Young Language Learners’ Motivation and Attitudes: Longitudinal, Comparative and Explanatory Perspectives

Description

Taking three different perspectives, this book looks at primary school children's language learning motivation and language attitudes. In adopting a longitudinal perspective, the book fills a research gap and provides a macro-level analysis of motivational development over time. It reveals a surprising amount of stability in primary school children's motivational and attitudinal development. The comparative perspective looks at the learners' affective dispositions with regard to English (theorized as a 'global language') and French (theorized as a 'national language'). The comparisons between global language and national language are relevant across the world, especially in situations where instruction in languages other than English struggles to get attention. The results reveal sizeable differences between the two languages, with children being substantially more motivated to learn English than to learn French. Finally, the explanatory section identifies key antecedents of the learners' motivational and attitudinal dispositions - and thereby opens up paths for intervention relevant for those working in the field of language instruction. FC Half title Also Available From Bloomsbury Title Copyright Dedication Contents Figures Tables Acknowledgements Abbreviations 1 Aims and Scope of the Book 2 Theoretical Perspectives on Motivation 2.1 Social psychological perspectives 2.2 Educational psychological perspectives 2.3 Integrating different perspectives: Dörnyei’s Process Model of Motivation 3 Language Attitudes and Stereotypes 3.1 The relationship between language attitudes and language learning motivation 3.2 Stereotypes and their relation to language attitudes 3.3 Research into language learners’ stereotypes of TL speakers 3.4 Can negative attitudes and stereotypes be changed? 4 Research Sites, Research Questions and Methodology 4.1 Foreign language education in Switzerland 4.2 Research questions, research design and samples 4.3 Instruments 4.4 Scaling procedure 4.5 Analysis 5 The (In)stability of Primary School Children’s Motivational Dispositions 5.1 Overall motivation 5.2 Intrinsic orientation 5.3 Extrinsic–instrumental orientation 5.4 Extrinsic–lingua franca orientation 5.5 Summary and conclusions 6 The (In)stability of Primary School Children’s Attitudinal Dispositions 6.1 Attitudes towards TL groups 6.2 Attitudes towards a globalized world 6.3 Attitudes towards English 6.4 Summary and conclusions 7 Learners’ Evaluation of English and French in Comparison 7.1 Language learning motivation 7.2 Language attitudes 7.3 Perception of the ethnolinguistic vitality of English and French 7.4 Summary and conclusions 8 Factors Influencing Primary School Children’s Language Learning Motivation and Language Attitudes 8.1 English 8.2 French 8.3 The effect of different kinds of attitudes on language learning motivation 8.4 Summary and conclusions Notes References Appendix Index