What Is a Successful Language Learner?

What is a successful language learner?

Graduation Thesis

Presented to

the Faculty of the Department of

English Language and Literature

NotreDameSeishinUniversity

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirement for the Degree

Bachelor of Arts

by

AyanoFujii

2011

Contents

Abstract 1

Chapter One: Is there a connection between learner type and motivation?

1.1 Introduction 2

1.2 What types of learner arethere? 3

1.2.1 Introduction 3

1.2.2 Harmer’s learner styles 3

1.2.Solitaries, Details, Social learners and Communicative learners 5

1.3 What is motivation? 5

1.3.1Introduction 5

1.3.2The definition of motivation 6

1.3.3Types of motivation 7

1.4 Focus on the thesis 11

1.5 Conclusion 11

Chapter Two: The Questionnaire

2.1 Introduction 13

2.2 The questionnaire 13

2.2.1 Introduction to the questionnaire 13

2.2.2 Method 13

1) Subjects

2) Test design – the experiment

3) Procedure

2.3 Results 15

2.3.1 Subjects’ type of learning 15

2.3.2 Subjects’ learner type 18

2.3.3 Subjects’ personality 19

2.3.4 Subjects’ motivation for learning 22

2.4 Summary 25

Chapter Three: Discussion

3.1 Introduction 26

3.2 Summary of the results 26

3.3 Discussion of the results 27

3.3.1 Overview 27

3.3.2 Details of the findings 27

1) Subjects’ learning style of English

2) Subjects’ personality

3) Subjects’ motivation for English learning

3.3.3 Answers to the Research Questions 30

1) Research Question 1: What learner types are there at NDSU?

2) Research Question 2: Is there a connection between learner type and motivation?

3.4. Implications for language learning 31

3.5. Limitations of the Experiments 32

3.6 Further research 32

3.7 Conclusion 33

References 34

Appendices 35

1

Abstract

English is one of the most important subjects and many people learn English in Japan. However, there are various goals to learn it. Some learners think they master English because they acquire 700 words, and others think their English is not enough even if their TOEIC score is 990 marks. So Iresearched “what is a successful language learner” because I have been interested in a “success.”

In Chapter One, I dealt with learner types and motivation. Learner types can be divided into some categories and concretely, Solitaries, Details, Social learners and Communicative learners were focused on in this thesis. About motivation, there were explanations of Intrinsic motivation and Extrinsic motivation, a basic model of the role of aptitude and motivation, and a framework of the second language motivation. The reason why learner types and motivation were mentioned was this research told whether there is a connection between learner type and motivation.

In Chapter Two, I gave out a questionnaire to 58 subjects who belong to the Faculty of the Department of English Language and Literature at Notre Dame Seishin University. The questionnaire was about subjects’ learning English learner type, personality, and motivation.

In Chapter Three, I presented the results of the questionnaire. The results showed “what learner types there are at NDSU” and “whether there is a connection between learner type and motivation or not.”It also showed the highest number of learner type at NDSU and there was a little connection between learner type and motivation.

Chapter One: Is there a connection between learner type and motivation?

1.1 Introduction

Today, English is learnt and spoken around the world. In Japan, the students study it for their dreams; to go to a good university, to get a good job, to work abroad, to travel in the foreign countries, and to speak with English speakers. Japanese, and of course, many people in the world think that English is a common language. Some of them learn it with a fun.Others don't like learning it but are forced to use English for their future, but English can be useful for their future and job.

However, there is a question; what is a success in learning English? Of course, speaking it fluently with the native speakers is one of the successes. If so, does it mean that speaking English is the only success? There are various ways to measure successes; for example, learning 700 words, getting 990 marks on the TOEIC Test, becoming an English teacher whose pronunciation is good, and studying abroad for a year. Still, English learners try to acquire English for themselves. It is important for us to look carefully at the factors that contribute to successful language learning. This will be helpful for second language learner to understand what a success means.First, we will look at learner types, and secondly, the definition and types of motivation in this chapter.

1.2. What types of learner are there?

1.2.1 Introduction

In this section, we’ll have a look at learner types. When learners study a foreign language, each of them has their own style of learning; some of them like studying alone, others prefer practicing speaking the language with their friends. There are some views which we will look at in more detail below,

i)Harmer’s learner styles (1998); Convergers, Conformists, Concrete learners, and Communicative learners,

ii)Honey and Mumford’s(1986); Activist (enjoys the experience itself), Reflector (spends a great deal of time and effort reflecting), Theorist (good at making connections and abstracting ideas from experience), and Pragmatist (enjoys the planning stage), and

iii)Kolb’s (2006); Diverging (feeling and watching), Assimilating (watching and thinking), Converging (doing and thinking), and Accommodating (doing and feeling).

1.2.2 Harmer's learner styles

According toHarmer, there are four learner styles; Convergers, Conformists, Concrete learners and Communicative learners.The followings are examples of each from Harmer.

Convergers: “these are learners who are by nature solitary, prefer to avoid groups, and who are independent and confident in their own abilities. Most importantly they are analytic and can impose their own structure on learning. They tend to be cool and pragmatic.”

Conformists: “these are learners who prefer to emphasize learning ‘about language’ over learning to use it. They tend to be dependent on those in authority and are perfectly happy to work in non-communicative classrooms, doing what they are told. A classroom of conformists is one which prefers to see well-organized teachers.”

Concrete learners: “though they are like conformists, they also enjoy the social aspects of learning and like to learn from direct experience. They are interested in language use and languages as communication rather than language as a system. They enjoy games and groupwork in class.”

Communicative learners: “these are language use orientated. They are comfortable out of class and show a degree of confidence and a willingness to take risks which their colleagues may lack. They are much more interested in social interaction with other speakers of the language than they are with analysis of how the language works. They are perfectly happy to operate without the guidance of a teacher.”

From these definitions, we can understand Harmer’s learner styles. Moreover, we’ll have a look another view of learner types which was taught in NDSU in the next section.

1.2.3 Solitaries, Details, Social learners, and Communicative learners

There are another learner types which is focusing on studying style in classes; Solitaries, Details, Social learners, and Communicative learners. The followings are specific examples.

Solitaries:prefer studying alone by books, they don’t like group work, and prefer teacher centered classes or independent study.

Details: prefer learning “about”English and like rules and grammar.

Social learners:like group work, don’t like learning from books, like to learn from experience, can enjoy games, and have social reasons why they learn English.

Communicative learners: like group work, focus on communication, don’t care about details, rules, and grammar, don’t prefer learning from books, and are comfortable out of classes.

According to the examples above, we can deepen our understanding of learner types. Furthermore, we can see the difference between two types of learner types.

1.3 What is motivation?

1.3.1 Introduction

In this section, we’ll look at the definition of motivation from different sources to find out what motivation is and then look at some types of motivation. There are different kinds of factors by many researchers and it’s difficult to be studied by some approach. We’ll have a look at the social psychological approach to the second language motivation.

1.3.2The definition of motivation

The term ‘motivation’ has various definitions because we use it in different situations. As learners have different personalities, their motivation for learning second language is also different. So it’s difficult to define about motivation clearly. In education, motivation is essential to success. It is an energy which pushes learners to achieve their learning. When learners study second language with positive motivation, it provides them the primary impetus to start learning and later it gives driving force to support the long and sometimes boring learning process.

The systematic study of the second language motivation goes back to the late 1950s when two social psychologists in Canada, Robert Gardner and Wallace Lambert, launched a series of studies examining how language learners’ attitudes toward their desire to learn the second language.

According to Gardner (1985), motivation subsumes three components, motivational intensity, the desire to learn the language, and attitudes toward learning the language. Thus, in his view, ‘motivation’ refers to a kind of central mental ‘engine’ or ‘energy-centre’ that subsumes effort, want/ will (cognition) and task-enjoyment (affect).

On the other hand, Brown, a cognitive view of motivation includes factors such as the need of exploration, activity, stimulation, new knowledge, and ego enhancement (Brown 2000: p.160-166). Williams and Burden define motivation as a ‘state of cognitive arousal’ (Williams and Burden 1997: p.120).

1.3.3Types of motivation

Generally, motivation can be categorized simply into two types; intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. We’ll have a look two kind of motivation which comes from inside and from outside.

Intrinsic motivation: “comes from within the individual. Thus a person might be motivated by the enjoyment of the learning process itself or by a desire to make themselves feel better.”

Extrinsic motivation: “is caused by any number of outside factors, for example, the need to pass exam, the hope of financial reward, or the possibility of future travel.”

Intrinsic motivation is influenced by an interest, a feeling of achievement, growth, or enjoyment without a dependence on any reward and punishment. For example, learning English for a pleasure without worry passing a time is caused from intrinsic motivation. On the contrary, extrinsic motivation comes from a duty, reward and punishment, and compulsion. It is one of extrinsic motivation to study for passing the exam. Most researchers and methodologists have come to the view that intrinsic motivation is especially important for encouraging success.

Figure 1 shows two correlated variables which influence motivation to learn a second language by Gardner (2000).

Figure 1: Basic model of the role of aptitude and motivation in second language learning (Dörnyei and Schmidt 2001: p.5).

Table 1 shows the framework of the second language motivation by Williams and Burden (1997). Also, it shows empirical evidence for several meaningful links between the relationship between student’ intrinsic/ extrinsic motivation due to learn the second language.

1

Table 1: The framework of the second language motivation.

INTERNAL FACTORS / EXTERNAL FACTORS
Intrinsic interest of activity
Arousal of curiosity
Optimal degree of challenge / Significant others
Parents
Teachers
Peers
Percieved value of activity
Personal relevance
Anticipated value of outcomes
Intrinsic value attributed to the activity / The nature of interaction with significant others
Mediated learning experiences
The nature and amount of feedback
Rewards
The nature and amount of appropriate praise
Punishments, sanctions
Sense of agency
Locus of causality
Locus of control RE process and outcomes
Ability to set appropriate goals / The learning environment
Comfort
Resources
Time of day, week, year
Size of class and school
Class and school ethos
Mastery
Feelings of competence
Awareness of developing skills and mastery in a chosen area
Self-efficacy / The broader context
Wider family networks
The local education system
Conflicting interests
Cultural norms
Societal expectations and attitudes
Self-concept
Realistic awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses in skills required
Personal definitions and judgements of success and failure
Self-worth concern
Learned helplessness
Attitudes
to language learning in general
to the target language
to the target language community and culture
Other affective states
Confidence
Anxiety, fear / Developmental age and stage
Gender

1

According to Table 1, intrinsic motivation is strongly related to learners’ characteristic, feelings and attitudes.

1.4 Focus of the thesis

As I mentioned above, now, we know what learner types are, what motivation is, and what kinds of motivation there are. Moreover, we know something about learner types and motivation for learning, but we don’t know about the relationship between these factors with real English learners well, especially university students.

Therefore, I gave some questionnaires to university students to learn about them towards English learning. In the next chapter, we will look at the questionnaire that university students answered. We’ll look at their learner type and motivation in Chapter Two and Three. Base on what I said so far, I designed my questionnaire to investigate answers to these research questions.

1. What learner types are there at NDSU?

2. Is there a connection between learner type and motivation?

1.5 Conclusion

It is very important for learners to understand which types they are and have motivation, because learner types and motivation are the major factors of learning a language. These factors are different from each other.

In Chapter Two, we will look at the questionnaire that I asked about learner types, personality and motivation to 58 students from third grade and fourth grade in NDSU. Therefore, in Chapter Three, we will discuss the result of this questionnaire which will show about types of learner, personality and motivation among the students in NDSU.

Chapter Two: The Questionnaire

2.1 Introduction

The aim of this questionnaire was to investigate the actual situation of the university students who study English; their type of learning, personality and motivation for English.

2.2 The questionnaire

2.2.1 Introduction to the questionnaire

This questionnaire was conducted to find out students’ type studying English at this university. Moreover, I found their character and the reason why they keep studying it.

2.2.2 Method

1) Subjects

58 subjects answered this questionnaire. All of them were the students who went to the same university and belong to the Faculty of Department of English Language and Literature. The object of this research was third grade students and fourth gradestudents.

2)Test design – the experiment

The aim of the experiment was to discover the students’ type, character and motivation towards studying English.

I shared this questionnaire with two friends belonging to the same seminar. The part of “why are you studying English?” which I made was based on questionnaires byIwamoto (2005), Tokuyama (2007) and Hirai (2009). Their topics were about motivation towards learning English and I borrowed one of their questions; why you are studying English. I designed the questionnaire whichwas divided into three sections; learner type, their personality and motivation. In section one, the content was to find out which type the students are; solitary, details, social learner and communicative learner.Section two asked about the students’ character. Section three was about learners’ motivation: why they study English? These questions were designed to find out about the students who study English and what a successful learner is. Moreover, the reason why these three questions were chosen was that learner type, personality, and motivation for English were connected to language learning. The questionnaire of English version is in Appendix A, and the Japanese version is Appendix B.

3)Procedure

First of all, I prepared the questionnaire in English for this thesis and Japanese for the subject to understand easily and avoid misunderstanding. I listed up three questions to find out about the subjects. In the questionnaire, they needed to answer the questions by circling the number which answer was applicable.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
Strongly agree / Agree / Neither agree nor disagree / Disagree / Strongly disagree

From section one to three such as above wereto answer their opinion about their type of learning, personality and motivation. Moreover, the questions involved the score of STEP test and TOEIC. Secondly, my cooperating friends and I visited each seminar’s teachers. After explaining the purpose about this thesis, I asked the teachers’ fourth grade students to answer it. Also, we visited a class of an introduction to present-day linguistics which is taken by third grade student of Linguistics Course. Before beginning to take the questionnaire, we explained the purpose of it. Answering the questionnaire took about 15minutes.

2.3 Results

The following tables show the results of the subjects’ data.

2.3.1 Subjects’ type of learning

Table 1 indicates a percentage of the subjects’ learner type of learning.

Table 1: Data of the subjects’ type of learning.

1
Strongly agree / 2
Agree / 3
Neither agree nor disagree / 4
Disagree / 5
Strongly disagree
1) I prefer studying alone in class. / 19% / 40% / 21% / 21% / 0%
2) I like studying the details of language. (e.g. grammar) / 19% / 19% / 17% / 31% / 14%
3) I’d rather keeping quiet than saying the wrong answer or making mistake. / 19% / 20% / 17% / 36% / 7%
4) I like to find language rules when I study. / 24% / 31% / 12% / 22% / 10%
5) When I read English books, I try to understand the grammar and meaning perfectly. / 12% / 24% / 24% / 26% / 14%
6) It’s hard to ask someone help me when I’m in difficulty. / 0% / 9% / 9% / 48% / 35%
7) I don’t care about mistakes when I speak English. / 14% / 29% / 26% / 19% / 12%
8) I prefer learning from books to learning from experience. / 0% / 14% / 29% / 40% / 17%
9) I get tense when I speak in public. / 43% / 29% / 9% / 12% / 7%
10) I prefer a teacher centered class. / 9% / 22% / 38% / 28% / 3%
11) I care about grammar more than the content when I read English. / 2% / 7% / 17% / 48% / 26%
12) I like Oral communication class because I can talk with friends. / 22% / 38% / 26% / 10% / 3%
13) I like Oral communication class because it is useful for communicating with foreigners. / 35% / 45% / 14% / 7% / 0%

According to Table 1, 59% of the subjects who learn English like studying alone in the class. 49% of them don’t like study the details of language but 55% like to find language rules when they study. From Question 3 in this table, the number of subjects who’d rather keeping quiet than saying the wrong answer or making mistake was 39% and those who disagreed with the question was 43%. Regarding Question 7, the subjects who don’t care about mistakes when they speak English was 43% and those who care about it was 31%. 83% of them think it is not hard to ask someone help them when they are in difficulty. 72% of the subjects get tense when they speak in public. Concerning Question 10, the result they can’t say which was high; 38%. Furthermore, 74% of the subjects don’t care about grammar more than the content when they read English and more than half of them like Oral communication class. Question 12 and 13 resembled each other because both of them asked the reason why subjects like Oral communication class. 60% of the subjects agreed Question 12 “they like Oral communication class because they can talk with friends.”On the other hand, 80% agreed the reason of Question 13 “Oral communication class is useful for communicating with foreigners.”