FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND BUSINESS STUDIES
Department of Humanities
Motivation
A study of the importance of motivation for upper secondary students in Sweden to learn the English language successfully
Therese Sigvardsson
2020–2021
Student thesis, Bachelor degree, 15 HE English
Teacher Education Programme Engelska för ämneslärare (61-90)
Supervisor: Kavita Thomas Examiner: Henrik Kaatari
Abstract
This study explores whether upper-secondary students in a Swedish school tend to have instrumental or integrative motivation towards their English studies. Several studies are looked into where a correlation between motivation and second language achievements has been found and a number of models are analysed that show how motivation plays a role in second language proficiency. The study also investigates the students’ overall motivation towards a specific assignment that they recently finished and the correlation between motivation and the grade that they got on the assignment is calculated and analysed.
This study is conducted through a survey that is answered by 40 students at an upper-secondary school in Sweden. All of the students study English and they all answered a questionnaire regarding their motivation towards their English studies in general as well as their motivation towards the assignment that they recently finished.
The results show that students in upper-secondary schools in Sweden tend to have instrumental motivation towards their English studies as they answered that the majority of them wants to learn English for practical reasons. The study also showed that the correlation between students’ motivation and their second language achievements is moderate and positive where the students’ motivation as well as their grades tend to move in tandem, so when the motivation gets higher, the grade tends to follow and vice versa.
Keywords: motivation, Sweden, upper-secondary, learning English, instrumental, integrative, second language achievement.
1. Introduction ... 1
1.1 Aim and research questions ... 1
2. Literature Review ... 2
2.1 Motivation ... 2
2.2 Dörnyei’s process model of L2 motivation ... 6
2.3 Basic model of the role of aptitude and motivation in L2 learning ... 8
2.4 Spolsky’s general model of second language learning ... 10
2.5 Integrative motivation ... 12
2.6 Instrumental motivation ... 13
2.7 Summary ... 13
3. Method ... 14
3.1 Material ... 14
3.2 Participants ... 15
3.3 Data ... 16
3.4 Method of Analysis ... 17
3.5 Validity and Reliability ... 17
4. Results and Discussion ... 19
4.1 Results ... 19
4.1.1 The average on instrumental and integrative motivation ... 19
4.1.2 Correlation between the students’ grade and motivation ... 21
4.2 Discussion ... 22
5. Conclusion ... 24
References ... 25
Appendices ... 27
1
1. Introduction
According to Gardner and Macintyre (1993, p. 1), social motivation as well as aptitude are two factors that are needed for second language achievement. If one is motivated to learn a second language, one has a good attitude towards it and therefore one is most likely to achieve second language success. The interest to learn a second language often develops because of some kind of emotional involvement with the language directly or with the second language community, and when these instances occur, one will most probably succeed in second language learning (Gardner & Macintyre, 1993, p. 1).
Dörnyei (1994, p. 273) also states that motivation is one of the main determinants when it comes to second language achievement. Motivation is, however,
dynamic and changes over time, and both integrative and instrumental motivation can help in a student’s second language achievements (Dörnyei, 1994, p. 274). One might have a desire to interact with, or even become part of, another community and this can change over time.
One might also want to learn a second language due to the fact that one wants a specific job or a higher salary, and when gaining or reaching this goal, motivation might also change
(Dörnyei, 1994, p. 274).
Since there have been studies conducted that show that motivation is one of the main factors to second language success (Gardner & Macintyre, 1993, p. 1; Dörnyei &
Ushioda, 2009, p. 52) this will be looked at in this essay when it comes to Swedish students learning English as a foreign language in an upper-secondary school in Sweden. Also, due to the fact that aptitude and motivation are treated as two separate constructs (Gass et al., 2013, p. 444 & p. 453), only motivation will be looked at in this study, leaving aptitude out for further research if desirable.
1.1 Aim and research questions
The aim of this study is to investigate how motivated students in upper secondary schools in Sweden are when it comes to English studies and to investigate what role motivation plays in the students’ language achievements. Specifically, integrative motivation, i.e. when one is motivated for social purposes, and instrumental motivation, i.e.
when one is motivated for practical reasons, will be analyzed (Gass et al., 2013, p. 526).
Several studies have been conducted, including summaries by both Gass et al. (2013) and Mitchell and Myles (2004), where high motivation seemed to be one of the winning factors to successfully learning a second language and this essay will look into that, specifically among Swedish upper secondary students and their English studies. Gardner’s basic model of the role
2 of aptitude and motivation in L2 learning will be analysed in this essay, as well as Spolsky’s general model of second language learning in order to perceive the importance of motivation among Swedish students and what significance it has for their language learning
achievements. These two models, among others, show the correlation between motivation and second language achievement and they show how motivation helps in students’ language success, and these models are therefore used and analysed in this essay. Dörnyei’s process model of L2 motivation shows how motivation changes over time depending on different motivational influences and this will also be looked at in this essay. A survey at an upper- secondary school in Sweden will be conducted in order to be able to analyse students’
motivation regarding their English studies. The students’ grades on one specific assignment that they recently finished will also be taken into account, to see whether there is a correlation between the grade of the assignment and the motivation towards the assignment. Accordingly, the research questions that will be studied in this essay are:
1. Do students tend to have instrumental or integrative motivation towards their English studies?
2. How are students’ overall motivation towards learning English correlated with proficiency as measured by grades?
2. Literature Review
Research and studies have been conducted throughout the years that show that motivation, along with aptitude are the predictors of second language success (Mitchell & Myles, 2004;
Gass et al., 2013). Even though motivation is a complex concept to measure, a correlation between language achievement and motivation has been found and this will be analysed in this essay (Lightbown & Spada, 2017, p. 87). Both Gardner’s and Spolsky’s models will be analysed and intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and integrative motivation as well as instrumental motivation will also be defined and examined in this essay.
2.1 Motivation
Motivation, according to Gass et al. (2013, p. 528), is “the characteristic that provides the incentive for learning”. So, in order for learning to take place, there must be some kind of motivation occurring. Lightbown and Spada (2017, p. 87) describe motivation as a complex phenomenon that has two factors: learners’ communicative needs and their attitudes towards the second language. If learners need to use their second language regularly in different social situations or due to professional reasons, they are most likely to see and
3 understand their communicative needs and will therefore probably be motivated to acquire proficiency in it. Also, if learners have a good attitude towards the speakers of their second language, they will probably want more contact with them and therefore they will be motivated to learn the second language even better (Lightbown & Spada, 2017, p. 87).
Mitchell and Myles (2004, p. 26) also explain motivation as a complex construct. They explain that if the motivated learner has a goal that he or she really wants to achieve, the learner will then dedicate substantial effort to achieve this goal and when achieving this goal he or she will experience great satisfaction (Mitchell & Myles, 2004, p. 26). So, in
sociolinguistics this motivation and goal can be referred to the desire or enthusiasm for learning a language, specifically a second language.
According to Gass et al. (2013, p. 452), one main factor why humans reach different levels of knowledge in a second language is motivation. Naturally, when one is highly motivated and really wants to learn a second language, that person is most likely to learn the second language eventually, unlike the person that does not have any motivation at all and does not want to learn a second language. The motivated person will probably learn the second language faster and also better than the person without any type of motivation, since the motivated person has a goal and will work really hard to achieve that goal (Gass et al., 2013, p. 452). In order for a person to even want to learn a language and to start with language studies, some kind of motivation needs to occur. In addition to that, when one has started learning a language and in order for that person to continue learning motivation cannot fade. If motivation fades or completely goes away, the person is most likely to stop learning the language (Gass et al., 2013, p. 165). So, motivation can and probably will change over time and this will be looked at with the help of Dörnyei’s (2005) process model of L2 motivation under the headline 2.2: Dörnyei’s process model of L2 motivation further on in this essay.
Gass et al. (2013, p. 453) bring up Gardner and Lambert who both worked with motivation studies and who divided motivation into four aspects or factors: a goal, effortful behaviour, a desire to attain the goal and favourable attitudes toward the activity in question.
Gass et al. (2013, pp. 452-453) show that several studies have been conducted, for example by Gardner and Macintyre (1993) and Dörnyei and Ushioda (2009), that show that motivation is in fact a predictor of language-learning success. Gardner and Macintyre (1993, p.1) concluded that in order for an interest in learning a second language to arise, there must be some kind of motivation involved. This motivation often comes from emotional involvement with the other language community and the desire to be a part of that community. Once that motivation
4 occurs, language success is also most likely to occur (Gardner & Macintyre, 1993, p.1). The other reason for motivation to arise and for second language success to follow would be that the learner had a direct interest in the language itself (Gardner & Macintyre, 1993, p.1).
Gardner and Macintyre (1993, p. 1) also found that language aptitude and social motivation were both related to second language achievement. Another discovery that Gardner and Macintyre (1993, p. 4) made was that of attitudes and that both attitudes and motivation play a role in second language achievement. Learners who have a bad attitude and who are not motivated will not even take part in the language learning context, as opposed to learners who are motivated and therefore take part in the context (Gardner & Macintyre, 1993, p. 9).
Dörnyei and Ushioda (2009, p. 52) also found that motivation is one of the main determining factors of second language learning achievement. They found motivation to be multifaceted and constantly changing, but in order for second language learning to continue to happen, motivation can never go away completely. Therefore, motivation is one of the most important components when learning a second language (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2009, p. 52).
Aptitude is a person’s natural ability to do something, for example learning another language (Gass et al., 2013, p. 520). According to Gass et al. (2013, p. 453), aptitude seems to be the strongest predictor of success in language, but the second strongest predictor is motivation and therefore there probably would not be any success in language studies without any kind of motivation. However, motivation is difficult to explain, and to find and describe the exact nature of motivation is difficult and diffuse since it is not so clear what that nature is (Gass et al., 2013, p. 453). Lightbown and Spada (2017, p. 78) bring up the
counterargument that motivation cannot be measured or directly observed since motivation is just a label for an entire range of characteristics and behaviours and they ask the questions whether it is really possible to conclude that people’s success is due to their motivation or not.
Lightbown and Spada (2017, p. 78) also bring up the notion of aptitude and how it probably has an involvement in language learning achievements and success. Gardner and Macintyre (1992, pp. 5-6) likewise state that aptitude is an important variable, and even the single best predictor of second language achievement in the long run. Students with a high aptitude for language learning will probably reach second language success, Gardner and Macintyre (1992, p. 7) assert, since the amount of time the learner needs to learn a second language or develop the skills for that language is shorter than for the learner who does not have a high aptitude for second language learning. So, Gardner and Macintyre (1992, p. 7) show a
correlation between both second language achievement and aptitude, motivation and aptitude as well as second language achievement and motivation. Nevertheless, even though
5 motivation is a complex concept that might be difficult to measure, both Gardner (1992) and Dörnyei (2009) manage to do just that, and therefore motivation can in fact both be observed and measured, something which Mitchell and Myles (2004, p. 26) agree with since they say that there is plenty of evidence that shows that second language achievement is dependent on the level of motivation in the learner.
Both Dörnyei (1994, p. 274) and Lightbown and Spada (2017, p. 87) bring up the subcomponents to motivation: instrumental and integrative motivation. Instrumental motivation is when one is motivated to learn a second language for practical reasons, for example in order to get a better job or a higher salary. Integrative motivation, on the other hand, is when one wants to learn a second language for social purposes, for example in order to be able to be a part of a community (Dörnyei, 1994, p. 274). These two terms will be explained and analysed further on in this essay since they have been found to be related to language learning success (Lightbown & Spada, 2017, p. 87).
Other subcomponents to motivation that Dörnyei (1994, pp. 275-276) brings up are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation means that a learner is motivated due to extrinsic factors such as getting a high salary or getting compliments from someone.
So, the learner performs in order to receive some kind of extrinsic reward, for example good grades or to avoid punishment. This can be related to instrumental motivation where the motivated learner also wants some kind of reward. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is when the learner gets the rewards internally, for example pleasing one’s curiosity or the joy of doing a certain activity. Therefore, intrinsic motivation often occurs in schools among
students when their natural curiosity and interest motivate their learning. When the school and education is interesting to the students and they feel challenged, stimulated, and fascinated by the studies, intrinsic motivation will help the students learn even more (Dörnyei, 1994, p.
275). This can be related to integrative motivation where one is motivated for social purposes.
So, when instrumental and integrative motivation occur, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation will also happen (Dörnyei, 1994, p. 279). Traditionally, extrinsic motivation was said to
undermine motivation, since students who felt forced to do something, for example read aloud in the classroom, lost their intrinsic interest and motivation. However, these beliefs have now changed and extrinsic motivation is instead looked at as something that can be combined with or even lead to intrinsic motivation, for example when the extrinsic rewards are self-
determined and internalised, so now they go hand in hand instead of ruling each other out (Dörnyei, 1994, pp. 275-276). Thus, with high intrinsic as well as extrinsic motivation, a
6 learner will be motivated to learn for example a second language, and when motivated to do so, for whatever reason, one is most likely to achieve learning success.
As mentioned before, several studies have been conducted that were all looking at students, their motivation towards second language learning and the impact motivation has for second language achievement. One example of these studies are Gardner and Lambert’s (1959, p. 267) study of motivational variables in second-language acquisition where they looked at high school students in Montreal who were studying French as a second language.
Gardner and Lambert (1959, p. 267) wanted to see the importance of linguistic aptitude as well as some specific motivational variables in learning a second language. The study was conducted using a number of tests which contained measures of linguistic aptitude,
intelligence, and various attitudinal and motivational characteristics (Gardner & Lambert, 1959, p. 271). What this study found was that there are two components that are related to second language achievement: aptitude and motivation. It showed that the students with integrative motivation had a good attitude towards the people in the community of their second language, and therefore they were highly motivated to learn that language. The desire to be accepted as a member of that community, and the desire to learn that language makes motivation grow stronger and this could be seen in the study conducted by Gardner and Lambert (1959, p. 271). The study also found that success in second language learning comes from verbal intelligence, the intensity of motivation one has to learn the other language, the reason one has for learning that language as well as linguistic aptitude (Gardner & Lambert, 1959, p. 272).
2.2 Dörnyei’s process model of L2 motivation
Learning and improving in a second language is a long-term project that cannot happen overnight. However, to be successful in the second language requires that one is successful in a series of short-term activities (Gass et al., 2013, p. 455). Motivation is dynamic, so it changes over time and this can lead to difficulties in attaining language
achievement. In order to get good school grades though, one needs to succeed and perform in a number of tasks or assignments over a term or even two terms and since motivation is something that is changing, language success, as in good grades can be a difficult thing to achieve (Gass et al., 2013, p. 455). Dörnyei (2005, pp. 66 ff) constructed a model that shows how motivation changes over time.
7 Prereactional stage Actional stage Postactional stage
Figure 1. Dörnyei’s process model of L2 motivation (Gass et al., 2013, p. 457)
This model shows three phases that are:
• The prereactional stage: Motivation is generated during this stage and the goals are set here.
• The actional stage: Here one generates and carries out subtasks and this is referred to as executive motivation. Hence, here the activity continues to happen, even with distracting influences.
• The postactional stage: This is the stage where the evaluation takes place. Here one looks at how the activity went and evaluates whether this activity will be pursued again in the future or not.
The model presents how motivation evolves and changes over time and it shows the
motivational influences that have an impact on motivation. Dörnyei (2005, pp. 66 ff) shows with this model that different motives can be involved at different times and that the different stages in the model overlap, so where one stage ends, the other will begin. One important factor that influences learner motivation is the second language learners’ classroom. Students that study second languages both need to rely on themselves and their motivation but also the teachers’ impact on the studies. The students’ motivated behaviours, the teacher’s
motivational strategies and the students’ motivation are all correlated in order for the student
Choice of motivation:
Motivational functions
• Setting goals
• Forming intentions
• Launching action Main motivational influences:
• Various goal properties (e.g., goal relevance, specificity and proximity)
• Values associated with the learning process itself, as well as with its outcomes and consequences
• Attitudes towards the L2 and its speakers
• Expectancy of success and perceived coping potential
• Learner beliefs and strategies
• Environmental support or hindrance
Executive motivation:
Motivational functions
• Generating and carrying out subtasks
• Ongoing appraisal (of one’s achievement)
• Action control (self-regulation) Main motivational influences:
• Quality of the learning experience (pleasantness, need significance, coping potential, self and social image)
• Sense of autonomy
• Teachers’ and parents’ influence
• Classroom reward- and goal structure (e.g., competitive or cooperative)
• Influence of the learner group
• Knowledge and use of self- regulatory strategies (e.g., goal setting, learning, and self - motivating strategies)
Motivational retrospection:
Motivational functions
• Forming causal attributions
• Elaborating standards and strategies
• Dismissing the intention and further planning
Main motivational influences:
• Attributional factors (e.g., attributional styles and biases)
• Self-concept beliefs self (e.g., confidence and self-worth)
• Received feedback, praise, grades
8 to reach second language success (Dörnyei, 2005, pp. 66 ff). As a result, considering this model, Dörnyei (2005, pp. 66 ff) shows that motivation changes over time and this means that students in a classroom might be motivated in the beginning of the year, but as the time passes, and different influences occur their motivation might fade. This is therefore important to remember when measuring motivation. Since motivation changes, it is difficult to
generalise and say that one thing applies for everyone, at all times, but instead it is important to see and remember that at that point, when the studies took place, the motivation was as shown according to the model (Dörnyei, 2005, pp. 66ff).
This model can also be analysed according to how a student works on a task in school, for example in second language studies. The prereactional stage is when the student starts the year or when a new assignment will start. The student will then hopefully set some goals, maybe to get a specific grade in the second language studies or a specific grade on that assignment that he or she will start with. The student will then be motivated to achieve their goals of getting that particular grade and the teacher will support and help the student to achieve it. Then, in the actional stage, the student starts working on the assignment, with the help of the teacher and the learning and motivation continues. Once the assignment is finished and handed in, the postactional stage starts and that is when the student gets the grade on the assignment. After the grade has been set, evaluation takes place and this will determine whether the student will carry on being motivated or not. If the student reached his or her goal that they set in the prereactional stage, they are most likely to carry on being motivated in the next assignment as well. If the goals were not reached, however, the student will likely lack motivation for the next assignment and then, especially the teacher, will need to work hard in order to raise the student’s motivation once again (Gass et al., 2013, pp. 456-457).
2.3 Basic model of the role of aptitude and motivation in L2 learning
Gardner proposed a model of second language acquisition which focuses on learning a second language in school and it shows the components that are needed in order to reach language success (Dörnyei & Schmidt, 2002, p. 4).
9
Figure 2. Basic model of the role of aptitude and motivation in L2 learning (Dörnyei & Schmidt, 2002, p. 4).
According to Dörnyei and Schmidt (2002, p. 4), in language studies and research, language achievement is often measured by the grades that the students get or the score they get on a test, but in this model second language achievement refers to the
development of near-native like proficiency. The model has identified variables that act as motivational factors in second language achievement and both integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning situation influence motivation to learn a second language. Motivation, on the other hand, and language aptitude have an influence on language achievement according to the model (Dörnyei & Schmidt, 2002, p. 4). Integrativeness stands for the interest that learners might have for learning the second language so that they can come closer to that language’s community. This integrativeness means that the learner needs to be open and have respect for the community’s cultural group and ways of living. Integrativeness involves both a positive attitude toward the second language community and an emotional identification with other cultures and their groups. Hence, integrativeness includes attitudes towards other cultures, groups, and communities (Dörnyei & Schmidt, 2002, p. 5). The variable attitude toward the learning situation is, as the name indicates, about the attitudes one might have regarding the situation that the second language learning takes place in. These attitudes, when concerning learning a second language in school, could be attitudes and thoughts one has towards the teacher, the classmates, the course in general, materials that are used and so on (Dörnyei & Schmidt, 2002, p. 5). Motivation, in this model, is the driving force that one has
Attitudes Toward the Learning
Situation
Integrativenes s
Motivation Other
Support
Other Factors
Language Achievement
Language Aptitude
10 to learn a second language. This includes three elements: effort, desire, and positive affect.
Effort means the effort the motivated learner makes to learn the second language. Desire means that the learner has a goal to learn the second language and will have a strong desire and work hard to achieve that goal, which in this case is language success. Positive affect means that the learner will enjoy learning the second language although he or she might not enjoy it at all times, he or she will still think it is fun and challenging to learn a second language. These three elements are all necessary in order to be a motivated student (Dörnyei
& Schmidt, 2002, p. 6). What the model also shows is how the three variables motivation, integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning situation form integrative motivation.
Consequently, the integratively motivated student is motivated to learn the second language, has a willingness or desire to identify and respects another language community, and thinks the learning situation is positive (Dörnyei & Schmidt, 2002, p. 6).
According to Dörnyei and Schmidt (2002, p. 6) motivation is responsible for achievement in the second language and both integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning situation support motivation. There can of course also occur other support that is not directly associated with any of the variables within the integrative motivation box, such as
instrumental factors or a particularly stimulating teacher for example, that could also
contribute to motivation, and therefore other support is outside of the integrative motivation box, but still connected to motivation (Dörnyei & Schmidt, 2002, p. 7). The model also shows that other factors and language aptitude have direct effects on language achievement but since the intention of the model is to focus on integrative motivation those two factors or variables are not further explained (Dörnyei & Schmidt, 2002, p. 7). To conclude, Gardner’s model shows the variables needed in order for second language achievement to occur with the focus on integrative motivation in a learning or educational setting such as the school.
2.4 Spolsky’s general model of second language learning
Spolsky (1985, p. 282) also came up with a model that shows how second language learning achievement depends on a number of conditions. Some of the conditions in the model are necessary in order for learning to even occur, while others can be graded and therefore can happen with alternative paths to the outcome (Spolsky, 1985, p. 282). The model shows that there are many ways to both learn and teach a second language and that there are several factors that determine what the outcome of the language learning will be.
11 Figure 3. Spolsky’s general model of second language learning (Spolsky, 1985, p. 282)
The first set of conditions in the model is the social context in which the second language occurs. Depending on the social context, these conditions either influence second language learning and determine the learner’s attitudes toward the second language, which are divisible, or they provide learning opportunities in formal or informal situations. So, the social context that the learner is in can both determine the learner’s attitudes towards the situation as well as provide learning opportunities in the situation that the learners find themselves in. The attitudes can either be attitudes toward the second language community, which Gardner called integrativeness, or attitudes toward the learning situation. These attitudes lead to the learner developing motivation (Spolsky, 1985, p. 283). The learning opportunities that can be provided by the social context can either be formal or informal situations. Formal situations would be for example second language learning that takes place in schools. Informal
situations would be situations where learners encounter and interact with people that speak the second language for example when they travel to that country (Spolsky, 1985, p. 283). Other factors in the model are the different personal characteristics that the learners have. Age, personality, capabilities, and previous knowledge are all factors that contribute to the language learning outcome. Capabilities can be innate or learned and previous knowledge
Social context
Attitudes (of various kinds)
Motivation
Learning opportunities (formal or informal)
Linguistic and non-linguistic outcomes for the learner
Previous knowledg
e Capabiliti
es Personalit
y Age
leads to
which appear in the learner as
which joins with other personal characteristics such as
all of which explain the use the learner makes of the
the interplay between learner and situation determining
12 regards knowledge that the learner has both from their first and second language (Spolsky, 1985, p. 283). Each of the factors mentioned all lead up to the various outcomes that may be linguistic or non-linguistic. So, Spolsky’s model shows the different conditions and factors that all play a part in the theory of second language learning.
One thing that might be a bit difficult with this model is that since it has so many different factors, the outcomes will vary profoundly. Therefore, it will be really difficult to measure and find a common outcome for a set of people since the characteristics of each person plays a big role in the model. Another thing that might be difficult with this model is the fact that attitudes come before motivation. This means that a person with a bad attitude will probably have low or non-existent motivation. So, this would mean that for a teacher it would be really difficult to motivate a student that already from the beginning has a bad attitude and therefore no motivation towards learning a second language. It would be difficult for the teacher to motivate the students, but as long as the teacher works on the social context and the students’ attitudes, motivation should improve by itself according to the model.
2.5 Integrative motivation
As mentioned in section 2.1, integrative motivation is the motivation to learn a second language because one has the desire to acculturate and wants to be a part of a target- language community. One wants to understand the other language and culture, be able to interact with them and to feel included and therefore one is motivated to learn another language from that desire (Gardner et al., 1992, p. 198). Studies have shown that integrative motivation is related to several aspects of language learning. For example, a student’s
behaviour in the classroom, the decision to stay in instead of dropping out of language studies and the decision to participate in various bicultural excursion programs have all been found to be connected to integrative motivation. Therefore, the overall conclusion from all of these aspects is that integrative motivation encourages proficiency in a second language (Gardner et al., 1992, p. 198). Gardner et al. (1992, p. 209) found in their studies that integrative
motivation enables learning of vocabulary items. They also found that integrative motivation is related to higher levels of achievement compared to the ones without any integrative
motivation. The students with integrative motivation showed to have an eagerness to instigate a response quickly with better results as they were willing to take more risks and therefore they also tended to have higher levels of achievement compared to the ones with less or no integrative motivation (Gardner et al., 1992, p. 209).
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2.6 Instrumental motivation
Instrumental motivation is the motivation one gets from learning and knowing another language and gain some kind of reward for that. When one wants to learn a second language for practical reasons, for example in order to get a specific job, to get a higher salary or to get into a specific school or education, that is instrumental motivation (Matsuzaki
Carreira, 2005 p. 40). Junko Matsuzaki Carreira (2005 pp. 8 & 41-47) also found that
instrumental motivation is directly connected to language proficiency as it is related to goals and outcomes and therefore also an essential element of success. Once the goal has been fulfilled, instrumental motivation might fade and go away and therefore it is important to maintain motivation throughout the whole learning experience and not settle once the goal has been reached (Matsuzaki Carreira, 2005 p. 59). Dörnyei (1994, p. 283) wanted to make his research more “education-friendly” and also found instrumental motivation to be one of the components necessary in order to reach second language success in the classroom. As stated before, Gardner and Macintyre (1993, p. 2) divide motivation into a number of factors, where one of the factors is to have a goal. Instrumental motivation gives the learner a specific goal to reach and therefore instrumental motivation is crucial in order to reach second language proficiency (Gardner & Macintyre, 1993, p. 2). What Mohammad Reza Ahmadi (2011, p. 12) also found in his studies was that both integrative motivation as well as instrumental
motivation are equally important in order to reach success.
2.7 Summary
To conclude, research has been conducted with proof that motivation and
second language success go hand in hand and models have been found and analysed that show evidence of this. Although motivation is a complex concept that is hard to define and explain, there is still enough evidence that shows that motivation is needed to reach success in a second language. Whether that motivation comes from social purposes or practical reasons it is still necessary to have some kind of motivation in order for second language success to occur, according to several different researchers. When a learner is motivated, some kind of goal or desire needs to be fulfilled, and therefore the learner will work really hard and do whatever he or she can in order to achieve that. Accordingly, when a student has a goal to achieve, for example to get a high grade on an assignment, he or she will be motivated to work hard to achieve that grade, and when getting that grade, motivation will probably stay with the student for the next assignment so that he or she continues to reach for language success and high grades. This will now be considered and remembered when conducting a
14 survey with Swedish upper-secondary students to see whether the students have instrumental or integrative motivation towards their English studies as well as how the students’ overall motivation towards learning English is correlated with proficiency which is here measured by grades on one specific assignment.
3. Method
The aim of this essay is to see whether Swedish upper-secondary students have instrumental or integrative motivation towards their English studies and to see how their overall motivation is correlated with their language achievements. The students’ achievements will be measured by the grades that they get in one specific assignment. Why the students’ achievements and proficiency will be assessed by the grades they get in a specific assignment is due to the fact that several studies have shown just that: that proficiency can be measured by grades (Dörnyei
& Schmidt, 2002; Dörnyei, 1994; Gass et al. 2013). This will be done by conducting a survey that the students will answer regarding their motivation towards a specific assignment that they are working on. When the students answered the questionnaire, the assignment had not been graded yet, but as soon as the assignment was graded those grades were also looked at in order to find a correlation between the students’ motivation and their language achievements.
3.1 Material
The material that is used in this essay is a questionnaire (see Appendix 1) and the grade that the students got on a specific assignment that they recently finished. The questionnaire was designed with inspiration taken from Matsuzaki Carreira’s (2005, p. 50) questionnaire about students’ motivation towards English learning as a second language.
Matsuzaki Carreira’s (2005, pp. 50ff) questionnaire was based on Japanese students and their motivation towards learning English as a foreign language with a focus on instrumental and integrative motivation and therefore several statements were taken from that questionnaire.
Reza Ahmadi’s (2011, p. 15) questionnaire on motivations for learning English was also used designing the questionnaire for this study as that questionnaire focused on what motivates students to learn English as a second language. The questions and statements in the
questionnaire are closed-response questions that were also designed based on Guthrie’s (2010, p. 133) questionnaire design. Likert scales are a form of scaled responses used in this
questionnaire since Guthrie (2010, p. 132) specified that scaled responses are mainly used for measuring attitudes and perceptions and since this study will look at students’ motivation, Likert scales are the best form to use in these questionnaires. The scale in this questionnaire will have a series of 5 options to choose from, with a neutral answer in the middle since this is
15 not a political poll and therefore the students are allowed to be neutral in their answers
(Guthrie, 2010, p. 133). The questions asked in the questionnaire are all related to the English language and will show how motivated the students are to learn English. The questions and the questionnaire are designed in the way that the students grade how much they agree or disagree with the statement that is written. The first 6 questions or statements refer to
instrumental motivation and how motivated students are for practical reasons. Statements 7 to 12 regard integrative motivation and how motivated the students are for social purposes. The last 8 statements are with regards to the particular assignment that the students worked on in their English studies. The assignment that the students worked on was an assignment called The Body. The assignment included reading the book called The Body, answering the questions at the end of the book, then watching the movie and then writing an essay, answering some questions about one character that the students chose themselves, (see Appendix 2). The students worked on this assignment for four weeks and had two weeks to finish the assignment about their choice of character. Every English lesson started with some kind of common review that the teacher held and then the students either read the book, answered the questions, or worked on their texts. The assignment finished with the students watching the movie and then finishing their texts about one character. In the same lesson that the assignment finished, the students answered the questionnaire. Then, once the assignment was graded, these grades were also looked at and analysed. The last two questions in the questionnaire are open-response questions for the students to answer in order to see if the instrumental or integrative factors play a role.
3.2 Participants
The participants included 40 students who are all studying different programs.
12 girls and 28 boys answered the questionnaire but since this study does not focus on gender differences this is not important. English 6 was the level of studies and the students had to choose to study English themselves if they wanted their education to prepare them for University or not. If they did not choose English, they got more practical classes within their program instead. Most of the students have Swedish as their mother tongue even though some of the students’ parents come from other countries. Some students are bilingual with Swedish as one of their languages as well as either Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish or Persian. All of the students are born in Sweden and since the students had to choose their English studies
themselves, they all have at least an E as a grade in English, compared to other subjects where some of the students have F’s. Eight students have learning difficulties, four of them have
16 dyslexia, two have ADHD and two have Asperger’s syndrome. Due to Covid-19 few students came to school at the time when the questionnaire was conducted and therefore only 40 students participated.
3.3 Data
Once the questionnaires were answered by the students, the data was collected and looked at. Each statement has five answers provided that the students can choose from.
The answers each have a 5-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) with the answers disagree (2), neither agree nor disagree (3) and agree (4) in between.
Table 1: The layout of the questionnaire’s answers
Statement
Strongly disagree DisagreeNeither agree
nor disagree
Agree Strongly agree 1. I want to learn English
because it is useful when travelling in many countries
1 2 3 4 5
Once the data has been collected and each question has been answered, each students’ results will be looked at individually, comparing their score for the assignment with the grade in a correlation analysis which will be executed in Excel. As soon as the grades are set on the assignment these will be looked at and converted to a 5-point scale where the grade E equals number 1, D equals number 2 and so on up to the grade A which will then equal number 5.
Thus, then both the grade and the answers to the questionnaire will be measured on a 5-point scale. Guthrie (2010, pp. 130 ff) states that scores from different items can be summed up and measured if they are on the same Likert scale even though the different items might
correspond to different aspects as long as it is of the same construct, in this case motivation type, therefore two variables will be compared: the score from the questionnaire and the grade that the students received on the assignment. Also, to see whether the students have
instrumental or integrative motivation towards their English studies, the average number on each statement will be calculated. The instrumental as well as the integrative motivation scores will be calculated separately for each student and then they will be added together to find the average of each type of motivation. Therefore, the number of the answers from the students will be calculated with the total number of students participating in the questionnaire in order to get an average.
17
3.4 Method of Analysis
Once the answers and the grades have been set out on the 5-point scale, a correlation test will be made in Excel. This will be done by measuring the score from the questionnaire regarding the overall motivation towards the assignment. The correlation test in Excel, which is called the Spearman test, will be made up of two columns where one contains the motivation score, and one contains the grade, and each row corresponds to a different student. So, the test will have 40 rows, since there were 40 students answering the
questionnaire, where motivation in general for the assignment and the grade will each have a separate column. The formula that was used in Excel to find the correlation was:
=CORREL(B2:B41;C2:C41) (Cheusheva, 2020). This Spearman test is appropriate for correlating and evaluating possible relationships between two sets of ordinal data and since this study deals with ordinal data the Spearman test is the most appropriate to use here (Svensson, 2011, p. 3114). A scatterplot was also made, using the total motivation for each student compared to their grade that they got on the assignment and added into the Diagram function in Excel. In order to find whether the students have instrumental or integrative motivation towards their English studies, statements 1-6 will be looked at to find the average on instrumental motivation and statements 7-12 will be looked at for integrative motivation.
Individual Likert responses will be added and then the average will be calculated and analysed to see whether the instrumental or the integrative motivation scored the highest (Guthrie, 2010, p. 132). The two last questions, the open-response questions will help with this analysis to see whether the students want to learn English for practical reasons or for social purposes.
3.5 Validity and Reliability
Closed-response questions are used in this study and have pre-determined options for the respondent to choose between and although, according to Guthrie (2010, p.
131), this is less valid than open-ended questions since the responses and choices might be restrictive, it is still more reliable to have closed-response questions as the answers are then set and the research is more replicable. According to Guthrie (2010, p. 133), forced choice scales without a neutral centre point, so usually only four options to choose from, are
normally only used in political polls where ‘fence-sitting’ is to be avoided and therefore the 5- point scale is used in this questionnaire. The choice of material and method in this essay could be considered limited since only one school partook in the questionnaire, and only 40 students participated. Also, since many students were absent due to Covid-19, and since some students
18 have been known to use Covid-19 as an excuse not to come to school, the students who
actually came to school and who partook in the questionnaire could be considered more motivated both towards their studies in general as well as their English studies. Consequently, this is a problem for validity as the questionnaire might not have been answered by students who are less motivated towards their education and only answered by students who actually take their education seriously and who are in fact motivated to achieve. Another issue to keep in mind is the fact that the person who carried out this study used to be the students’ teacher.
This could also affect the results since the students might have answered in a specific way because they knew the teacher and wanted to please her. Therefore, it is not possible to say that the findings in this essay apply to all schools in Sweden or even to all upper-secondary students since only one school participated where the students knew the executor.
The teachers as well as the remedial teachers all work closely together to help the students with learning difficulties, and they both get more time on the assignments if they wish as well as a spelling program installed on their computer and extra help from the
remedial teacher. Since these students get so much help from both the teachers and programs, their grades are as good as any other student’s and it does not make an impact on this essays analysis. Another issue to keep in mind here is the fact that the choice of statements might not be relevant or reflect the students’ motivation since the statements that were based on both Matsuzaki Carreira’s (2005) and Reza Ahmadi’s (2011) studies were questions for different groups in other countries and not Swedish upper-secondary students. Also, another validity issue with this study is that the questionnaire was administered in English and even though all of the statements were translated verbally before the students started to answer them, the students still might have misinterpreted some of them.
The internal validity in this study, i.e. whether this study measures what it sets out to measure for this group, is that it does represent upper-secondary students to a certain degree (McDermott, 2011, p. 27). Since the students that participated all are enrolled in different programs, one can argue that the findings in this study represent how students in an upper-secondary school with certain programs, such as healthcare and carpentry, in general feel towards their English studies. However, since there were only 40 students participating, all from the Stockholm area, the findings might not represent how other students feel that come from smaller places around Sweden. The school environment, family situations as well as friends and job opportunities probably play a role in the students’ motivation and therefore it is difficult to say that the results in this study apply to all upper-secondary students. The external validity, i.e. to what extent the results can be applied to other situations or groups, is
19 also complicated (McDermott, 2011, p. 27). As stated before, since the students all come from the Stockholm area, and the school was a relatively small program-focused upper-secondary school with only 200 students, the results might have been different if the students came from other parts of Sweden or even if they went to a different and bigger school around Stockholm.
Hence, in order for the results of the study to be more reliable and to be applicable to all students in Sweden, a bigger survey with more participants from different areas and different schools would have needed to be conducted.
The Spearman’s test that was conducted in this study is valid and reliable as the data is ordinal and when the data is ordinal this is the appropriate choice of correlation test (Svensson, 2011, p. 3114). The Likert responses made it possible for the students to show their attitudes and opinions towards their English studies, and since a 5 Likert scale was used, this made it more reliable and valid as a 4 Likert scale would have forced the students to have an opinion when they might not have had one. Therefore, the 5 Likert scale made the study reliable and valid with these specific students (Willits et al., 2016,p. 134).
4. Results and Discussion
4.1 Results
The research questions that were analysed in this essay were:
1. Do students tend to have instrumental or integrative motivation towards their English studies?
2. How are students’ overall motivation towards learning English correlated with proficiency as measured by grades?
So, the results from the questionnaire will first be presented with regards to research question number 1 followed by the results to research question number 2.
4.1.1 The average on instrumental and integrative motivation
To answer research question number 1 whether students tend to have instrumental or integrative motivation towards their English studies, statements 1-12 from the
questionnaire need to be looked at and calculated. The results from the students’ answers regarding their instrumental motivation as well as their integrative motivation are presented in Tables 2 and 3:
20 Table 2. The average on instrumental motivation
Question
number: Statement: Average
score:
1. I want to learn English because it is useful when travelling in many countries 4.8 2. I want to learn English because I want to study abroad in the future 3.45 3. If I learn English better I will be able to get a better job 4.1 4. I study English because I think English will be necessary for me when I am an adult 4.25
5. I study English in order to go to University 3.95
6. I do assignments in English to get a high grade 4.2
Table 3. The average on integrative motivation Question
number: Statement: Average
score:
7. I study English because it helps me in my gaming 3.05
8. I study English to better understand movies, series and music 3.65 9. I learn English so I can chat and communicate with people from other countries 3.6 10. I study English because I would like to make foreign friends 2.65
11. I study English because I would like to live abroad 3.15
12. I study English because I would like to know more about foreign countries 3.1 For each statement’s total number of answers in the 5-scale range, see Appendix 3. The total average score on each type of motivation is presented in Table 4:
Table 4: Total average score on motivation
Motivation type: Total average score:
Instrumental motivation 4.13 Integrative motivation 3.2
Looking at the results, the students’ instrumental motivation is higher than the integrative motivation by almost a full point. Looking at each statement separately, statement 1 got the highest score, showing how the students found English to be important to learn since it is useful when travelling in many countries. Statements 3, 4 and 6 all scored four or higher, showing how the students learn English to get a high grade, to be able to get a better job or because they think it is necessary to know when they are adults. Statements 10, 11 and 12 all scored the lowest points, showing how the students do not study English to make foreign friends, they do not want to live abroad, and they are not interested in knowing more about other countries. In response to statement 7 few students answered that they want to learn English to help their gaming, making statement 7 one of the statements with the lowest scores, which is contradictory to the open-response statements that showed the opposite, i.e. that the students in fact mentioned gaming as one of their hobbies and how English could help them with communication in the games.
21 In the last two statements of the questionnaire, the open-response statements
showed how 10 out of 40 mentioned gaming as one of their hobbies and that English helps them communicate with others in the games, compared to the closed-response statements where gaming scored the lowest points. 10/40 also stated watching movies as their hobbies and 6/40 both mentioned series and music as their hobbies and how it involves English. Other answers to statement 22 included how they like to communicate with others, how their ballet teacher is from Canada and therefore only speaks English and how they want to learn English to be able to understand taxi drivers. On statement 21, 18/40 said they want to work with something in healthcare, either as a nurse, doctor, in an ambulance or in an elderly home and how their profession will require speaking English with both the patients and co-workers.
Other answers on statement 21, about what the students’ career goals are, were salesman, carpenter, engineer, teacher, actor or expert in the global economy and everybody agreed that English will both be useful and necessary in their professions to either be able to work abroad or to be able to speak to more people.
4.1.2 Correlation between the students’ grade and motivation
The Spearman test was conducted in Excel to find the correlation between the students’ overall motivation towards the assignment that they recently finished and the grade that they received on that specific assignment. The correlation on the assignment between the grades that the students got and their motivation towards the assignment was 0.47. The correlation is then statistically significant with a p-value of 0.0077. So, the correlation is therefore moderately positive and means that the variables move in tandem, when one variable increases, the other one is most likely to do the same, so they move in the same direction. Consequently, this shows that when a student has high motivation, their grade will most likely be high as well and if the motivation decreases, the grade will most likely do the same.
When running the Spearman test on each type of motivation individually, the correlation for instrumental motivation when looking at statements 1-6 is 0.33 and integrative motivation and statements 7-12 the correlation is 0.11, which are quite weak correlations.
Here it is also clear how instrumental motivation plays a bigger role for the students than integrative motivation does, and even though the correlations are weak, both motivations were still positively correlated with their grade and therefore when both their instrumental
motivation as well as their integrative motivation increase, so will their grade.
22 A scatterplot was also made in Excel to find and show the correlation between students’ total motivation and their grade that they received on the assignment. The scatterplot clearly shows a moderately positive correlation as the trendline is moving upwards.
Figure 4. Scatterplot of the total motivation
4.2 Discussion
This study showed that the students’ instrumental motivation is higher than their integrative motivation and it showed a positive correlation between the students’ grade and motivation on one specific assignment that they recently finished. The questionnaire showed that students want to learn English for practical reasons, either to get a high grade, for
travelling, to study abroad, to get a better job, to be able to go to University or because it will be necessary for them when they are adults. These results show that the students are mostly influenced by extrinsic factors and mainly think about practical matters. As stated before, Dörnyei (1994, pp. 275) connected instrumental motivation together with extrinsic motivation and related it to how students want some kind of reward for their hard work and this was shown in this study. The students showed in the questionnaire how they do want some kind of reward for their English studies and that that is the main reason why they learn English.
When considering Dörnyei’s process model of L2 motivation (2005, pp. 66 ff) the results in this study showed how the students were in the postactional stage with regards to the assignment that they recently finished when answering the questionnaire. Since they had just finished the assignment, but not yet got the grades back, they evaluated the
assignment in one way, and it could be debated that their answers would be different if they got their grades back before the questionnaire was deducted. Now the students evaluated the assignment only with regards to their own experience, without knowing the outcome,
23 therefore this motivation could change if their grade was different than what they might have expected or aimed for.
Analysing the study’s outcome from Gardner’s basic model of the role of aptitude and motivation in L2 learning, one can see that the correlation between motivation and grade on the assignment was positive. The majority of the attitudes towards the
assignment was positive. Other support and other factors also played a role since the students wanted high grades, they wanted to learn English to help them in the future and this all leads to language achievements, i.e. high grades according to the Spearman test (Dörnyei &
Schmidt, 2002, p. 4). Spolsky’s general model of second language learning also agrees with the outcomes of this study. The students’ attitudes and motivation towards the assignment were positive and high, so the positive attitudes lead to high motivation, their capabilities and previous knowledge played a role in the learning opportunities that arose and this all led to a positive outcome, i.e. high grades, especially for the students who had high motivation towards the assignment (Spolsky, 1985, p. 282).
One might have thought that gaming was going to be one of the main factors why students learn English since gaming has become more popular over the years, and looking at the open-response answers, 10/40 mentioned that they use English when gaming.
However, this study showed that gaming does not play a big role in the students’ motivation towards learning English when looking at the closed-response questions and this might be because these particular students that were asked feel that they already know sufficient English for their gaming. One student, for example, answered in the open-response statement that he or she already speaks online with people from other countries when gaming. Hence, since these students already speak to other people when gaming they feel that they do not need to learn any more English. Another finding in this study that might be a bit contradictory was the fact that the students answered that they want to learn English because it is useful when travelling, but not that many wanted to know more about foreign countries. This result is a bit contradictory. When one travels, one will automatically know and learn more about the country they are visiting, but when answering the questionnaire, since it was conducted in school, the students might have only thought about the classroom setting and context and how they do not want to learn more about other countries in a boring lesson. Therefore, the results of this study need to take into account that the respondents were students who answered the questions in a school setting and therefore it is misleading to connect the results to teenagers’
lives in general and their attitudes towards their lives outside of school and should only be
24 looked at from an educational point of view to see what the students think about their studies, and in particular their English studies.
Consequently, to answer the two research questions that this study investigated, students in upper-secondary schools in Sweden tend to have instrumental motivation towards their English studies since they want to learn English for practical reasons. The students’
overall motivation towards learning English is positively correlated with proficiency since students with high motivation tended to get higher grades in English for the particular assignment in question than the students who had low motivation.
5. Conclusion
The aim of this study was to see whether upper-secondary students in a Swedish school tend to have instrumental or integrative motivation towards their English studies. The study also looked into the students’ overall motivation towards a specific assignment that they recently finished and the correlation between motivation and the grade that they received on the assignment was calculated and analysed. Several studies were looked into where a correlation between motivation and second language achievements has been found and a number of models were analysed that show how motivation plays a role in second language proficiency.
A survey was conducted at an upper-secondary school where 40 students, who all study English, answered a questionnaire regarding their motivation towards their English studies in general as well as their motivation towards the assignment that they recently finished. What this questionnaire and study showed was that students in upper-secondary schools in Sweden tend to have instrumental motivation towards their English studies as they answered that the majority of them wants to learn English for practical reasons. The study also showed that the correlation between students’ motivation and their second language achievements is moderate and positive where the student’s motivation as well as their grades tend to move in tandem, so when the motivation gets higher, the grade tends to follow and vice versa.
25
References
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26 Reza Ahmadi, M. (2011). The effect of integrative and instrumental motivation on Iranian
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27
Appendices
Appendix 1
English studies questionnaire
Please look at the statements below and indicate how much you agree or disagree with them. Put an X in the box of each question that refers to your answer:
Statement
Strongly disagree DisagreeNeither agree
nor disagree
Agree Strongly agree 1. I want to learn English
because it is useful when travelling in many countries 2. I want to learn English
because I want to study abroad in the future
3. If I learn English better I will be able to get a better job 4. I study English because I
think English will be
necessary for me when I am an adult
5. I study English in order to go to University
6. I do assignments in English to get a high grade
7. I study English because it helps me in my gaming 8. I study English to better
understand movies, series and music
9. I learn English so I can chat and communicate with people from other countries 10. I study English because I
would like to make foreign friends
11. I study English because I would like to live abroad 12. I study English because I
would like to know more about foreign countries
