Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1994

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Education

Major Professor

Patricia David-Wiley

Committee Members

Kathleen de Marrais, Dolly Jesucita Young

Abstract

In order to investigate how people were motivated to enroll and persist in the formal study of a language other than their native tongue, I studied third-year university students of Spanish at a state university in the U.S. southeast with the pseudonym of Foreston State University. I attempted to discover the following: a) learners' perceptions of why they were studying Spanish at that level; b) any influences on their language study decisions; and c) whether they perceived any relationship between their interest in learning the language and their attitudes toward the cultures of Spanish-speaking peoples.

Psychological and anthropological theories formed the framework for this qualitative study that included three separate data sources: (fully participant) observation, surveys and in-depth interviews. After a pilot study of senior-level participants, data collection occurred during the second semester of 1991. Observations of two third-year Spanish classes were followed by a survey of all third-year students (62 respondents). Twelve people (chosen through a purposive sampling technique) granted me interviews. Intensive field notes recorded the observations, while the interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. After all data were inductively analyzed according to Spradley (1980), a comparison of the distinct data sources led to the final research results.

The cultural model of schooling and academic choice-making that emerged from the project had two main components. First, participants were influenced simultaneously by their pasts, futures and presents. While recycling their past experience and bringing it into the demands of their present they were always thinking of how to use their Spanish studies in that veiled future they were preparing for.

It was within recurring presents, however, that the true impelling forces were played out. Needs for Spanish study emerged from participants' linguistic and academic contexts. In addition, learners felt "turned on" and encouraged to continue their language studies by their feelings of being "into it" (enjoyment) and/or "doing well" (success). The mystery that remained in this research refers to an understanding of just what learners' attraction was for "other peoples" and "another language."

Several conclusions follow. First, this research has demonstrated the positive contribution of new theoretical frameworks for investigating foreign language learning motivation. In this case, educational psychology has contributed with a fruitful theory including essential components of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. This framework allowed me to work simultaneously with forces within and outside of the individual that impelled and encouraged language study and persistence at it. Secondly, this study has reminded researchers and practitioners alike that language learners are first and foremost students, seeking to maximize their enjoyment, success and future applicability while navigating through academic and linguistic demands.

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