Successful Learners’ Motivation to Learn English as a Foreign Language in Secondary School and the Teacher’s Role in Their Motivation

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Malmö högskola

Lärarutbildningen

Kultur, språk, medier

Examensarbete

15 poäng

Successful Learners’ Motivation to Learn

English as a Foreign Language in

Secondary School and the Teacher’s Role

in Their Motivation

Högpresterande elevers motivation att lära sig engelska som

andraspråk på högstadiet och lärarens roll i deras motivation

Camilla Persson

Catherine Ljungman

Lärarexamen 270 poäng Modena språk engelska 2009-01-15 Examinator: Björn Sundmark

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Abstract

The focus of this dissertation is to explore what motivated and successful learners in grade eight and nine think motivates them to learn English in school. One aim is to find out what the learners think their own responsibilities are for their motivation. In addition, we aim to find out how the pupils regard the role of the teacher as a source of inspiration. The research was carried out with the use of qualitative interviews. The interviews took place in a booked room in the school where our interviewees attend their schooling. A questionnaire had been prepared for the interview as a frame and guide to our aim. The results show that motivated and successful learners think that they create and are responsible for their own motivation. In addition, they see the connection to and relevance of English is connected to what they do in their spare time and relevant to their future goals. Furthermore we have found that the learners think that the teacher’s role is to protect and maintain the pupils’ level of motivation.

Key-words: motivation, successful learners, teacher’s role, secondary school, English as a foreign language

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Introduction

Motivation is, to us, one of the most fundamental keys to success in any given area of life. Its presence can make a big difference in achieving goals. The school, which is our turf as teachers-to-be, is not immune to this concept; The National Agency for Education has, for instance, set goals for all learners to attain at different points in their schooling. Motivation, as mentioned earlier is a key to success. A motivated learner, according to our informal observations and experiences during our teaching practice, is interested, easy to teach and hard working in a school setting.

David Scheidecker and William Freeman say that “motivation is, without question, the most complex and challenging issue facing teachers today” (quoted in Dörnyei, 2001, p.1). Our observations during our teaching practice confirm this statement. Teachers play an instrumental role in every learner’s motivation. Previous research by Åsa Bergdahl and Angelica Thörn (2005) in this area touched on the teacher’s role concerning their pupils’ motivation. We wish to probe this area deeper to enhance our abilities to inspire our students and increase their motivation. According to Stephen R. Jacques (2001),

Motivation, both in terms of the student studying a second or foreign language and the teacher teaching it, may not only help us understand the reason why we are doing what we are doing, but may also have a relationship to how we perceive and react to what is going on in the classroom. It may not be realistic to assume that there could ever be perfect matches between student and teacher preferences in a classroom, but an understanding of what both sides need and expect would be a significant first step toward success. (2002, p. 205).

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Aim and Research Question

This paper examines learners who display motivation and success in learning English as a foreign language in grade eight and nine. The focus of this dissertation is to explore what motivated and successful learners in grade eight and nine think motivates them to learn English in school. One aim is to find out what the learners think their own responsibilities are for their motivation. In addition, we aim to find out if the teacher plays a role in learners’ motivation.

Our research questions are as follows: a) what do some successful learners think motivates them to learn English and what do they think are their own responsibilities for their motivation? b) To what extent do teachers play a role in learners’ motivation according to the interviewed pupils?

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Literature Review

The Concept of Motivation

There are different approaches to understanding and defining motivation and many agree that it is a highly complex issue. Martin Covington argues that “motivation, like the concept of gravity, is easier to describe (in terms of its outward, observable effects) than it is to define. Of course, this has not stopped people from trying it” (as quoted in Dörnyei, 2002, p.7). To make this highly complex issue manageable and to classify motivation for our study, we will use existing theories to define what we mean by motivation in accordance to its connection to our aim.

According to Joanna Giota (2001) “to define the term motivation, including a pupil’s motivation to learn in school, is one of the most difficult task […] no other term has been defined and discussed in so many different ways than the term motivation” (p. 281). Zoltán Dörnyei (2001) writes that “motivation explains why people decide to do something, how hard they are going to pursue it and how long they are willing to sustain the activity” (p. 7). In addition Dörnyei summarises two other theories.

The goal setting theory of motivation as described by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham is when “human action is caused by purpose, and for action to take place, goals have to be set and pursued by choice” (p.11); the self-determination theory of motivation by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan and Robert J. Vallerand relates to “intrinsic motivation concerning behaviour performed for its own sake in order to experience pleasure and satisfaction such as the joy of doing a particular activity or satisfying one’s curiosity” (p.11).

Furthermore, Jacques writes that

Crookes and Schmidt (1991) propose four motivational factors to describe second language classroom learning: interest, relevance, expectancy, and satisfaction. Interest refers to a student’s desire to know (intrinsic motivation); relevance, to the connection

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between the student’s personal goals, needs and values and the course instruction;

expectancy, to the student’s perceived likelihood of success; and satisfaction, to a

combination of extrinsic rewards such as praise or grades and intrinsic rewards such as pride and fulfillment. (2002, p. 186)

In light of all the definitions above and with our aim in mind, we will describe what we mean by motivation as the driving force to reach set goals and purposes in learning English. In other words, specifically in our study, motivation is related to successful learners who are interested and find satisfaction and relevance in learning. When we say motivated and successful learners, we have in mind learners that have VG to MVG grades and learners who take responsibility for their own learning and motivation. By own responsibility we mean learners’ own contributions, efforts and strategies in acquiring knowledge and achieving goals, without outside help.

So far we have defined what we mean by motivation, motivated and successful learners and also learners’ responsibility. In the following section, we will explore different kinds of motivation.

Intrinsic Orientation

Kimberley Noels describes intrinsic orientation as follows: “Intrinsic orientations refer to reasons for foreign language (L2) learning that are derived from one’s inherent pleasure and interest in the activity; the activity is undertaken because of the spontaneous satisfaction that is associated with it”(2001, p. 45). Within intrinsic orientation no less than three subtypes have been identified: Knowledge, Accomplishment and Intrinsic-Stimulation.

Intrinsic-Knowledge refers to the pleasurable feelings a learner might get from indulging in something and mastering knowledge simply because it is interesting. Noels gives forth an example of a learner who looks up incomprehensible foreign words just for the sake of fun and curiosity, not because it is anything he or she has been asked to do by a teacher, or needs

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to understand in order to read a certain text. Intrinsic-Accomplishment seems to fall into the same category but here the emphasis is on surpassing an obstacle. This is also about feeling, but here these feelings of joy are not concerned with the end result, but rather with the process of achievement. The third and last subtype Intrinsic-Stimulation exists within learners who might say that they would like to learn a language because (amongst other things) it has a certain sound to it which they enjoy. The key for this motivation lies in aesthetic appreciation (Dörnyei and Schmidt, 2001, p. 45).

Extrinsic Orientations

Learning that has a value that is not new, that is not challenging or aesthetically pleasing enough to have a value in itself for a person, is extrinsically motivated. The language might not come from an intrinsic wish to learn but it might help to reach an intrinsic goal. This goal might be a job or an activity. The knowledge therefore becomes instrumental in reaching this goal. There are five subtypes of extrinsic orientation but we will only discuss four of them because the fifth i.e. amotivation is not touched upon in our research because our paper aims, among others to study motivated and successful learners. The four subtypes we will be describing are: External regulation, Introjected regulation, Identified regulation and, Integrated regulation (Noels, 2001, pp. 46-48).

The first subtype External regulation is the subtype where the learner has the least possibilities of personal choice as to why he or she studies a certain language. These learners often reply that they study the language because of some external factor. The reasons for learning might be because it is required within a course or a job, a significant other wants them to or some other thing which makes the learner feel like they have no choice but to learn the language (p. 46). The second subtype is Introjected regulation. This subtype is close to intrinsic orientation but it is not chosen solely on a personal basis and therefore it is extrinsic. Learners who display this orientation might say that they study the language to avoid embarrassment or to be able to show off in front of friends or other significant others. They seek a reward that comes from the outside world, not from within themselves. The third subtype called Identified regulation is described by the author as “more self-determined” (p.

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48). The learners who display this motivation seek to obtain the knowledge because it is useful to obtain another vital goal. Here the importance of the goal is not determined by someone or something from the outside but the learner has come to the conclusion that they might become a better teacher or executive etc if they master an L2. Because of this self-imposed value the goal has become self-determined (p. 48). The fourth and final subtype we will bring forth is also the most self-determined one: Integrated regulation. According to Noels this is in many ways very similar to intrinsic motivation “because it is fully governed by the self” (p. 48). The difference lies in the fact that this activity is not being carried out because it is enjoyable but because it is inherent to the image the person has of him/herself. In the article Noels gives an example of such a person as someone who sees themselves as an educated person and their view of an educated person is a person who speaks one or two languages in addition to their mother tongue (p. 47). A note should be made that Noels explains that this trait has not been evident in younger learners “because it is generally assumed to be evident only in people who are advanced in the activity” (p. 48).

These extrinsic and intrinsic learner orientations do not exclude one another, rather they intermingle. As Noels describes it one learner might be driven by several goals and factors where some are more prominent and weigh heavier than others (p. 49). As mentioned before extrinsically and intrinsically oriented learners display the same degree of effort put into various tasks. The difference comes into light when the pressure or stimuli from the outside world is withdrawn, for instance when a course is finished or when a subject is no longer obligatory.

Integrative Orientation

Another important form of motivation is Integrative orientation. A learner who displays this is motivated to learn a language because they wish to interact with the speakers of that language or take part in the culture where the language is spoken. Some reasons, voiced by learners, for learning a language that gives the learner an Integrative orientation could be: family or friends speak a certain language and the learner’s goal is to be able to communicate with them, to be able to better absorb the culture of the target language etc (pp. 50-52). This

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orientation has an important purpose because it shines a light on motivation which is not clearly connected to the attitudes of the L2 learning itself, as intrinsic motivation. Learners whose main goal is “intergroup contact” display motivation with an integrative orientation (pp. 50-54).

Bergdahl and Thörn

Bergdahl and Thörn (2005) looked at what motivated six successful pupils at upper secondary school to learn English as a second language. They looked at whether the students’ motivation was intrinsic or extrinsic. They found that extrinsic motivational factors were dominant. However, they concurred that “the most interesting finding of this study is the strong connection between successful pupils and having goals that go beyond achieving high grades.” (p. 3). In our study, we have used some of Bergdahl and Thorn’s research questions

that, in our opinion, are relevant to our aims.

Nu-03

According to findings in research from the National Agency for Education investigating ninth grade learners’ attitudes to English, it was a highly valued subject amongst pupils and their parents. The pupils’ reasons for this were that English supposedly had an important role to play in their future studies and work. According to NU-03, the pupils saw English as important and useful since it is an international language which enables them to communicate with people all over the world. The findings in Nu-03 correlate to others carried out in recent studies for example Giota and Mats Oscarson in 1995, both in Sweden as well as internationally. NU-03 points out the use of ’spare time’ English as a factor for the increase in pupils’ English proficiency (NU-03 p. 87).

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Findings in the study Lusten och möjligheten (2006), a report published by the National Agency of Education regarding teachers’ role, work situation and conditions, show a correlation between pupils’ judgment of a good teacher and the teacher’s education in the subject he/she teaches. Furthermore, the well-educated teachers, who are trained in the subject that they teach, appeal more to those already highly motivated pupils. Additionally, the teacher’s description of how fun it is to teach their subject of expertise correlates positively with the teachers’ and pupils’ description of the learning environment.

Dörnyei’s Eight Strategies

Dörnyei (2001) describes 35 strategies which the teacher can use to increase pupils’ motivation to learn a second language in the language classroom. The first eight strategies go under the collective name “creating the basic motivational conditions”. These strategies focus upon the social interactions between teacher-learner/s and learner/s-learner/s. We will focus on the first eight strategies mainly because of three reasons: a) there is not enough time to thoroughly investigate all of Dörnyei’s 35 strategies in this study b) we hope that someone else will pick up where we left off, and last but not least c) we wanted to find out if Dörnyei’s basic motivational conditions are important to successful and motivated learners. Dörnyei and Kata Csizér conducted a motivation survey in 1998 among Hungarian teachers of English. The survey revealed that the teacher’s behaviour was the single most important tool as well as the most under-utilised one (p. 31). These findings corresponded to and reinforced earlier findings in a study about British secondary school learners of German carried out by Gary Chambers in 1999 (pp. 31-32).

Dörnyei identifies eight strategies or hands-on methods and behavioural schemes which teachers can use in their classrooms in order to stimulate pupils’ motivation. Strategy number one is where the teacher needs to show the pupils how the second language affects him or her and why it is important for him or her as a person. Teachers who can show their enthusiasm for the subject and thereby set an example for the learners is an ingredient in motivating learners (p. 33).

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Strategy number two is to show to the learners that the teacher takes their learning very seriously and that the teacher genuinely cares about their progress. Teachers must show that they are available both physically and mentally for all things which concern learning. They must also have sufficiently high expectations of pupils’ achievements in the academic area. The teachers must show that they are dedicated to the task at hand because “students are extremely sensitive to the cues coming from the teacher” (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 34). The teacher’s commitment is very important since Dörnyei says that for a teacher “the fastest way to undermine their [pupils’] motivation” is to show lack of commitment (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 34).

The next area of the second strategy is teacher expectations, which, according to Dörnyei, leads back to the experiment of Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson in 1968. Learners become what we (teachers) expect of them; our expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies. If the teacher believes that the learners are committed learners who will achieve academic success the possibility of this scenario taking place increases. The opposite expectations will increase the risk of low academic success. To counteract this de-motivation, teachers should have high expectations for the learners’ achievement as opposed to low expectations (p. 35).

The third strategy entails the relationship aspect of teaching. Teachers should develop a personal relationship with the learners and show that they accept and care for their pupils. Teachers should also pay close attention to the learners and show that they are physically and mentally available as a person. According to Dörnyei, personal ties with learners are very important since they enhance the chances of inspiring the learners in academic matters (p. 36). Dörnyei lists three components for building this personal relationship with a foundation of mutual respect and trust: acceptance, availability to listen (attention) and availability for personal contact. Showing acceptance of students does not mean that the teacher agrees with everything the person says or does but that the student is accepted and liked as a person. Dörnyei likens it to the acceptance we show relatives: they might not always do things we agree with or like but they are always accepted as a part of the group (p. 37).

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Since a teacher rarely or never has the time to sit down and have a conversation with every pupil, Dörnyei lists a number of actions a teacher can apply in order to convey personal attention to every learner. Among these are: greeting students with their names, noticing changes in their appearance, recognising birthdays, smiling at the students, showing interest in their hobbies and asking them about their life outside of school, remembering what you have talked about before and referring back to this in conversations.

There are different strategies to demonstrate availability even when stressed for time as most teachers are. Dörnyei lists some examples of ensuring some individual personal contact with the learners. For instance teachers can join their students in the school canteen for a school lunch or have a special time each week when students can come and visit their teacher.

The fourth strategy shows that learning is, to a great extent, affected by the pupil’s parents. Therefore Dörnyei suggests for the fourth strategy that the teacher should spend a great deal of time on forming a collaborative relationship with the learners’ parents (p. 39).

The fifth strategy demands time and effort establishing a pleasant atmosphere in the classroom. It is a demanding task but in our opinion, it is also the teacher’s responsibility as the adult in the classroom. According to Dörnyei “language learning is one of the most face-threatening school subjects” (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 40). This is because learners are being forced to explain themselves and make even the simplest statements with very limited means. As Dörnyei points out this might be unbearable and “the last straw” for someone who already suffers from low self-esteem or someone who is already the subject of negative attention from peers (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 40). This anxiety can be overcome by working on the classroom’s social atmosphere. The classroom needs to be a harmless place where learners can make mistakes and not be criticised or feel embarrassed when they do. The teacher needs to establish a “norm of tolerance” between the students and explain that mistakes are an expected part of the language learning process and nothing to be ashamed of (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 41). The fifth strategy also entails the use of humour in school and personalization of the classroom but we have chosen to focus on other points in Dörnyei’s strategies and consequently left those parts to be explored further by someone else.

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The sixth strategy continues on the route of classroom atmosphere but here it is the group dynamics which is focused upon. Group dynamics can have a beneficial as well as detrimental effect on learners’ motivation. A group working together towards a collective goal will act as a push and increase each others’ motivation. Dörnyei points out that a class which acts as “a cohesive community” never happens by chance. There are a number of factors which lead up to this state occurring and the teacher is in command of a number of these (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 43). The plan of action suggested by Dörnyei to “promote the development of group cohesiveness” (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 45) is as follows: use activities to break the ice and get learners to know each other and mingle at the beginning of a course and encourage learners to interact within the group. To get pupils to work together, the teacher should assign small-group tasks, such as small competitive games, where students can learn to work with people they normally do not work with (pp. 43-45).

The seventh strategy concerns the norms, rules and regulations within which frames, the class and the teacher need to operate. Group norms consist of the outspoken and the silent ones. One silent norm found in many classrooms today is to fit in and be normal. Dörnyei refers to this norm as the “norm of mediocrity”. A group with such norms could enforce sanctions upon students achieving academic success. Dörnyei points out that in such circumstances lack of motivation can be traced back to “a real or imagined fear of being isolated or rejected by their peers” (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 45). Clearly, a group norm which advocates academic success strengthens learner motivation. However the norms that are, according to Dörnyei, the most efficient ones are the norms that are suggested, discussed, agreed upon and then adopted by the group of their own accord. This norm-building should be worked upon early in the group’s life.

After establishing norms the consequences for breaking the same should also be discussed and decided upon (p. 46). Dörnyei points out an extra important factor which is the teacher’s responsibility as class leader, namely implementation of, attitude towards the norms and displaying consequences for violations against the same. If the teacher shows a disregard for the norms or does not consequently abide by them, the group members will quickly sense that

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and get the general notion that the class rules are not important and start breaking these. That is why it is crucial for the teacher to be consistent when it comes to class rules and understand that it is a continuing effort (p. 47).

Strategy eight continues with group norms but here it is the issue of disciplining the rule breakers which is in focus. Many times in a cohesive learner group with established norms the norm breakers are taken care of and disciplined by the group itself. This might be displayed as active support for the teacher, open critique of the person, subjecting the person to “social quarantine” etc (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 48). However sometimes these group sanctions do not occur and this is when the teacher needs to step in with full force. It is important to show the acceptance discussed in the third strategy; teachers should show that they do not accept behaviour but at the same time fully accept and include the person. When disciplining is needed, Dörnyei says, it should be fair, understood by the learner why he or she is being disciplined and consistently applied (p. 48). In other words: “never let any violations go unnoticed” (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 49).

Significant Others as Makers of Motivation

According to Noels, intrinsic motivation can be promoted by addressing certain psychological needs that all human beings have (2001, p. 54). To be able to behave in a self-determined (intrinsically motivated) way these needs must be fulfilled. Noels describes three psychological needs: autonomy, a sense of competence and relatedness. If these three basic needs are not met the individual’s “self motivation is undermined” (p. 54). To boost these different needs, feedback which supports these must be provided by the learner’s significant others.

To enhance the sense of autonomy in a learner the significant others should provide the learners with the opportunity to make decisions for themselves and solve problems on their own. Significant others should, as far as possible, avoid asserting too much authority and control over the learner to avoid lowering their motivation. This is interesting since the learning environment of school is built up and largely functions due to deadlines, directives,

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imposed goals and threats. All of which are set as examples of things to steer clear of if one does not wish to lower the learners’ motivation (pp. 54-55). To bolster a sense of competence within the learner, significant others should provide the learner with constructive feedback. The learner needs to be guided through the learning process and when a task is handed out the reasons for this as well as guidelines need to be clearly stated. When the teacher provides learner with feedback on a certain task, the feedback should be aimed to increase the learners’ understanding of why they performed as they did. Noels explains that this feedback needs to be positive and give praise for accomplishments, provide constructive suggestions for improvement and never negatively criticise the learner’s shortcomings. To develop the learner’s sense of relatedness it is important to show that the learner is valued and accepted. One way to do this is by devoting time, effort and attention to the learner (p. 55).

Family Members’ Influence on L2 Learners’ Motivation

Family members can passively affect the learner’s attitude towards a certain course, language or L2 speakers to the degree where the child’s language learning is influenced. Family and parental support is not necessarily linked to achievement but to motivation and persistence when studying a certain language. Parents are not the only family members who can have significant effect on L2 motivation. Grandparents, who are native speakers of a foreign language, have been seen to have a positive effect on their grandchildren’s motivation to acquire that language. Even romantic partners can have both a positive as well as negative effect, depending on their attitudes towards the L2 or its speakers (p. 56).

Members of the L2 Community’s Influence on L2 Motivation

Noels writes that Richard Clément’s socio-contextual model of L2 motivation suggests that the quality and frequency of contact an L2 learner has with members of the L2 community significantly increases the learner’s motivation, self-confidence and ultimately language proficiency (p. 57). A network mixed with interpersonal as well as access to sources of L2 media has been shown by different researchers to be of importance within L2 motivation and proficiency. However research conducted in the 1980’s suggested that it was the quality and

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degree of pleasantness of interaction that was of greater importance than frequency (p. 57). Therefore it would perhaps be possible to argue that a short summer holiday would suffice for an L2 learner to develop a strong motivation and bolster his/her self-confidence in the L2 learning process.

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Method

The Qualitative Interviews

The Type of Qualitative Interviews

We have chosen to conduct semi-structured qualitative interviews to collect data source as the basis of our study. The reason behind this choice is our aim to study the learners’ motivation through their own point of views and experiences. Since semi-structured interviews are “open to following the leads of informants and probing into areas that arise during interview interactions” (Hatch, 2002, p. 94), this method will provide us with the best window of opportunity to be able to see through the informants’ eyes.

The Goals of Qualitative Interviews

The goals of the interviews are to find out how the learners perceive their own motivation in learning English and also to find out how the learners perceive their teacher’s role in their motivation. We hope to uncover this by exploring their experiences and interpretations of making sense of their worlds:

By word and by action, in subtle ways and in direct statements, [researchers] say, “I want to understand the world from your point of view. I want to know what you know in the way you know it. I want to understand the meaning of your experience, to walk in your shoes, to fell things as you feel them, to explain things as you would explain them. Will you become my teacher and help me understand? (Hatch, 2002, p. 91)

Selection and Participants

Since our study focuses on motivated and successful learners, the criteria we used in selecting our participants are as follows:

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22 1._{Their grades and their display of motivation} 2._{Their teacher’s assessment of their motivation}

3._{Our own observations and assessment regarding their motivation}

We chose these criteria to ensure us that we have selected appropriate learners for our study. They are selected for their display of high motivation in correlation to success in English as a foreign language. The interviewees are from our partner schools as well as from a private school in Malmoe to give a more balanced perspective and starting point to our study. We thought that participants from different schools in Malmoe would give a more diverse picture because of the different contexts and social conditions in which our participants live and draw experience from. Totally, we have eight participants; four female and four males. To hide their identity, we let them select an alias.

Procedure and Equipment

Both the participants and we, researchers, knew that we were there to generate data for the purpose of this study alone. Nevertheless, since we were dealing with teenagers from ages 13 to 16, we were bound to ask for their parents’ consent for the interviews. We sent them a letter to sign and return (see appendix A).

Semi-structured interviews “are in-depth in that they are designed to go deeply into the understanding of the informants.” (Hatch, 2002, p. 95) To make this happen we talked to the participants one by one to ensure that we got an answer that is totally and independently their own, without any peer influence.

The time and place of the interviews were set and the interviews were recorded with the use of a voice recorder. Our questions in mind vary in nature based on our study. A list of these questions is found in appendix but they are open to digression depending on where the informant moves the direction of the interviews. To put us back to track if the need arises, we have prepared a set of follow- up questions but are even ready to ask new questions based on the responses we receive. The language used during the interviews is Swedish in order for our participants to express themselves freely and confidently.

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23 Validity and Reliability

In terms of validity, this research has its internal validity because it measures what we intended to measure. Our research instrument, which is qualitative interviews, and the results of our interviews, allowed us to answer our research questions. In terms of external validity, it is difficult to generalize since this research is highly contextual.

In terms of reliability, the research is considered reliable because it can be replicated. If done again in the same way each time it is used, under the same conditions and with the same participants, the research should show the same results, thus, giving the measurement of the research consistency.

Ethics

We contacted the parents for their consent if their child was willing to participate in our study. The learners and parents were fully informed of the aim and purpose of the study. They were also informed that their participation is completely anonymous and is solely be used for the stated purpose: our dissertation. In addition, the learners and parents were informed about their rights to end their participation or withdraw statements at any given stage in the process of this dissertation. They could also chose not to answer a specific question if they did not feel comfortable answering it. A letter was sent out to the parents of the participants before the interview took place. This letter was written in both English and Swedish and at the bottom the participating pupil and the parents put their signatures (full letter see appendix).

Since this dissertation has its focus on the interviewees’ experiences alone, comments that can be perceived as negative remarks or observations are personal, subjective and uncensored claims and should strictly be viewed as such. In other words, this dissertation does not focus on what the teacher does or does not do but rather on what the interviewees say.

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Results and Analysis

The results chapter has been divided into two different sections with various sub-chapters. The first section contains a presentation of our eight interviewees. The second chapter is the focal points of our interview results divided into thematic parts. In these thematic parts, we have compiled the answers of the research questions that we find belong under the same topic or issue.

Our Interviewees

Nissan Qashqai 16

This learner is a 9th grader who attends a Swedish secondary school in Malmoe. He says he uses English on a daily basis through chat rooms, films, computer games, books, the internet and even when talking with friends and family. He is extremely exposed to the English language and aims of becoming an English teacher someday. He says that he ‘burns for English and it has a very big effect on me’.

Lamborghini 15

Lamborghini is a 9th grader. He attends a private school in Malmoe. He has relatives all over the world and English is used, on a daily basis, as their medium of communication. In addition, he surfs the net, for pleasure and study purposes and he plays computer games in English. He aims to become an English teacher someday. He has an interest in languages and speaks four different languages fluently.

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25 Zeina 14

Zeina is a 9th grader in a Swedish secondary school in Malmoe. She is very interested in music and she sings and writes songs in English. She plays guitar and piano and has plans to pursue a career in music in the future. Because of her interest, she is exposed to the English language on a daily basis.

Malin 15

Malin is a 9th grader in a Swedish school in Malmoe. Her family travels abroad a lot. She plans to pursue a career that is related to English in the future and she claims that “with English, you go places”. In her spare time, she goes out with friends and practices in a local athletic group.

Stewardess 14

This learner is a 9th grader who attends a Swedish secondary school in Malmoe. In her spare time she likes to go out and have fun with her friends and she listens a lot to English music. She dreams of working as a stewardess and sees English as useful in such a career.

Rose 14

This learner is a 9th_{grader who attends a Swedish secondary school in Malmoe. In her spare}

time she likes to spend time with her friends and she enjoys watching TV-shows in English. Rose has plans to pursue a career in medicine. She wants to become a surgeon and thinks English will be important if she wishes to work abroad.

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26 Otto 14

This learner is a 9th grader who attends a Swedish secondary school in Malmoe. In his spare time he practices fencing. He travels abroad with his family and talks English at home and with his friends when they have homework.

Tomb Raider 15

This learner is a 9th grader who attends a regular Swedish secondary school in Malmoe. In his spare time he often plays World of Warcraft on his computer. Through playing this game he communicates in English with friends all over the world. He also travels abroad with his family where he is exposed to English.

Focal Points

Spare Time English

The learners’ all have private and personal relationships to English. All participants have stated that they in one way or another use English on a daily basis outside of school.

Five out of eight participants communicate with friends and family via English in their spare time. Tomb Raider spends an estimated amount of 10 hours a week with English. He plays a game called World of Warcraft where he communicates with friends all over the world via written English. Tomb Raider, Nissan Qashqai, Otto and Stewardess at times actively choose to communicate with Swedish speaking friends in English. Stewardess says it’s because she wants to talk about secrets in front of family members who do not understand English and Tomb Raider gives no clear answer but he adds that he thinks English is fun and interesting. Otto says that speaking English when doing homework with a friend helps to really get into the work and he thinks it makes the task easier. Lamborghini speaks English at home on a

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daily basis, so does Otto and Nissan Qashqai. Lamborghini also uses English when he chats online with family members across the globe.

Half of the participants clearly stated that they have a special interest in English or that they are generally interested in languages as such. Lamborghini said that he was very interested in language learning. Nissan Qashqai said that he had always liked languages and that he found it “kind of cool” to be able to speak another language, later on he mentions that his sisters look up to him because of his knowledge and that that makes it fun to know a little extra. Zeina said that she found it a bit exotic to be able to speak another language. Something which came up when every single learner spoke about English and their motivation to learn it was the notion that English is very useful and that it is a language which enables them to speak and communicate with people from other countries. As Tomb Raider put it: “many doors open if you know English well.”

Five of the eight learners have been to an English speaking country, and four of them have visited an English speaking country more than once. The three learners who had not been to an English speaking country had however met native speakers of English in Sweden. Stewardess said: “Sometimes it happens that someone has come up to me and asked for directions, addresses and such”. She also said that it was difficult thing to explain but she had really tried hard. The third learner who had not yet visited and English speaking country, Nissan Qashqai, had however had friends of the family visiting from England. Six out of eight participants used the word travel in connection to their use of English in the present as well as the future. The two participants who did not use the word travel still had plans which entailed travel, Stewardess in her future career and Nissan Qashqai when he said that he had not visited an English country, yet.

Six out of eight participants used one or two of the words: important and very useful when talking about English. All participants however used the words fun or interesting in connection to English. It should be noted that all of the participants were exposed to English in connection with spare time activities regarding culture. According to all of the participants, almost all, of their culture such as music, TV-series, films and games are expressed through

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English. The participants were asked to estimate how much time they spent on English throughout a week and the answers ranged from 21 to 70 hours a week. Tomb Raider said that in addition to those ten hours he is exposed to the English language through his computer games he also hears it on the TV and when he watches TV-shows in English. Both Tomb Raider and Nissan Qashqai concluded: it’s English almost all of the time. Stewardess also estimates that almost all of her spare time, where she listens to a lot of music, entails the use of English. Zeina is very interested in music as well and just like Stewardess she is exposed to English through this medium on a daily basis when she listens to, sings and writes songs in English.

Five out of eight learners stated that they had always liked English. Comments made by those learners included phrases about language being something which was inherently fun and interesting or that they had an aptitude for language learning and thereby English had always been easy and fun. Rose had been interested in English since she was a little girl watching TV and not understanding what the people were saying, she wanted to learn the language so that she could understand. Lamborghini says that he had always liked English because it was the subject which he knew best and that he had always felt confident in English.

Three of the participants answered that they had not always liked English. They all stated that before secondary school it had been boring and difficult. Tomb Raider said that his knowledge had been static and he felt as if he was not being taught anything new. When he started secondary school he felt as if though he was being challenged and presented with new things to learn and his interest in and liking of the subject had increased. The other two participants, Stewardess and Otto, had similar ways of describing their feelings about English. Both of them said that the change in attitude came when they began understanding and making good results in English. Otto said that before starting secondary school he did not understand that much English and that he thought it was a difficult subject. The change, he said, came during the summer holidays when he read a lot and he saw films and did not need the subtitles: “It just clicked and then it became fun”. Stewardess said that she found English difficult in the beginning and that she had not liked it. But now, since seventh and eighth grade, she had become better at English and consequently she had started liking it, as she added herself: “of course”. The participants who have experienced a change in their attitude

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towards English have many things in common when it comes to why the change occurred and when it happened.

One question was how they felt when they thought about English. Three out of eight participants said that it made them feel happy when they thought about English. All participants had feelings of a positive nature and said that the English lessons are something they, to some extent, looked forward to. Three answers were quite significant: “It sounds like a happy word, English”, said Rose, “I feel confident...I know it’s something I’m good at”, answered Lamborghini, “It might sound a bit silly but I feel kind of at home”, said Nissan Qashqai. All participants described their feelings towards English and English in school as being positive. Some had more vivid thoughts than others but all participants could describe the feelings that were evoked when hearing the word English or picturing themselves going to English class or being in class. Nissan Qashqai and Lamborghini both mention that they feel relaxed, at home and confident and these boys are exposed to English in their home settings as a natural part of their daily lives. English to them is not something which is spoken at home for simple fun or practice but as medium of communication between family members and friends. Five out of eight participants mentioned some forms of achievement when describing their feelings. This achievement could be the positive feeling of wanting to achieve a goal by working hard and the sensation of knowing that you are a high achiever in English.

Fun and English

Fun and English are two words which occurred simultaneously throughout the interviews. English is regarded by the participants as a means of communication and a gateway to social interaction with people in their present as well as their future. We have already pointed out the participants’ extensive use of English in their spare time. English in school seems to be very clearly connected to this since lessons regarded as fun were intimately connected with their spare time activities. Fun lessons were varied and included a lot of social interaction and use of cultural expressions. Multiple options, creative work and self-governed group work was highly valued and regarded as fun. Many participants showed clear links between their spare time interests and school tasks which incorporated these as being fun and motivating.

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Some tasks were not regarded as having a high fun-factor but nevertheless the learners saw that they had an educational value. This value is connected with reaching goals such as high grades and consequently pursuing a dream or feeling good about themselves.

“I think that English is fun ... consequently I get motivated to learn!”

This is a quotation by Tomb Raider and it is a view shared by all of our interviewees. They all maintain that English is a fun language to learn and it feels good to be able to speak it. And since they learn primarily for their own sake (for the future) and enjoyment (now), their motivation is high. Zeina said “that if you aim at something you must work hard … study”. The fact that English is an international language and the language of the internet makes it even more appealing for them to master it. Malin and Zeina agreed that “it is both fun and necessary” to be able to speak English.

Future Plans and Goals

All participants saw themselves using English in both the near, as well as the more distant future. Two of the participants, Malin and Tomb Raider, were thinking of applying to a programme in upper secondary school where all subjects are taught in English. Two participants, Nissan Qashqai and Lamborghini, said that they had plans to become English teachers and naturally saw English as a very important part in their future lives on a private basis as well as work related. The other participants saw English as a relevant part in their future plans since they all had plans and hopes that they were, to some extent, going to work abroad or be in an international line of work. Many of the participants also stated that their future use of English would be in travelling as well as communication with friends. Their motivation to excel in English is very clearly connected to their future goals no matter whether they plan to live parts of their lives in an English speaking environment or because English is instrumental in the achievement of another goal.

Unanimously, the interviewees stated that their motivation to do more than well in English is their set goals which are their different chosen future professions. Malin said that “with English, you go places; career and communication-wise”. Tomb Raider and Zeina agreed that

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“English mastery can open a lot of doors.” When the goal is the highest grade, it is because they need it for further education. Nissan Qashqai and Lamborghini said that for them motivation to get a good grade in English is in relation to their plans of becoming English teachers in the future. When Lamborghini was asked if he could influence his own motivation, he answered, “of course I can … especially if I think of my set goals in life… plus yes …everything I do well in life benefits me later on in life … at least that’s what my parents say (smiles).”

According to our interviewees, their future plans and goals are highly-motivating factors especially when learning becomes a struggle because things are no longer fun for them and their grades start to get negatively affected. To recover their motivation they remind themselves of the relevance and importance of English in their future. For them, English is both an instrument to reach set goals as well as a goal in itself.

Success, Fun and Motivation

There seems to be a circular argument between fun, success and motivation. Fifty-percent of the participants revealed that success leads to fun and fun leads to motivation and motivation leads to success. Stewardess said that when she succeeds consequently it is fun. On the other hand, the remaining fifty-percent started their circular argument from fun to motivation, motivation leading to success and success to fun.

The results showed that the concept of fun has many meanings. It can be described as feelings of happiness, self-esteem, pride and increased interest. And these positive feelings are linked to success and achievement.

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Seven out of eight interviewees put the heaviest weight of responsibility towards creating and maintaining motivation on themselves. Tomb Raider said that a positive attitude affects his motivation greatly. The others share this view. Zeina said that “it is after all my future… it is my life” and Otto includes English learning an as important part in his schedule of activities. The bottom line is attitude. When things should be done, the learners start from themselves. Lamborghini said that “One must have the will to learn” and the rest said, except Stewardess, “responsibility rests first and foremost on me.”

Teacher’s Influence on Learner Motivation

Six of our eight interviewees see the teacher as a learning tool or an instrument of their motivation. Tomb Raider said that “the teacher is there to give me something to do ... give me materials to work with ... what I do with it afterwards is totally up to me.” Nissan Qashqai said that the greatest responsibly lies on his shoulders. Lamborghini, Otto, Malin and Zeina stated that a teacher can plan a fun and stimulating lesson, and it can be of help, but still they maintain that the greatest responsibility is on them. Teachers can facilitate learning but at the end of the day, one must still want to do it. No one can make you learn except yourself. As Lamborghini said, “one must have the will to learn.”

The teacher’s educational attainment and expertise in the subject is very important for all the learners. They said that they lose interest if a teacher fumbles after the answers of their questions or fail to answer at all. Seven out of seven interviewees who answered the question related to the teacher’s education maintained that the teacher’s competence is of great importance. Issues that came up in relation to this question were grades, amount of obtainable knowledge, trust, inspiration, respect and the quality of the teaching and the education provided (in the classroom). Tomb Raider said that a brilliant teacher affects the grades he gets. He continued that his motivation grows even more when he is given new heights to climb, and this is easily accomplished by teachers who know their turf. Lamborghini said that

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“it’s disappointing when a teacher googles the key to your question because he/she is poorly equipped or unprepared.” A teacher who varies activities and methods of teaching is very motivating. It goes together with the concept of fun in the classroom. To reiterate, all the learners, in one way or the other, described fun as a motivating factor in learning.

The teacher’s age, they say, is not that important for their motivation. They can all see the pros and cons of the different age groups but they maintained that the most important thing is the quality of the education the teacher provides. Although some feel that younger teachers might understand them more as teenagers and some feel that older ones are more experienced teachers, they all agreed on the fact that age is not an important motivational factor. Malin said,” I expect as much despite their gender and age … they (teachers) still should teach us as well … and they still should do their job.” Otto said,” No, it (age) doesn’t really matter as long as they are good at what they do”.

On a more personal level, the interviewees were asked if they thought it was important for a teacher to pay attention to them as persons not just pupils. Four out of seven participants answered that personal contact and a well balanced professional and personal relationship with their teacher is important. Four out of four female participants maintained that having a good relationship with their teacher and feeling that their teacher genuinely cared for them is very important. Participants mention that it helps their motivation, boosts their confidence and this can consequently increase both their activity during lessons as well as like or dislike of the subject in itself. The two variables, social acceptance and attitude towards the subject, are linked through the physical lesson where they meet the teacher and experience the teaching of a subject. One learner, Otto, said that he did not find it important to have a more personal relationship with his teacher, he says: “it should not have any effect on my grades”. Nissan Qashqai said that he could not answer the question concretely but said that he wanted to be able to speak to his teacher about things without feeling awkward but at the same time not be involved with his teacher on a personal level outside of school.

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Is it important that they can approach a teacher even after a lesson? Stewardess’ answer to this is “it feels good because you feel safe.” Five out of five participants who answered this question maintained that the availability of extra help from the teacher outside of the lessons was of great help and support.

Even though the participants do appreciate that the teacher notices when they have changed something about themselves or remembers their birthday they do not value it as important to any great extent. The teacher’s attention and interest in their performance and development is of vast importance to them. They want to be ‘seen’ in this way. Zeina said that “it is very important for a teacher to know who is who and who does what”, and Malin said, “teachers give us grades so they better know who is who…” Attention and interest should be given fairly and evenly. Tomb Raider said, “they should show an interest in all the pupils and not only single out those who are motivated and brilliant pupils… but also challenge the others to do well and work harder … teachers should not show favoritism.”

Seven out of eight participants, who answered the question concerning the teacher’s expectations of them and their academic success, said that it had a significant effect on them. Rose was the only participant who clearly said that she did not want the teacher to expect great things from her; she said it was very stressful and pressuring. Other voices spoke of this attention as having a positive effect on their motivation furthermore they saw it as a possibility to show off their knowledge. Rose’s thoughts on a teacher having low expectations on her, was shared by the other participants; it is a possibility to prove the teacher wrong and surprise him or her with a good result.

Even though there was some disagreement between interviewees when some said that personal contact with a teacher is not of particular importance but nice to have, they all maintained that a glad, warm and open personality is contagious. This is something that can motivate the learners in the classroom. They said that a happy and positive teacher makes them happy and want to work more. And a friendly, quiet and peaceful environment in the

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classroom is important to their work. It is important for their continued motivation and if a teacher is good in creating the balance of fun and peace in the classroom. That is a big plus on the part of the teacher.

The participants were asked to rank, on a scale of one to ten (ten being the highest score), some specific gestures or actions that a teacher may do to “see” a learner. Six of eight answered as follows:

Table 1

Significant Others

Our interviewees as mentioned above are VG-MVG pupils. The teacher-parent relationship is not important to them as long as they do well in school. Tomb Raider said that “I do not attend school for my parents’ sake… I do it for me … but I guess it (the teacher-parent relationship) can be good if a pupil starts cutting classes or the like” Zeina said, “It does not really affect me.” and Otto said the same thing. Malin said, “It is not important”. Lamborghini and Nissan Qashqai thought that “Yeah… it can be good…” and Lamborghini continued “especially when you cut classes, sort of”.

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Otto, Lamborghini and Nissan Qashqai all mention their parents as having an effect on their motivation. Otto says that his mother motivates him to work harder not only with English but with school work in general. He said: “otherwise you don’t go anywhere, she usually says”. Nissan Qashqai says that “the people at home” motivate him to learn English in school. He says that he is motivated to increase his knowledge of English since his sisters look up to him. Lamborghini says similar to Nissan Qashqai that his family members, both near and distant, motivate him to learn English.

Speakers of English are not identified as makers of motivation but all participants have plans for living, working or traveling and thereby intermingle with English speaking people in the future. Even though it is not expressed results imply that people from English speaking communities over the world have a role to play in the learners’ motivation to learn English.

Demotivating Factors

The textbooks used in schools throughout Sweden were often used as an example when describing something inherently boring. Novels, films and music were regarded as fun and interesting. One way communication from teacher to students and the prohibition of spoken communication in class was also regarded as boring.

Two questions focused on how the learners reacted to positive respectively to negative results in English in school. All participants concurred in that it was a pleasant experience to do well and said that it made them feel content with themselves, happy and proud. When receiving bad results they said that it was to some extent disappointing but it made them want to prove themselves for next time and work even harder. In other words, they turn something which for many is a negative experience into something constructive. However, hypothetically, they said that, constantly failing and receiving bad remarks from the teacher would be as Tomb Raider put it: “not fun” and de-motivating and that such a thing would make them stop trying and turn their attention to other subjects. The only learner who differs is Nissan Qashqai. He said that “if I succeed in getting bad results it is as if the moon fell down and landed on top of my head.” He takes negative results badly and this can present a devastating effect on his

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motivation. Rose said that feeling that a teacher does not care about or like her could make her stop liking the subject and not do as well.

Very few rules were brought up when the participants were asked to describe the rules they had in the classroom. Only one learner, Nissan Qashqai, mentioned rules that were written down. Rules were spoken of as something which was implied as a silent norm of conduct. Stewardess said that rules were: not to speak when someone else was speaking and to raise their hand if one wished to speak. Otto said that one rule was to be quiet “but no one follows that (rule)”. Lamborghini said that breaking the rules and not listening to a speaker or interrupting would give five minutes detention and that this rule and punishment is very efficient. Lamborghini is also the only participant, out of seven, who does not mention disturbance in class as a demotivating factor or as an ingredient in a boring lesson.

Analysis

As mentioned in the Aim section, the focus of this dissertation is to explore what motivated and successful learners in grade eight and nine think motivates them to learn English in school. One aim is to find out what the learners think their own responsibilities are for their motivation. In addition, we aim to find out if the teacher plays a role in learners’ motivation.

To make the word motivation clear for our dissertation, we will reiterate what we mean by it. In this paper motivation is the driving force to reach set goals and purposes in learning English. In other words, motivation is related to successful learners who are interested and find satisfaction and relevance in learning. When we say motivated and successful learners, we have in mind learners that have VG to MVG grades and learners who take responsibility for their own learning and motivation. By own responsibility we mean learners’ own contributions, efforts and strategies in acquiring knowledge and achieving goals, without outside help.

The term motivation is difficult to define. Consequently, it is more difficult to categorize it. There are many classic ways to categorize motivation. Giota (2001) points out that some

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researchers “study learners motivation from an either/or (dualistic) perspective wherein the learner is seen as either intrinsically/extrinsically motivated or as one that strives for either learning or achieving”. Some researchers use the categorisations affective/social/cognitive aspects of motivation and some uses cultural influences as another category.

Since our aim is to see where motivation comes from and where the responsibility for motivation lies in accordance with what our participants said, we will categorize our results into three categories namely: a) learner-controlled motivation, b) teacher-influenced motivation and c) collaborative-effort motivation. Our background literatures deal with motivation from the individual itself, motivation from teachers’ input and motivation from significant others. Noels theory on motivation as not being either extrinsic or intrinsic but rather a mixture of both is an inspiration to our categorization. Our results confirms the findings of Giota and the theory of Noels that motivation is intertwined and that is why we decided to categorize our results as we did.

Learner-Controlled Motivation

Learner-controlled motivation, as its name suggests, is solely controlled, governed and influenced by the learner. This category is a combination of what influences the learner from within e.g. attitude towards English and without e.g. goals. The teacher or significant others have no influence on the motivation of the learner in this category.

The National Agency for Education research study called NU-03 (2005) points out the use of “spare time” English as a factor in pupils’ English proficiency. Our interviewees stated that “spare time” English is dominant when it comes to their exposure in the language. English is a big part of their everyday lives. They described English as something fun and interesting. Noels description of the intrinsic orientation refers to the reasons for foreign language learning that are derived from one’s inherent pleasure and interest in the activity; the activity is undertaken because of the spontaneous satisfaction that is associated with it. The participants stated that their “spare time” English, consisting of everything from chatting with friends to playing TV games, listening to music, watching English films and the likes, is