این، مقایسه­ی نتایج پرسشنامه­های “میزان اهمیت” و  “میزان استفاده” مشخص کرد که نگرش معلمان نسبت به اهمیت راهبردهای انگیزشی هیچ رابطه­ای با نگرش آنها نسبت به میزان کاربرد واقعی این راهبردها در کلاس درس ندارد.

Abstract

Motivation is one of the key factors that determine language learners’ success/ failure in ESL/EFL situation. Thus, it is a major challenge for language motivation researchers to help teachers elicit, enhance, and sustain students’ motivation. Dörnyei and Csizér’s (1998) research in Hungary was the first important study on motivational strategies. Following Dörnyei and Csizér (1998), a few similar studies have been carried out in this realm. 250 Iranian EFL teachers participated in this study and they were asked to rate a list of comprehensive 48 motivational strategies in terms of (1) how much importance, Importance Questionnaire, they attached to these and (2) how often, Frequency Questionnaire, they implemented them in their real teaching practice. The Persian version of the questionnaires was used in this study. The results provide evidence that some strategies like “displaying appropriate teacher behaviors” and “familiarising learners with L2-related values” were ranked first and tenth respectively in both questionnaires. Among ten macro-strategies derived from both questionnaires, some scales like two aforementioned ones are culture specific and can transfer across cultures but some other scales like “Creating a pleasant classroom climate” are culture dependent and vary from culture to culture. Also, comparing the results of two questionnaires revealed that teachers’ attitudes to the Importance of motivational strategies have no relationship with their answers to their actual Frequency of use in real EFL classes.

 

 

 

 

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE- INTRODUCTION   1

1.1.       Overview   2

1.2.Statement of the Problem   3

1.3.Significance of the Study  5

1.4.Research Questions  6

1.5.Definition of Key Terms  7

1.6. Limitations of the study  8

CHAPTER TWO- REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE   10

2.1.Overview   11

2.2.Conceptualizations of Motivation  11

2.3.The Influential Theories of L2 Motivation  13

2.3.1. The Social-Psychological Period (1959-1990) 14

2.3.1.1. Gardner’s Social-Psychological Theory  14

2.3.1.2. Keller’s (1983) Motivational-Design Model 20

2.3.2. The Cognitive-Situated Period (1990-2000) 21

2.3.2.1.Dörnyei’s (1994) Framework of L2 Motivation  22

2.3.2.2. Williams and Burden’s (1997) Model of L2 Motivation  25

2.3.2.3. Task Motivation  27

2.3.2.4. L2 Motivation Expectancy-Value Theories  28

2.3.2.4.1. The Concepts of Self-Confidence and Linguistic Self-Confidence  29

 

2.3.2.4.2. Language Anxiety  31

2.3.2.4.3. Attribution Theory of L2 Learning  32

2.3.2.5. Achievement Motivation Theory  33

2.3.2.6. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) 34

2.3.3. The Process-Oriented Period (2000 Onwards) 36

2.3.3.1.Dörnyei and Ottó’s (1998) Process Model of L2 Motivation  36

2.4. Significance of Motivation/ L2 Motivation  39

2.5. Types of Motivation and their Role in SL/FL Acquisition  40

2.5.1. Integrative Motivation  40

2.5.2. Instrumental Motivation  42

2.5.3. Intrinsic Motivation  43

2.5.3.1. The Intrinsic Needs of Students  44

2.5.3.1.1. The Need for Autonomy and Self-Determination  45

2.5.3.1.2. The Need for Competence  45

2.5.3.1.3. The Need for Belonging and Relatedness  46

2.5.3.1.4. The Need for Self-Esteem    46

2.5.3.1.5. The Need for Involvement and Enjoyment 46

2.5.3.2. Achieving Intrinsic Motivation in L2 Learning  47

2.5.3.3. The Role of Intrinsic Motivation in L2 Learning  47

2.5.4. Extrinsic Motivation  48

2.6. The L2 Motivational Self System   51

2.7. Motivational Strategies  53

2.7.1. Creating Basic Motivational Conditions  59

2.7.1.1. Demonstrating Proper Teacher Behaviour 59

2.7.1.1.1. Teacher’s Enthusiasm    59

2.7.1.1.2. Teacher’s Commitment 62

2.7.1.1.3. Teacher’s Care and Acceptance  63

2.7.1.1.4. Teacher’s Immediacy  65

2.7.1.2. Creating a Pleasant Classroom Atmosphere  66

2.7.1.3. Promoting Group Cohesiveness and Setting Group Norms  67

2.7.2.Generating Initial Motivation  70

2.7.2.1. Familiarising Learners with L2 Culture and L2 Related Values  70

2.7.2.2. Increasing Learners’ Expectancy of Success  71

2.7.2.3. Promoting Learners’ Positive Goals (Goal-Orientedness) and Realistic Beliefs  74

2.7.2.4. Relating Language Learning to Learners’ Needs and Goals  77

2.7.3. Maintaining and Protecting Motivation  78

2.7.3.1. Making Learning Stimulating and Enjoyable  78

2.7.3.2. Diminishing Learners’ Anxiety and Building up Their Self-Confidence  79

2.7.3.3. Promoting Learners’ Autonomy  82

2.7.4. Encouraging Positive Self-Evaluation  83

2.7.4.1. Promoting Learners’ Motivational Attributions  83

2.7.4.2. Providing Learners with Motivational Feedback  85

2.7.4.3. Increasing Learners’ Satisfaction  86

2.8. Current Status of English in Iran  90

CHAPTER THREE- METHOD   92

3.1. Overview   93

3.2. Participants  93

3.3. Instruments  94

3.4. Design  95

3.5.Procedure  95

3.5.1.Piloting  95

3.5.2.Data collection  96

3.6. Data Analysis  97

CHAPTER FOUR- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION   101

4.1. Overview   102

4.2. Research Question 1  102

4.2.1. Results  102

4.2.2. Discussions  109

4.3. Research Question 2  110

4.3.1. Results  110

4.3.2. Discussions  111

4.4. Research Question 3  112

4.4.1. Results  112

4.4.2. Discussions  114

4.5. Research Question 4  115

4.5.1. Results  115

4.5.2. Discussions  117

CHAPTER FIVE-CONCLUSION, PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH   118

5.1. Overview   119

5.2. Conclusion  119

5.3.Pedagogical Implications  121

5.4.Suggestions for Further research  126

References 137

 

 

 

 

List of Appendixes

Appendix 1: English version of Frequency Questionnaires  127

Appendix 2: English version of Importance Questionnaires  130

Appendix 3: Farsi version of Frequency Questionnaires  133

Appendix 4: Farsi version of Importance Questionnaires  135

 

 

 

 

List of Tables

Table 3.1. Gender of Participants  93

Table 3.2. EFL Teaching Experience of Participants  93

Table 3.3. Importance and Frequency Survey Results: Descriptive Statistics and Rankings of Ten Macro-strategies and Related Strategies  99

Table 4.1. Importance Questionnaires Results:  Descriptive Statistics and Rankings of Ten Macro-strategies and Related Strategies  103

Table 4.2. Comparison of the Final Rank Order of the Macro-strategies/scales Obtained in This Study and in Hungary (1998), Taiwan (2007) 110

Table 4.3.  Frequency Questionnaires Results:  Descriptive Statistics and Rankings of Ten Macro-strategies and Related Strategies  112

Table 4.4. Pearson Correlation Results between Overall Means of Motivational   Strategies of the Importance and Frequency Questionnaires  115

Table 4.5.  Pearson Correlation Results between Macro and Micro-strategies of the Importance and Frequency Questionnaires  116

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

List of Figures

Figure 2.1. Gardner’s (1985) Socio-Educational Model of Second Language Acquisition (Gardner, 1985, p.199) 15

Figure 2.2. Components of Gardner’s Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) (Gardner, 1985, 144) 17

Figure 2.3. Tremblay and Gardner’s (1995) Model of L2 Motivation (cited in Dörnyei& Ushioda, 2011, p.48  19

Figure 2.4. Dörnyei’s (1994) Model of L2 Motivation (Dörnyei, 1994a, p.280) 24

Figure 2.5. Williams and Burden’s (1997) Framework of L2 Motivation (cited in Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011, p.54) 26

Figure 2.6. Schematic Representation of the Three Mechanisms Making up the Motivational Task- Processing System (cited in Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011, p.96) 28

Figure 2.7. Dörnyei and Ottó’s (1998) Process Model of L2 Motivation (Dörnyei and Ottó, 1998, p.48) 38

Figure 2.8. Gardner’s Conceptualisation of the Integrative Motivation (Gardner, 1986, p.87) 41

Figure 2.9. Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (cited in Dörnyei & Usioda, 2011, p. 52) 52

Figure 2.10. The Components of Motivational L2 Teaching Practice (cited in Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011, p.108) 58

Figure 2.11. Knight’s (2006) Model of Teacher’s Credibility (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011, p.108) 61

 

 

 

List of Abbreviations

TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language

ESL: English as a Second Language

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

SL: Second Language

FL: Foreign Language

L2: Second Language

SDT: Self-Determination Theory

AMTB: Attitude/Motivation Test Battery

ARCS: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction

CET: Cognitive Evaluation Theory

ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages

MOLT: Motivation Orientation of Language Teaching

COLT: Communication Orientation of Language Teaching

LSP: Language for Specific Purposes

NO: Number

M: Mean

SD: Standard Deviation

Diff: Difference

Corr.: Correlation

Sig.: Significance

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE- INTRODUCTION
 
 

 

1.1.  Overview
In the field of second or foreign language (L2) teaching and learning, motivation is a significant factor that leads to the language learners’ success or failure. Motivation is the most used concept for explaining the failure or success of a learner. Dörnyei (1998) claimed that motivation is a key to learning. It is an inner source, desire, emotion, reason, need, impulse or purpose that moves a person to a particular action. Motivation has been regarded as one of the main factors that influence the speed and amount of success of foreign language learners. This issue seems to be highly related to the educational context of Iran where it is seen that many Iranian learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) fail to reach at least an average level of proficiency in English. As Dörnyei (2001b) claims, motivation is not a concrete concept; it is an abstract and hypothetical concept that is used to explain why people think and behave in certain situations as they do.

Students’ lack of motivation in language leaning contexts is a major problem for language teachers. According to Dörnyei (as cited in Marie-Jose´ Guilloteaux, 2013), a lot of researchers have tried to help teachers find ways of motivating language learners. In spite of the studies which have been done in this regard, the cultural and ethno-linguistic differences in various contexts were one of the important motives of doing this research.

Accordingly, the aim of this research is to evaluate (a) the extent to which a list of motivational strategies derived from Western educational contexts are perceived as relevant by Iranian EFL teachers and (b) the cross-cultural validity of those motivational strategies. To this effect, the present study builds on Dörnyei and Csizér ’s (1998) initial investigation in Hungary and on its modified replication conducted in Taiwan(Cheng and Dörnyei, 2007) and strives to find out how the same concept functions in Iran.

1.2.  Statement of the Problem