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Theory and Practice in Language Studies Theory and Practice in Language Studies ISSN 1799-2591 Volume 1, Number 7, July 2011 Contents REGULAR PAPERS On the Relationship between Writing Proficiency and Instrumental/Integrative Motivation among 747 Iranian IELTS Candidates Ismaeil Fazel and Alireza Ahmadi Selecting an English Coursebook: Theory and Practice 758 Iakovos Tsiplakides A Comparison of Two Different Types of Vocabulary Treatment: Inclusion or Exclusion of L1? 765 Sasan Baleghizadeh and Ali Mirzaei An Empirical Study of English Pragmatic Failure of Chinese Non-English Majors 771 Haigang Li The Reading Strategies Awareness among English as a Second Language (ESL) Learners in 778 Malaysia’s University Nurazila Abdul Aziz, Suzana Ab Rahim, Etty Harniza Binti Harun, Nor Aslah Adzmi, Hasfazilah Ahmat, Samsiah Bidin, and Mohd Rizaimy Shaharudin A Lesson Model for Enhancing Motivation in EFL Writing Classes 785 Selma Deneme Improving L2 Writing Ability in the Light of Critical Thinking 789 Mostafa Morady Moghaddam and Shirin Malekzadeh On Graded English Teaching Models—A Case Study of Tianjin University of Technology 798 Mo Li Analyzing the Unreliable Narrator: Repetition and Subjectivity in Raymond Carver's "What Do You 802 Do in San Francisco?" Huda Al-Mansoob Deixis Category as Favorable Syllabus Materials —A Critical Study in Sudan Practical Integrated 811 National English Mustafa Shazali Mustafa Ahmed Verb Structures and Their Phonetics Comparative Study in Sabzevarian Dialect and Persian Language 821 Anita Aldaghi Summing up the Sentences in Active Voice without Passive Counterparts 828 Yanying Xu Peer-to-peer Corrective Feedback in a Group Interaction 832 Sulia Masturina Che Razali, Nurul Amilin Razawi, Chittra Muthusamy, Siti Norliana Ghazali, and Angelina Subrayan @ Michael Online Discussion: Self-repair Enhancement of EFL Learners 837 Omid Tabatabaei and Razieh Sharifi How to Enhance Culture Teaching in English Language Classes 847 Baohe Zhao Translating Political Allusions: A Survey of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce 851 Hussein Pirnajmuddin and Leila Niknasab Death Image in Divine Meditations of John Donne 861 Dini Zhang and Dingming Wang A Complementary-compensatory Approach to Teaching Focus on Form/S in EFL/ESL Classrooms 865 Mohammad Khatib and Ali Derakhshan On Evaluation of the Theoretical Soundness of Critical Discourse Analysis 875 Yu Fang Translation of Idioms: A Hard Task for the Translator 879 Amineh Adelnia and Hossein Vahid Dastjerdi Brief Analysis on Cross-cultural Communication 884 Jun Xu Attributional Patterns with Respect to Major and Attendance in Private Language Schools: A Case of 888 EFL Context Reza Pishghadam and Raheleh Motakef China English and Dissemination of the Chinese Culture into the English World—A Case Study of 895 the English Versions of Liaozhaizhiyi by Contemporary Translators Haijun Li Gender-oriented Use of Vocabulary Strategies: A Comparative Study 898 Kamal Heidari Soureshjani A Study on the Application of Input Theory to Reading Instruction in Vocational College 903 Fang Yang The Difference between Formative Assessment through Multiple Choice Questions and True False 906 Questions in Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners' Grammar Learning Mansoor Fahim and Farnoosh Fahim On the Multimedia Teaching in College English Listening 912 Xiaoyan Du The Effect of Font Size on Reading Comprehension Skills: Scanning for Key Words and Reading for 915 General Idea Elahe Tavakoli and Shiela Kheirzadeh ISSN 1799-2591 Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 1, No. 7, pp. 747-757, July 2011 © 2011 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland. doi:10.4304/tpls.1.7.747-757 On the Relationship between Writing Proficiency and Instrumental/Integrative Motivation among Iranian IELTS Candidates Ismaeil Fazel Vancouver Georgia College, Canada Email: [email protected] Alireza Ahmadi Shiraz University, Iran Abstract—The present study aimed at making a comparison between integratively motivated IELTS candidates and their instrumentally motivated peers in terms of their proficiency. Moreover, the cohorts were compared based on their proficiency scores on IELTS Test. The participants were initially 245 Iranian IELTS candidates who had taken the actual IELTS test in Iran; in addition to that, a questionnaire by Laine (1987) was utilized to determine the type of motivation each participant possessed. The data made up two groups of 86 integrative and 110 instrumental candidates. Using the results obtained from the proficiency test, a one-way ANOVA was run. The results indicated there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with regard to their proficiency. It therefore was concluded that the two cohorts stood at the same level of proficiency. Moreover, the statistical analyses, using one-way ANOVA, revealed there was no significant difference between the integratively oriented participants and instrumentally oriented ones as far as their writing performance exam was concerned. Index Terms—instrumental, integrative, motivation, writing, IELTS I. INTRODUCTION Needless to say, motivation plays a pivotal role in life. According to Brown (1987, p.114) motivation is “an inner drive, impulse, emotion or desire that moves one to a particular action”. In education, given the difficulties associated with learning and the required persistence in the process, motivation takes on a significant role. According to Chomsky (1988, p.181) “about 99 percent of teaching is making the students feel interested in the material”. When it comes to language learning, motivation takes on a more crucial role. As regards the central part motivation plays in learning, Oxford and Shearin (1994) claim that motivation influences the amount of input learners receive in the target language, the amount of L2 learning strategies they utilize, the extent they interact with native speakers and the extent they maintain L2 skills after language study is over. A. Types of Motivation As for the classification of motivation, different kinds of motivation have been proposed. Deci and Ryan (1985) differentiate between intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is generally possessed by people having personal interest(s) in doing something. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, derives from an anticipation of rewards such as praise, awards, prizes, and evaluation, and fear for punishment. An extrinsically motivated student does the activity in order to obtain some reward or avoid some punishment external to the activity itself and this kind of motivation refers to learning situations where the reason for doing a task is something other than an interest in the task itself and undertaking the task may be something the person feels pressured to do rather than genuinely wants to do. Gardner and Lambert (1972) differentiate between two kinds of motivation: instrumental and integrative. Integrative orientation occurs once a learner tries to identify himself with the culture of L2 group; it characterizes students who study a second language because they are interested in the cultural values of the target language group. An instrumental motive occurs when a learner wishes to attain a goal by means of L2 and refers to language situations where the student has a utilitarian goal for instance employment, professional advancement, or exam purposes. Gardner and Lambert (1972) suggest that integrative motivation is more effective for second language acquisition. It is believed that students who like the people that speak the language, admire the culture and have a desire to become familiar with or even integrate into the society in which the language is used are most successful (Falk, 1978). In contrast to integrative motivation, there is instrumental motivation. Hudson (2000) characterizes instrumental motivation by the desire to obtain something practical or concrete from the study of a second language. Brown (2007) makes the point that both © 2011 ACADEMY PUBLISHER 748 THEORY AND PRACTICE IN LANGUAGE STUDIES integrative and instrumental motivations are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Learners rarely select one form of motivation when learning a second language, but rather a combination of both. Irrespective of the types identified for motivation, obviously motivation is an important factor in L2 achievement. Globally, language learners attempt to attain certain goals, one of the most significant of which is writing achievement. Throughout the history of education, language researchers have been at pains to find effective ways to help students achieve writing as a major skill. It goes without saying that motivation has a leading role in gaining writing proficiency. The point at issue is what type of motivation can be more conducive to writing achievement. B. Significance of L2 Writing Writing is a mode of learning, a facility which gives students the power to create meaning and to affect those with whom they share their writing. Writing, then, is far more than merely the act of transferring thought to paper; the act of writing helps to shape and refine our thinking. It seems, however, that teaching and learning this skill can be the most demanding task for both teachers and students. This means that writing requires a good command of language knowledge as well as the orchestration of several processes. Therefore, it may be reasonable to survey different views concerning this skill as well as the different studies conducted on L2 writing. Academic writing ability has been particularly recognized as one of the most crucial aspects
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