Instrumental Reasons for Studying in Compulsory English Courses: I Didn't Come to University to Study English, so Why Should I?

Autor/inn/en	Fryer, Luke K.; Ozono, Shuichi; Carter, Peter; Nakao, Kaori; Anderson, Charles J.
Titel	Instrumental Reasons for Studying in Compulsory English Courses: I Didn't Come to University to Study English, so Why Should I?
Quelle	In: Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 8 (2014) 3, S.239-256 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1750-1229
DOI	10.1080/17501229.2013.835314
Schlagwörter	English (Second Language); Required Courses; Second Language Instruction; College Freshmen; Factor Analysis; Student Attitudes; Student Motivation; Foreign Countries; Qualitative Research; Focus Groups; Statistical Analysis; Student Surveys; Likert Scales; Gender Differences; Japan + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Pflichtkurs; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Studienanfänger; Faktorenanalyse; Schülerverhalten; Schulische Motivation; Ausland; Qualitative Forschung; Statistische Analyse; Schülerbefragung; Likert-Skala; Geschlechterkonflikt
Abstract	In numerous Asian-Pacific tertiary contexts--students' chosen department not-with-standing-- second-language study is a requirement for both entry level and graduation. A practice by which Second Language motivation research could benefit from First Language procedures is to acknowledge instrumentality in such nonelective classes. Instrumental goals are central to the learning process and its outcomes; thus, students' lack of choice must be considered as a factor affecting both goal-setting and motivation. This study adapts Simons et al.'s inventory to a compulsory language-course context and then qualitatively validates it. First-year mixed major university students (n = 1071) taking compulsory English classes completed a 20-item inventory addressing instrumental reasons for studying within the university program. Exploratory factor analysis of the data (n = 535) suggested four clear factors: distal, social, proximal external, and personal. Confirmatory factor analysis (n = 536) replicated the four-factor solution well. Students' qualitative perceptions of the importance (r[superscript 2]=0.29) and utility (r[superscript 2]=0.16) of English each explained a meaningful amount of learners' quantitative distal goals. The strong relationship between distal goals and perceptions of the importance of English suggests that teachers might support students' instrumental motivation both by stressing the importance of English and aiding students' in developing distal goals for English. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01