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Motivation in Foreign Language Learning Settings Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Theses Theses and Dissertations 8-1-2012 MOTIVATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING SETTINGS: THE CASE OF ARABIC IN THE SU A Abdelmohssen Bouteldjoune Southern Illinois University Carbondale, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses Recommended Citation Bouteldjoune, Abdelmohssen, "MOTIVATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING SETTINGS: THE CASE OF ARABIC IN THE USA" (2012). Theses. Paper 868. This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MOTIVATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING SETTINGS: THE CASE OF ARABIC IN THE USA by Abdelmohssen Bouteldjoune B.A. Université Mentouri Constantine, 2009 M.A., Southern Illinois University, 2012 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts Degree Department of Linguistics In the Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale August 2012 THESIS APPROVAL MOTIVATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING SETTINGS: THE CASE OF ARABIC IN THE USA by Abdelmohssen Bouteldjoune A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the field of Applied linguistics and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Approved by: Dr. Paul McPherron, Chair Dr. Krassimira Charkova Dr. Laura Halliday Graduate School Southern Illinois University Carbondale May 9, 2012 AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF ABDELMOHSSEN BOUTELDJOUNE, for the Master of Arts degree in APPLIED LINGUISTICS AND TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES (TESOL), presented on MAY 9, 2012, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: MOTIVATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING SETTINGS: THE CASE OF ARABIC IN THE USA MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Paul McPherron The term motivation has been the key for several research studies in language learning since Gardner and Lambert (1972) introduced the term to the field; however, the term did not go beyond the two types instrumental and integrative. Several studies were built over these terms, but none of them has explicitly investigated the motivation for learning Arabic language as a foreign language in the USA. Arabic is one of the languages where motivation for learning in the USA is increasing, thus came this study to investigate the reasons and orientations i.e. initial motivation for learning Arabic and if the materials presented during a period of a semester affected the students’ motivation. The main aim of this study was to explore the orientations of U.S. students at a public mid-western college to learn the Arabic language through a class research design. The obtained results showed that the participants were attracted to learn Arabic for personal development reasons such as understanding a different culture, understand the world and travel to an Arab country. A sub group of the participants were instructors and administrative stuff at an Intensive English Program at the school who wanted to learn Arabic for new academic reasons; they wanted to learn Arabic because it provides helpful techniques and knowledge for the TESL teachers and instructors to facilitate their teaching English as a second language for Arabic native i speakers in the US. The study found that the US students in the university were more communication oriented in their learning and that they have shown a great interest in conversing with Arabic speakers and building friendships with them. The study has reinforced the direction of expanding the motivation in language learning scope and developed the classic integrative- instrumental dichotomy with the addition of a social motivation component. The students showed a huge interest in learning Arabic to socialize and build new relationships with individual native Arabic speakers. The study participants’ development of the orientations for learning Arabic to sustained motivation was reinforced with the use of the class materials, mainly the textbook. The use of the textbook and the motivation of the students made it clear that the US students were highly concerned more about the communicative aspect of the language. ii DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to: My first teacher, my beloved mother FADILA, who taught me the most valuable lessons and laid the foundations for everything that I have been able to achieve in my life. Thank you for your prayers, endless inspiration, encouragement, and continuous support that enabled me to pursue my dreams. My brothers Djallel Eddine, Imed Eddine, and Abderrahim. Their unconditioned encouragement, support, muse and laughter have made my journey in the US much shorter. Much appreciation and gratitude to my beloved grandmother and my dear uncles and aunts, especially Dr. Chaib Rachid, and Dr. Chaib Ghania for their valuable help, endless support and academic advice which are key features for the academic person I am today. I, also, would like to dedicate this thesis to my friends in Algeria. In the memory of my beloved father Rachid, and grandfather Chaib Eltahar And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about the soul. Say, "The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind has not been given of knowledge except a little." The Noble Qur’an (Al-Isra’a ~ TheNight Journey – Chapter 15, Verse 85) iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful All praise and thanks is due to Allah. I acknowledge His Grace and Guidance to complete this study. Peace and blessings be upon Prophet Mohammad. This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of several individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study. First and foremost, my utmost gratitude to Dr. Paul McPherron, my thesis committee chair, whose sincerity, patience, encouragement, and knowledge I will never forget. I am grateful to him for introducing me to the class research design. I am particularly indebted to my Master’s thesis committee members, Dr. Krassimira Charkova, who have helped me greatly dealing with the coding of the data and Dr. Laura Halliday for their invaluable feedback, comments, and support while working on my thesis. Very special thanks go to my dear friend Ali Alhashimi whose help assisting me during the data collection is really appreciated and will never be forgotten. Much appreciation goes to my U.S. students, who kindly agreed to be part of my study for a period of a semester. Last but not least, all my gratitude goes to my friends, my fellow fulbrigthers, and my classmates whose encouragement helped me to finish this thesis. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... i Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................iv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION 1.1. Overview ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2. Motivation for the study ………….........…………………………………………4 1.3. Outline of the study ………………...………..…………………………………...5 CHAPTER 2 – REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1. Reasons for learning Arabic in the USA ...................................................................... 6 2.1.1. Arabic and foreign languages as a heritage language in the USA … ................ 8 2.1.2. Arabic and foreign languages as an instrument to meet personal or academic goal..............................................................................................................9 2.1.3. Arabic and foreign languages as a facilitator to integrate within the Arabic speaking community ...................................................................................... 10 2.3. Motivation type .......................................................................................................... 12 2.3. Research problem ....................................................................................................... 16 2.4. Research questions ..................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 3 – METHODOLOGY 3.1. Participants ................................................................................................................. 18 v 3.2. Instruments ................................................................................................................. 19 3.2.1. Surveys ............................................................................................................. 19 3.2.2. Class Assessment ............................................................................................. 20 3.2.3. Case study interviews ...................................................................................... 20 3.3. Procedure .................................................................................................................... 21 3.3. Data analysis
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