Motivation: a Study of 2007 Summer Japanese Course Students at CUHK
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English and Japanese Learning Motivation: A Study of 2007 Summer Japanese Course Students at CUHK MAN, MingYu A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy in English (Applied English Linguistics) © The Chinese University of Hong Kong August 2008 The Chinese University of Hong Kong holds the copyright of this thesis. Any person(s) intending to use a part or whole of the materials in the thesis in a proposed publication must seek copyright release from the Dean of the Graduate School. m |( 0UNIVERSIT 5 Y 1 / M jlj NgpXAIBRARY SYSTEWy^ Thesis/Assessment Committee Professor GONG Gwendolyn (Thesis Supervisor) Professor Beverly Jane JACKSON (Chairman) Professor BRAINE George Stanley (Committee Member) Professor CHENG Winnie (External Examiner) i ABSTRACT The current study used mixed methods of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to investigate the English and Japanese learning motivations of a group of Japanese summer course takers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Sixty-one students took part in two questionnaire surveys, and 8 of them were selected for two rounds of in-depth interviews. During the three-month data collection period, focuses were placed on the second language (L2) learners' attitudes towards English and Japanese languages, as well as towards the countries and native speakers of these two languages. Motivation change was also examined. Statistical data were processed with SPSS to find out any correlations between the underlying 9 scales of L2 Cultural Interest, Integrativeness, Instrumentality, Attitudes towards the L2 Native Speakers / Community, L2 Self-confidence, Milieu, Positive L2 Learning Experience, Attitudes towards the L2, and Global Orientation. Relationships between the scales and L2 learning goals, L2 achievements, and gender were also examined. The interview data were coded according to recurrent themes under the frame of the 9 scales. Discussions were made according to Domyei's (2005) proposed L2 Self Systems and motivational stages. A pilot study with 9 participants was carried out to investigate the intelligibility of the questionnaire items and the Chinese translations; 3 of them were invited to further comment on the interview ii items and the Chinese translations. Modifications were made after getting the participants' feedback. The findings revealed that the notion of Integrativeness needed to be re-examined and redefined under the phenomena of globalization. The interviewees did not consider English as belonging to a minority group of native speakers, but a lingua franca for communicators of different mother tongues. Also, they perceived the language as being localized into the Hong Kong culture instead of expressing desires to assimilate into cultures of English-speaking countries. Second, though English was generally perceived by the participants as a "subject" at school, and a practical "tool" for academics and career, statistical results unveiled that Integrativeness, instead of Instrumentality, had positive correlations with English learning goals. The opposite was found for the Japanese language: Instrumentality correlated with Japanese learning goals, while Integrativeness did not. It was discovered that for English language, Integrativeness had a promotion focus, whereas Intrumentality had a prevention focus. By contrast, Instrumentality in Japanese learning had been internalized into the learners' Ideal L2 Self. It became an added value on top of the learners' original cultural interest in the language, correlated positively with L2 Learning Experience, L2 Self-confidence, and Attitudes towards the L2. iii Third, the interviewees generally perceived their English learning experience as boring, stuffed with grammar exercises and exam paper drills. Also, though the respondents considered English oral as the most important linguistic skills, they barely had chances to practice it during classes. Moreover, the learners felt their native English teachers (NET) to certain extent helped them enhance their confidence in oral speaking, though they did not leam cultures of English-speaking countries from these teachers. By contrast, the native Japanese teachers were able to introduce Japanese cultures into classroom learning and further arouse the students' interest in the language. In addition, though the interviewees reported both positive and negative classroom learning experiences with Japanese language, such experiences did not impact much on their language learning motivation. The learners relied more on self-learning and compensated their negative learning experiences with their favorite daily life activities with Japanese in order to maintain their L2 learning motivation. By adopting mixed-methods approach, the present research was able to investigate the questionnaire results in depth, revealing the insiders' perspectives on English and Japanese learning in Hong Kong. This approach also helped to capture the evolving dimension and changing natures of L2 motivation. The study also provided insights into how geographical and psychological distances could impact on L2 learning under the phenomena of globalization. iv 導論 此項硏究採用問卷和半結構式訪問的混合方式探討香港中文大學日語暑假 課程學生的英語和日語的學習動機。六十一位學生參加了兩項問卷調查,其中8 位被挑選進行兩次的深入訪問。資料收集進行了三個月’調查重點置於第二語言 學習者對於英語和日語的態度,以及對於使用此二種語言國家和母語人士的看 法。此硏究也探討了學習動機的改變。 數據資料以SPSS進行處理,以便找出9個量表之間的任何關連性。這9個 量表包括:第二語言的文化興趣、融入性、工具性、對於第二語言母語用者/社 區的態度、第二語言自信、周圍環境、正面的第二語言學習經歷、對於第二語言 的態度、以及全球導向。量表和第二語言學習目標、第二語言成就、及性別的關 係也被探討。訪問資料以9個量表爲框架,根據重複出現的主題被編碼。討論 以Domyei’s (2005)提議的第二語言自我系統和學習動機階段爲基礎。試驗性調 查涉及9位參加者,探討問卷項目和中文翻譯的可讀性;其中3位參加者被邀請 進一步評論訪問的問題項目及中文翻譯。項目修正以參加者的回應爲依據。 研究結果發現融入性槪念在全球化現象的影響下需要被重新調查和定義。被 訪者不認爲英語屬於小數母語使用者,而是一種語言媒介讓不同母語的人進行溝 通0此外,他們覺得英語已被香港文化本地化,無意與英語國家文化同化。 第二,雖然英語被參加者普遍視爲學校的一項科目,以及學業和職業的一個 實用工具,數據結果顯示融入性,而非工具性,才具有與英語學習目標的正面相 V 關。日語卻得出相反結果:工具性與日語學習目標有正相關,但與融入性卻没 有。因此,對於英語,融入性有促進作用,而工具性卻有抑止作用。相比之下, 對於日語,工具性已被學習者內化爲理想第二語言自我的一部分。它在學習者原 有的曰語文化興趣的基礎上變成一個額外價値,與第二語言學習經歷、第二語言 自信、以及對於第二語言的態度有正相關。 第三,總括而言,被訪者覺得英語學習經歷是沉悶的,充塞著文法練習和考 題操練。而且,雖然回應者認爲英語口語是最重要的語言技巧,他們很少有機 會在課堂上練習。此外,學習者覺得他們的外籍老師某程度上有助提高他們的口 語信心,雖然他們並没從這些老師身上學到英語國家的文化。相比之下,日語外 籍老師能夠將日本文化帶入課室,進一步提高學生學習語言的興趣。另外,雖然 被訪者的日語課室學習經歷有正面也有負面,但這些經歷對於他們的學習動機並 没產生多大影響。學習者較爲依靠自學,並且以與日文有關的日常喜愛活動作爲 負面學習經歷的補償,以便維持他們第二語言的學習動機。 透過採用混合式方法,此調查得以深入硏究問卷結果,展示學習者對於香港 英語和日語學習的看法°此方法對於捕捉第二語言的進化層面及變化本質也有幫 助°此硏究也深入探討了在全球化影響下,地理和心理距離如何對第二語言學習 產生作用。 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude towards all those who have helped me with my research. I owe my most thanks to my supervisor, Professor Gwendolyn Gong, for her understanding and encouragement throughout my studies. Her professional guidance and support have been essential to my completion of this thesis. I also feel grateful towards my committee members, Professor Jane Jackson and Professor George Braine, for their precious advice and comments on my thesis. Efforts of other teachers who have taught me are also crucial, and I wish to extend special thanks to Professor Peter Skehan, whose excellent introduction of statistics has been extremely important in my research. Without these teachers, I would not have had the knowledge and abilities to carry out the current study. Thanks must also go to all of my respondents who shared their opinions on their English and Japanese learning with me. Their participation, cooperation, and devotion of time were crucial to the smooth process of the present research. My gratitude is due to all my friends and classmates, too. I owe special thanks to my good friends Sarah Wan, Abel Cheung, Gavin Bei, and Denise Yeung for their encouragement and support throughout my thesis writing. Last but not least, I must thank my family members, including my parents and my younger brother, for their continuous caring. This thesis would not have been vii possible without their unconditional love. \ v ^ ::愤”. :< . ‘••••.. ‘ V- . • ‘ H ‘ ••‘ ••‘ � � • •• AS K / ’ : . • . - i * ..?: ?. • • V ' •. ‘ 聽傷• : :. : • -. .•.、 . ‘.:.... • ] .� I�. • :... - � V•_ . •-'�:- , . "t. \ • • 广 �•; ... ''':�:;. .•:: �. :, 终V... „ • • • .�� •� I .•?:•.•; . ‘.. ;•.,-'‘ .….••-. ‘. • “,.� �-…‘�... i “ A. • ‘•,.、〜,:..., - !?f , . U,.;::广... ..".」..:. .实Y- :•.‘?、.. 、- r . ., . :. -、. � ;‘’.,. • ; 、?•々.,.... ::”:::. - :; ...'.f • ... ‘‘ ^ ... - 伊V :-.、’!, . ‘ •. -:,.. ...*,:’ . ••‘,,. P - •... ‘ • •'.,〜... _麗.:.::二:.�….. • • • • t't�.:”':.):>,. - M'J: - ..- ... 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I ••‘ ‘: •‘ “ “ • • - :二广杀 •.:. .——: ^ i • . 、令 1 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT (ENGLISH) i abstract (CHINESE) iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi TABLE OF CONTENTS viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Background to This Study 1 1.2 Purpose of This Study 2 1.3 Significance of This Study 3 1.4 Organization 4 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 Pre-Firth and Wagner (1997) 7 2.2.1 The Social Psychological Perspective 7 2.2.2 The Cognitive-situated Perspective 8 2.3 Post-Firth and Wagner (1997) 9 2.3.1 Post-structuralist Perspective 9 2.3.2 The Process-oriented Perspective 12 2.4 SLA Motivation Research in FL Context 14 2.5 Language Learning Context in Hong Kong 18 2.5.1 English Learning Context in Hong Kong 18 2.5.2 Japanese Learning Context in Hong Kong 20 2.6 Empirical Studies on Language Learning in Hong Kong 22 2.6.1 Empirical Studies on English Learning