Motivation and attitudes in second language learning r c gardner,universityofwesternontario,london, ontario,canada 2006elsevierltd. The study of motivation in secondlanguage acquisition became a distinguished research topic after gardner and lambert 1972 published a comprehensive summary of the results of a more than tenyearlong research program. The former occurs when the student likes to join or be a member of the certain crowd and the culture. Pdf motivation in second language learning a retrospect. Integrative motivation, on the other hand, characterizes students who study a second language. Newbury house, 1972, and the author of social psychology and second language learning. Attitude, motivation, and difficulties involved in learning the english language and factors that affect motivation in learning it. Motivation, its types, and its impacts in language learning. The definition of integrative motivation given by gardner and lambert is that learning a second language is an interest to communicate with other communities which is a way to acknowledge to their people and culture. A battery of tests was developed to assess students motivation to learn a second language. People with strong ethnocentric or authoritarian attitudes who have learned to be prejudiced toward foreign peoples are unlikely to be integrative in their language learning.
Indices of language aptitude and integrative motivation were independent correlates of indices of french achievement. In their seminal work, gardner and lambert 1972 emphasise that, although language aptitude accounts for a considerable proportion of individual variability in language learning achievement, motivational factors can override the aptitude effect. The role of motivation in learning english language for. Students attitudes and motivation were examined within a socioeducational. Motivation and second language acquisition rc gardner. Motivation and attitude of students towards learning english. The notion that attitudes and motivation would be implicated in second language acquisition is not a new one. Attitudes and motivation in secondlanguage acquisition eduhk. Attitudes and motivation in secondlanguage learning robert.
Motivation and attitude of students towards learning. Conceptualizing motivation in foreignlanguage learning. In their early studies, gardner and lambert 1959, 1972 proposed that the integrative orientation would be a better predictor of eventual proficiency than the. Gardner and lambert 1972 define motivation in terms of the second language learners overall goal orientation, and attitude as the persistence shown by the learner in striving for a goal. Attitude, motivation, and difficulties involved in learning. Attitudes and motivation in learning english as second. This study investigated the nature of second language french skills lost by grade 12 students over the course of the summer vacation, and the role played by attitudes and motivation in promoting language achievement and language maintenance. Attitudes and motivation in second language learning by r. That is, motivation to learn a second language refers to the extent to which the individual works or tries to learn the language because of a desire to do so and the contentment experienced in this task. Gardner was one of the pioneering researchers in second language acquisition sla to focus on motivation.
It was also found that maximum prediction of success in second language acquisition was obtained from tests of. Therefore, considering gardner s theory, social context and attitudes towards the l2 and l2 communities are the foundation to understand language learners motivation. Attitudes and motivation in secondlanguage learning paperback january 1, 1972 by r. Attitudes and motivation in second language learning. Attitude and motivation in second language learning. The concepts of motivation and attitudes have been associated with individual differences in second language learning since at least the 1950s, and over the.
Motivational variables in secondlanguage acquisition. A causal modelling analysis indicated nonetheless that attitudes and motivation were implicated in second language acquisition and retention, the latter primarily because motivational variables determine the extent to which individuals will make use of the second language during the summer period. East jerusalem students attitudes towards the acquisition of hebrew as a second or foreign language in the arab educational system of east jerusalem and societys support. As early as 1941, jordan investigated the relation between attitudes toward a number of school subjects and grades in those subjects, and found the relationships for french to be among the highest. Fishbein and ajzen as cited in orourke, 2011 define attitudes as the positive or negative. Second language l2 refers to a language an individual learns that is not hisher mother tongue, but is of use in the area of the individual. Motivation is the most used concept for explaining the failure or success of a language learner. Pdf attitudes and motivation in secondlanguage learning. Gardner and lambert 1959 found that aptitude and motivation were the. Motivation in second and foreign language learning. Review of literature early empirical studies have shown that integrative motivation is important for successful acquisition of a second language gardner, 1972.
Gardner and lamberts 1972 theory of motivation draws an important relationship between. Research studying the role of attitudes and motivation in second language learning has reported consistent relationships among these variables, as well as their relation to indices of achievements. Two french programs in london, ontario second language program beginning in grade7 and the secondary school french program in london, ontario, were examined. A historical overview and its relevance in a public high school in pasto, colombia and the target language. Motivation for language learning is determined by the students attitudes. The importance of motivation in second language acquisition. Put even more simply, superpatriotic types are poor language learners. Analysis of the intercorrelations of these tests yielded two orthogonal factors equally related to ratings of achievement in french. Advances in theory, research, and applications zolta. Success in second language learning is often related to the concept of motivation. The role of attitudes and motivation is a great followup to attitudes and motivation in second language learning, published 14 years ago with w.
Gardner the notion that attitudes and motivation would be implicated in second language acquisition is not a new one. The impact of motivation on english language learning. Gardner and lambert the attitude and motivation in second. During these 14 years gardner has been one of the most active researchers in the field of applied linguistics. During the social psychology period, integrative motivation and instrumental motivation has played a influential role. It is not the same as a foreign language, which is a language. A study of the attitudes and motivational orientations of. Gardner spells out the details of motivation and the definition thereof. Motivation is identified primarily with the learners orientation toward the goal of learning a second language. Motivational orientations and their effect on english language learning. Gardner university of western ontario i have been asked on occasion why i think there must be some sort of motivation to learn a second language, because most people learn at least one language, and often children from a bilingual home learn two languages, apparently with ease. Gardner and lambert 1972 argued the case for two types of language learning. Lambert, of attitudes and motivation in second language learning, rowley ma.
He has written two books concerned with second language acquisition. This book summarizes a 12year research program concerning foreign languagelearning aptitude and factors which influence academic achievement. Attitudes, orientations, and motivations in language learning. This book summarizes a 12year research program concerning foreignlanguagelearning aptitude and factors which influence academic achievement. Attitudes and motivation in second language learning 1972. As we have seen from mowrer and gardner and lambert, second language motivation derives from a desire to identify completely with a new language community. Attitudes and motivation in secondlanguage learning. The effect of integrative and instrumental motivation on. As early a 1941s, jordan investigated the relation between attitudes toward a number of school subjects and grades in those subjects, and found the relationships for french to be among the highest. Attitudes and motivation in learning english as second language in. Attitude, motivation, and difficulties involved in. A case study of nonenglish major college students motivation in english language learning. It is defined as the individuals attitudes, desires, and effort gardner, tremblay.
Montreal high school students studying french as a second language completed a battery of tests including measures of linguistic aptitude, verbal intelligence, and various attitudinal and motivational characteristics. Gardner and lambert 1972 emphasise that, although language aptitude accounts. The role of students attitudes and motivation in second. Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning. Gardner and lambert the attitude and motivation in second language learning. Attitudes, orientations, and motivations in language. Two french programsin london, ontario second language program beginning in grade7 and the secondary school french program in london, ontario, were examined. Motivation and attitudes towards second language learning at. Therefore, considering gardners theory, social context and attitudes towards the l2 and l2 communities are the foundation to understand language learners motivation. People with an integrative motivation for language study want to get to know the language to connect with its people or culture. Motivation in second language learning in online language courses eiko ushida university of california, san diego abstract this study investigated the role of students motivation and attitudes in second language l2 study within an online language course context lol. It is associated with components such as interest in foreign languages, desire to learn the target language, attitudes toward learning the target language.
Attitudes and motivation in secondlanguage acquisition. Instrumental motivation refers to language learning situations where the student has a utilitarian goali. The effects of language aptitude, integrative motivation, and mode of presentation on the rate of learning 25 french english vocabulary pairs were investigated using a paired associate learning paradigm. Gardner 1985 and ellis 1994 also introduce the mentioned types of motivation. The impact of motivation and parental encouragement on. Motivation and attitudes in second language learning. Gardner 1979 suggests that attitudes are related to motivation by serving as supports of the learners overall orientation. Gardner and lambert 1972 described motivation for language learning as follows.