Motivation and Attitudes Towards Learning English in Israeli Colleges

Motivation and attitude to learn English in Israeli colleges and their effect on achievements Presenters: Rina Raichlin and Adina Mannes Israel Academic college, Ramat Gan

Presentation overview Introduction What motivated the study The different variables Research questions Method Participants Questionnaires and procedure Results Conclusions

Introduction -What motivated the study - The different variables of the study - Research questions

Incentives for the study Motivation of students for EAP courses varies. Why? - level of the course, - learning methods, - achievements

Motivation and Attitudes Motivation - the heart and the very center of psychology (Weiner, 1992, p. 1). The most influential model in the field of SLA is Gardner s socio-educational model (2010; 1985). Motivation: the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language (Gardner, 1985, p.10).

Motivation and Attitudes Cl ment and Donovan (2002): three components that make up the motivation of L2 learning: 1. The desire to learn L2 2. Motivational effort 3. Attitudes toward learning L2. Wenden (1991): three components of attitudes - cognitive, affective and behavioral 6

Learning methods Technology advances give the opportunity to share knowledge in easy manner. Key advantages of e-learning: flexibility, a. b. convenience study at one s own pace (Lipshitz & Parsons, 2008) c. 7

Achievements Assessing achievements is a basic element of teaching. (Fulmer,Hallinger, Murphy, & Hausman, Popham, cited in Denne & Brown, 2016). Students achievements were measured on two levels: a. subjective assessment of the learner himself b. objective assessment of the course grade. 8

Research questions 1. What are the motivations and attitudes of Israeli college students towards English and EAP courses? 2. Is there a difference between students' motivations and attitudes at different stages of their learning? 3. Are there any differences between on-line and regular classes' students in their motivation and their attitudes to study EAP courses? 4. Does students' motivation and attitude correlate with their achievements in EAP courses?

Method Participants

Participants 412 students filled out a questionnaire in Hebrew voluntarily and anonymously % 18-20 21-24 25-35 36-45 46-60 34.1% 40.5% 15.9% 6.9% 2.8% 23.4% 76.6% 72.3% 21.5% 5.2% 1% 25.2% 1.7% 59.5% 13% 1.8% 74.5% 23.2% 1.7% Table 1: distribution of the participants

Method Questionnaire and procedure

The questionnaire Motivation: Motivational orientations (Gardner's AMTB, 1985) General motivation Attribution of success (Erez, 2001) Attitudes: Attitudes towards English (Gardner's AMTB, 1985) ABC attitudes affect, behavior, cognition Attitudes towards on-line and regular courses (Levi Koretz, 1984) Demographic questions

Results 14

1. What are students attitudes and motivations? a) MOTIVATION: Orientation: high levels of integrative and instrumental orientations (M=5.27, SD=1.42 and M=5.17, SD=1.42 General motivation: high general motivation (M=4.77, SD=1.63) Attribution of success: internal factors (M=5.26, SD=1.5) and external factors (M=4.23, SD=1.42) b) c) a) ATTITUDES: Positive/negative attitudes: high positive attitudes towards English (M=4.67, SD=1.9 vs. M=3.5, SD=2.07) ABC attitudes: positive affect (M=4.08, SD=1.98), the course contributed to learning (M=4.15, SD=1.9), and active participation (M=5.49, SD=1.77) Attitude towards the teaching method positive (M=3.31, SD=1.21), as well as attitude towards studying with others (M=3.39, SD=0.96) b) c)

2. Are there any differences at various levels? Motivation a. Orientation: a positive correlation between integrative orientation and instrumental orientation and students level of study (r=0.201, p<0.01 and r=0.190, p<0.01, respectively). b. Attribution of success: positive correlation between students attribution of success to internal factors and their level of studies (r=0.154, p<0.05) Attitudes: a. Positive attitudes: a positive correlation between the level of the studies and positive attitudes towards English (r=0.142, p<0.05). b. Negative attitudes: a negative correlation between level of the studies and negative attitudes towards English (r=-0.151, p<0.05) c. ABC attitudes: a positive correlation between ABC attitudes and level of studies (r=0.172, p<0.05)

3. Is there any difference between traditional and online students? a. MOTIVATION: Orientation: higher integrative orientation (t(196)=3.13, p<0.01) for students in traditional method of teaching (M=5.6 vs. M=4.7) Orientation: higher instrumental orientation (t(196)=2.97, p<0.01) for students in traditional method of teaching (M=5.4 vs. M=4.5) b. a. ATTITUDES: Attitudes: higher positive attitudes for students of traditional method (t(196)=2.3, p<0.05, M=5.0 vs. M=4.3) ABC attitudes: traditional method students have more positive attitudes (t(196)=5.1, p<0.01, M=5.0 vs. M=3.5) Attitudes towards teaching: traditional method students have more positive attitude towards their teaching method (t(196)=3.07, p<0.01, M=3.6 vs M=2.9) Attitudes towards teaching: traditional method students have more positive attitude towards studying with others (t(196)=3.84, p<0.01, M=3.9 vs M=3.1) b. c. d.

4. What can predict students achievements? a. MOTIVATION: Orientation: a positive correlation between students grade in the course and integrative orientation (r=0.16, p<0.05); correlation between orientation and level of reading in English and spoken English General motivation: positive correlation between general motivation and reading in English (r=0.17, p<0.01) Attribution of success: positive correlation between the grade and attribution to internal factors (r=0.25, p<0.01), internal factors and reading (r=0.3, P,0.01) and speaking in English (r=0.28, p<0.01) b. c. a. ATTITUDES: Positive attitudes: higher positive attitudes were correlated with higher achievements (reading, speaking and grade: r=0.29, p<0.01, r=0.3, p<0.01 and r=0.18, p<0.05, respectively) Negative attitudes: higher negative attitudes were negatively related to higher achievements (reading, speaking and grade: r=-0.21, p<0.01, r=-0.2, p<0.01 and r=-0.23, p<0.01, respectively) ABC attitudes were correlated with level of reading in English (r=0.21, p<0.01) b. c.

Results: 4. What can predict students achievements? Regression analyses to predict achievements ? Step Variable B t F R (Constant) 61.864 8.160 All the students ** 1 Students level at the 6.513* 3.191 **14. 9.5% 9.5% beginning of studies * 3 2 Negative attitude - - **11. 13.8% 4.3% 4.165* 2.707 2 * ? Step Variable B t F R (Constant) .242 .016 Only traditional method students 1 Level at the beginning of 6.796 3.177* 11.688* 8.9% 8.9% studies * * 2 Attribution of success to 4.728 2.910* 10.501* 14.7% 5.8% internal factors * * 3 ABC attitudes (behavior) 3.818 2.005* 8.537** 17.1% 2.4%

Conclusions Students : a.had very positive attitudes b.had high integrative and instrumental orientation c. had high general motivation d.mostly attributed their success to internal factors e.had mostly positive feelings to their English courses, thought the course contributed to their learning and actively participated in the course.

Conclusions Students at higher levels: a. had higher integrative and instrumental orientation b. tended to attribute their success to internal factors c. had more positive attitudes and less negative attitudes towards English d. enjoyed the EAP course, thought it contributed to their learning and participated more in the course

Conclusions Students of traditional method of study (vs. online students): a. had higher integrative and instrumental orientation b. had higher positive attitudes c. enjoyed the EAP course more frequently, thought it had a higher contribution and attended/participated in the course more frequently d. had a more positive attitude towards their teaching method and had more positive attitude towards studying with others

Conclusions Higher achievements were correlated with: a. higher integrative and instrumental orientation b. attributing success to efforts and verbal ability c. having a higher general motivation to study English d. having more positive attitudes and less negative attitudes to English e. enjoying the EAP course, thinking the course contributed to learning and actively participating in the course

Conclusions Grades could be predicted by: a. For all the students 1) level of English at the beginning of studies 2) lower negative attitudes towards English. b. For students studying in class 1) level of English at the beginning of studies 2) attribution of success to internal factors 3) participation in the course

General conclusions 1. Motivation and attitudes are important in language acquisition 2. Students in traditional method of studying have more positive attitudes 3. Most students understand the importance of EAP courses 4. Motivation and attitudes are complex constructs 5. Effort is important partially predicts achievements 6. Suggestions for future research other components of AMBT model

Thank You!!! !!! adina.mannes@gmail.com rina.r@iac.ac.il