%
3%
11%
3%
44% 39%
In this table, Question 19 shows 33% of the respondents sometimes
19
set appropriate and specific goals and 28% of the respondents usually don’t
set such goals. Question 20 shows 33% of the respondents usually don’t have
clear goals for improving their English skills and 14% of the respondents
have clear such goals. Question 21 shows 50% of the respondents don’t
establish a regular schedule to plan their studies and 33% of the respondents
usually don’t establish such schedule. Question 22 shows 36% of the
respondents don’t make their deadlines and 28% of the respondents usually
don’t make deadlines. Question 23 shows 47% of the respondents don’t have
enough time to study English. Question 24 shows 33% of the respondents use
material which they are interested in and 44% of the respondents sometimes
use such materials. Question 25 shows 47% of the respondents use foreign
movie drama or music for studying and 44% of the respondents sometimes do
so. Question 26 shows 61% of the respondents don’t write English dairy and
11% of the respondents write English daily. Question 27 shows 31% of the
respondents consider whether the material is appropriate for them and 23%
of the respondents usually don’t consider it. Question 28 shows 31% of the
respondents sometimes use texts which you uses in the school or you can get
easily. Question 29 shows 31% of the respondents usually don’t add a twist to
the task and 14% of the respondents add a twist to the task. Question 30
shows 50% of the respondents change place if they cannot be concentrate in
studying. Question 31 shows 31% of the respondents have a good place to
study and 36% have maybe such place. Question 32 shows nobody can
eliminate temptations. Question 33 shows 8% of the respondents take first
priority to study English and 31% of the respondents don’t so. Question34
20
shows 28% of the respondents give themselves rewards if finish tasks and 8%
of the respondents don’t give rewards. Question 36 shows 22% of the
respondents know the best way to study English. Question 37 shows 50% of
the respondents know their weak point in English and 6% of the respondents
don’t know their weak point. Question 38 shows none of the respondents
review their lessons after almost every class. Question 39 shows 69% of the
respondents don’t record what they study and how much they study.
Question 40 shows 44% take test such as TOEIC and identify their English
level and 42% of the respondents do so. Question 41 shows 39% of the
respondents talk to native people and identify their speaking level and 44%
of the respondents sometimes do so.
Table 6 Mastery
1
2
No
42. I pay attention to people is speaking
3
4
5
Yes
3%
0%
17% 33% 47%
43. I try to find as many ways as I can use 14%
8%
14% 33% 31%
English.
my English.
44. I look for people I can talk to in 17% 25% 14% 14% 31%
English
45. I look for opportunities to read as 11% 11% 28% 31% 19%
much as possible in English.
46. If I do not understand something in
21
3%
17% 14% 44% 22%
English, I ask the person to slow down
or say it again.
47. I ask English speakers to correct me 28% 39% 14%
8%
11%
when I talk.
48. I study English with other subjects.
28% 25%
8%
28% 11%
49. I ask for help from English speakers.
14%
6%
22% 33% 25%
50. I notice my English mistakes and I use
6%
3%
25% 36% 31%
that information to help me do better.
In this table, Question 42 shows 47% of the respondents pay attention to
people who speak English and 3% of the respondents don't pay attention to
people speaking English. Question 43 shows 31% of the respondents try to
find as many ways as they can use English. Question 44 shows 31% of the
respondents look for people who can speak English and 17% of the
respondents don't look for people speaking English. Question 46 shows 44%
of the respondents sometimes ask English speaker to slow down or say it
again if they cannot understand and 3% of the respondents don't ask if they
cannot understand. Question 47 shows 11% of the respondents ask English
speaker to correct when they talk and 28% of the respondents don't ask it.
Question 48 shows 28% of the respondents study with friends and 28% of the
respondents don't study with friends. Question 50 shows 31% of the
respondents notice their mistakes and they use that information to improve
English.
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Table 7 Anxiety and Ambiguity
The following table used this scale.
1 Never or almost always never true of me
2 Usually not true of me
3 Somewhat true of me.
4 Usually not true of me.
5 Always or almost always true of me.
1. When you cannot communicate in
English well, it makes you demotivated.
2. When you fail to English test, it makes
you demotivated
3. You are aware of around people’s
valuation in your English skill
4. Moderate tense makes me motivated.
5. Ambiguity
of
English
makes
me
frustrated.
6. When there are many things you cannot
understand, it makes you demotivated.
1
2
3
4
5
17%
14%
14%
36%
19%
14%
25%
11%
33%
17%
14%
20%
23%
31%
11%
8%
36%
14%
31%
11%
3%
19%
11%
36%
31%
17%
28%
14%
33%
8%
In Table 5, Question 1 shows 36% of the respondents are
demotivated when they cannot communicate in English well. Question 2
shows 33% are demotivated when they fail in an English test. Question 3
shows 31% of the respondents are aware of around people’s valuation in your
23
English skill. Question4 shows 3% of the respondents feel moderate tense
makes them motivated and 8% of the respondents don’t feel so almost.
Question 5 shows 36% of the respondents feel ambiguity of English makes
them demotivated and 31% of the respondents feel many times. Question 6
shows 33% of the respondents feel demotivated when there are many things
they cannot understand.
2-4 Summary
In this chapter we looked at the results of the questionnaire. First we
could see respondents’ English level and motivation level. Moreover, we could
see some data from 4 tables. We looked the reason to study English from
Table 1 and the way to study using autonomy from Table 2 and the way to
study using mastery from Table 3. We looked influence of anxiety and
ambiguity from Table 4. There is much kind of data from these tables. In
Chapter Three, we will discuss the results and look at the detail of these
data.
24
Chapter 3: Discussion
3-1 Introduction
In Chapter One, we looked at the definition of motivation, type of
motivation, how to keep motivation, anxiety and tolerance of ambiguity. In
Chapter Two, we looked the overall data from the questionnaire. Now, we
will discuss the results from questionnaire in this chapter in detail.
3-2 Summary of the questionnaire results
In this section we will talk about questionnaire results. The
questionnaire was designed to find out the reason why the subjects study
English and the way to keep the motivation. We divided the way into 3
sections. Moreover we looked the influence of anxiety and tolerance of
ambiguity. We found out what kind of motivation subjects have and the way
to keep motivation toward learning English
3-3 Discussion of the results
3-3-1 Overview
All of the subjects learn English in university, their motivations
toward learning English are high and very high totaling 64%. But they don’t
have confidence in their English. There was no subject who answered their
English skill is high. In this chapter, we will look in more detail about the
type of motivation and the way with autonomy, mastery and purpose.
The research questions for this thesis were:
1. What types of motivation do the subjects have?
25
2. How can subjects keep strong motivation?
3-3-2 Purpose
Table 2 shows what kinds of purpose subjects have for studying
English. The first item shows subjects totaling 94% want to communicate
with foreign people and totaling 89% want to understand foreign movies and
books. They have intrinsic motivation. They have high motivation because
these intrinsic motivation. There are a few people don’t have intrinsic
motivation.
On the other hand, about 80% of the subjects think learning English
is important and they think it is worth to study English. They use integrated
regulation. In extrinsic motivation, they have motivation that is near
intrinsic motivation. 17% of the subjects study English because they are
ashamed that they cannot use English. They use interjected regulation. That
regulation is near demotivation.
So we find that they have high motivation because they have
intrinsic motivation.
3-3-3 Autonomy
Table 3 shows what kind of autonomy subject use for studying
English. First, totaling 77% use materials they are interested in. For
example, totaling 91% use foreign movie or TV drama or music for studying
on the other hand subjects who use text they use in school are 48%. Subjects
select interesting materials to keep studying.
26
Second, only 11% of the subjects can eliminate temptation so many
subjects don’t have enough time to study. Only 8% have enough time to study
English because they plan their schedule. Subject who have clear goal and
schedule were below 50%.
Third, about 85% of the subjects identify their English level for
example; they take TOEIC test and talk with native people. Moreover, 78%
know weak points in English.
Many subjects choose good materials for them. Many subjects can
monitor and evaluate their English level but only 50% of the subjects have
the best way to study and about 50% of the subjects don’t have clear goal or
plan..
3-3-4 Mastery
Table 4 shows what kind of mastery subject use for studying English.
80% of the subjects pay attention to people who are speaking English and
bout 60% of the subjects look for opportunities to use English. But only 19s%
of the subjects ask English speaker to correct them when they talk.
67% of the subjects notice their English mistakes and they use that
information to help them do better
3-3-5 Anxiety and tolerance of ambiguity
Table 5 shows influence of anxiety and ambiguity. In this section, we
cannot see extreme results.
55% of the subjects feel demotivated when they cannot communicate
27
in English, 50% feel demotivated when they fail to English tests, 42% of the
subjects are aware of people around in their English skills, 42% feel
motivated by moderate tenseness, 67% of the subjects are frustrated by
ambiguity of English and 41% of the subjects feel demotivated when there
are many things they cannot understand
In this section, the number of subjects who feel demotivated by
anxiety and ambiguity is not high percentage. The influence of anxiety and
ambiguity is difficult for each subject because they have various
characteristics.
3-3-6 Overall
In this section, we found out that each subject uses various ways to
keep motivation in studying English. Many subjects have high motivation
toward to English study. But we cannot get perfect results because the
numbers of subject not many. And the questionnaire is also not enough.
3-4 Implication
We have looked at the results of the questionnaire in Chapter Two
and discuss in this chapter. Motivation is very important factor for learning
and people can keep motivation by various ways.
3-5 Limitation of Experiment
There are some limitations with this experiment. First most subjects
were university subjects and everyone studied English in university. Most of
28
the subjects seem to be interested in English. Moreover subjects are 3rd and
4th grade.
Second, the questionnaire was not anonymous so we could not
know their English level clearly so we cannot know relation between high
motivation and English level. Third, there were only 36 subjects.
3-6 Further research
If we have a chance to research motivation, we will ask foreign people
who study second language except English department subjects and only one
department, so we will look at the other department subject’s answers.
Second, the questionnaire section did not have enough questions on mastery
and influence of anxiety and tolerance of ambiguity sections so questions
should have been added.
Finally, people have various characteristics so we
would like to look more many subjects.
3-7 Conclusion
In this Chapter, we looked at the results of questionnaire. The
research questions are;
1. What types of motivation do the subjects have?
2. How can subjects keep strong motivation?
About Question 1, subjects have various purposes to study English but
most subjects have high intrinsic motivation. Particularly subjects who
study English want to communicate with people from foreign countries.
29
About Question 2, subjects use various ways to keep motivation. Of
course the purpose is also a way to keep motivation but the other way is, for
example, mastery and autonomy.
When subjects study English, they feel anxiety or ambiguity sometimes.
It is difficult to feel influence of anxiety and ambiguity each subjects.
When subjects have high motivation, they can learn a lot thing and
achieve their goals. So it is important to keep high motivation for English
learner.
30
References
Deci E L and Ryan R M. 1985. Intrinsic motivation and self-motivation in
human behavior. New York: Plenum.
Dornyei, Z. and Otto, I. 1998. Motivation in action: A process model of L2
motivation. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics (London: Thames
Valley University).
Dörnyei, Z. 2001. Teaching and Researching Motivation. London: Longman.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The
role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold Publishers.
Miura. S. 1983. Motivation to learn English. Tokyo: Taishukan.
Walker C and Symons C. 1997. The meaning of human motivation. In Bess J
L (ed.) Teaching well and linking it: Motivating faculty to teach
effectively. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
URL
http://eltstew.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/developing-tolerance-to-ambiguity/
http://www.sidewaysthoughts.com/blog/2012/01/a-drive-with-daniel-pink-thr
ough-autonomy-mastery-and-purpose-why-do-we-continue-to-get-motivation
s-so-wrong/
31
Appendices
名前
あなたの英語のレベルはどのくらいですか？
1
2
3
4
5
低い
高い
あなたの英語学習におけるモチベーションの高さはどのくらいですか？
1
2
3
4
5
低い
高い
なぜ英語学習をしていますか？
いい
いいえに
どちらでも
はいに
は
え
近い
ない
近い
い
外国の文化に興味があるから。
外国語に興味があるから。
英語を通じて新しいことを発見することが
楽しいから。
ネイティブと話すのが楽しいから。
英語でコミュニケーションを図りたいから
。
英語を学ぶことは大切だから。
外国の文化や考え方を学ぶことは大切だか
ら。
英語のスキルを持つことは価値があるから
。
32
いい
いいえに
どちらでも
はいに
は
え
近い
ない
近い
い
いい
いいえに
どちらでも
はいに
は
え
近い
ない
近い
い
英語で外国の映画や本を理解したいから。
英語を学ぶことは何となくかっこいいから
。
英語ができないと恥ずかしいから。
英語を学ぶ機会があるから。
英文学科に所属しているから。
英語ができる人は知的に見えるから。
いい成績をとらなければならないから。
学校を卒業したいから。
将来、就きたい仕事で英語を使うから。
学校で勉強しなければならないから。
学習をするとき１
適切で具体的な目標がある。
英語の能力を改善するはっきりした目標が
ある。
勉強する時間や内容をいつも決めている。
勉強するとき、自分の中で期限を決める。
計画を立てているから、英語を勉強する時
間が十分ある。
学習するとき２
33
いい
いいえに
どちらでも
はいに
は
え
近い
ない
近い
い
英語学習に必要な教材は、自分で興味のある
物を選んでいる。
外国の映画やテレビドラマ、音楽などを利用
して勉強する。
英語で日記を書いている。
自分に合っている教材かよく考える。
学校で使う教材など、手に入れやすい教材を
使う。
学習するとき３
いい
いいえに
どちらで
はいに
は
え
近い
ない
近い
い
学習において、ずっと同じことをしないで飽き
ないように工夫する。
誘惑を排除することができる。
英語の勉強を最優先する。
やるべきことが終わったら自分にご褒美をあ
英語学習においてうまくいった時自分にご褒
自分に合っている勉強法を知っている。
勉強に集中できないときは場所を変える。
自分にとって勉強できるのに最適な場所がある
。
学習するとき４
いい
いいえに
どちらでも
はいに
は
え
近い
ない
近い
い
34
いい
いいえに
どちらでも
はいに
は
え
近い
ない
近い
い
英語において、自分は何が苦手かはっきりと
わかっている。
授業の復習を毎回している。
勉強したことや、どのくらい勉強したかを記
録している。
TOEICのような試験を受けて自分の英語の
レベルを知る。
ネイティブと話して英語のレベルを知る。
英語を話している人に注目する。
学習するとき５
い
い
え
英語をできるだけ多く使う方法を見つけようとする。
英語を話す人を探す。
できるだけ多くの英語を読む機会を探す。
もし英語で何か理解できなかったら、ゆっくり言っても
らったり、もう一度言ってもらったりするように頼む。
英語を話す時、間違っていたら訂正してもらうよう相手
に頼む。
友達と英語の勉強をする。
35
いいえ
に近い
どちら
はい
でもな
に近
い
い
は
い
い
い
え
いいえ
に近い
どちら
はい
でもな
に近
い
い
は
い
間違いに気付き、その間違いを英語の向上に生かすこと
ができる。
英語を話す人に助けてもらう。
不安や曖昧さ
英語でうまくコミュニケーションがとれないと、モチベ
ーションが下がることがある。
英語のテストに失敗して、モチベーションが下がること
がある。
自分の英語能力に関して、人の評価が気になる。
適度な緊張はモチベーションが上がる。
答えがはっきりしないともやもやする。
分からないことがたくさんあるとモチベーションが下
がる。
36
全く
な
どちらで
あ
よく
ない
い
もない
る
ある
Name
What your English level?
1
2
3
4
5
low
high
How much do you have motivation?
1
2
3
4
5
low
high
Why do you study English?
No
I
Yes
am
interested in
foreign
cultures.
I
am
interested in
foreign
languages.
3.
I
enjoy
discover new
things
through
English
I
enjoy
speaking
with
native
people.
I
want
to
37
No
Yes
communicate
in English.
It
is
important for
me to learn
English
It
is
important to
learn foreign
culture
and
thinking.
It is worth to
get
English
skill.
I
want
to
understand
foreign
movies
books
and
in
English.
Learning
English
is
somehow
cool.
I
am
ashamed if I
cannot
use
English.
I have many
38
No
Yes
No
Yes
opportunities
to
study
English.
I belong to
the
English
department
at
my
university.
I
think
people
can
who
speak
English well
seem to be
intellectual.
I
have
to
good grades.
I
want
to
graduate.
17.
I
use
English
in
business
in
the future.
I
have
study
to
in
school.
1
I
set
appropriate
39
and
No
Yes
No
Yes
specific
goals.
I have clear
goals
for
improving
my
English
skills.
I establish a
regular
schedule
to
plan
my
studies.
I
make
deadlines.
I
plan
my
schedule so I
will
have
enough time
to
study
English.
2
I
am
interested in
the materials
I use for my
language
learning.
I use foreign
40
No
Yes
No
Yes
movie or TV
drama
or
music
for
studying
I
write
English
diary.
I consider the
material
is
appropriate
for me.
I
use
you
texts
use
in
school or you
can get easily
3
I
don’t
continue
same things
and I add a
twist to the
task.
I
can
eliminate
temptations.
English
learning take
first priority.
41
No
Yes
No
Yes
I give myself
rewards if I
finish tasks.
I give myself
a reward or
treat when I
do
well
in
English.
I know the
best way to
study for me
I
change
place
if
cannot
I
be
concentrate
in studying.
I have a good
place that I
can study.
4
I know my
weak point in
English
clearly.
I review my
lessons after
almost every
class
42
No
Yes
No
Yes
I record what
you
study
and
how
much
you
study.
I
take
test
such
as
TOEIC, and I
identify your
English level.
I
talk
to
native people
and I identify
my speaking
skill.
I
pay
attention
to
people
is
speaking
English.
5
I try to find
as
many
ways as I can
use
my
English.
I
look
for
people I can
talk
to
in
43
No
Yes
English
I
look
for
opportunities
to
read
as
much
as
possible
in
English.
If I do not
understand
something in
English,
I
ask
the
person
to
slow down or
say it again.
I ask English
speakers
to
correct
me
when I talk.
I
study
English with
other
subjects.
I ask for help
from English
speakers.
I notice my
English
mistakes and
I
use
that
44
No
Yes
information
to help me do
better.
Never
almost
or
Always
Usually
not Somewhat
always never true of me
true of me
true of me
When
you
communicate
English
well,
makes
it
you
demotivated.
When
you
fail
to
English test,
it makes you
demotivated
You
are
aware
not almost
true of me
always true
of me
cannot
in
Usually
of
around
people’s
valuation in
your English
skill
Moderate
tense makes
me
motivated.
45
or
No
Yes
Ambiguity of
English
makes
me
frustrated.
When
there
are
many
things
you
cannot
understand,
it makes you
demotivated.
46