Foreign Language Learning Motivation As An Integrative Factor

People can also participate in study abroad programs as a way to improve their ability with a foreign language. Two such programs that are being offered to Spanish 300 and 400 students is the opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica or Spain. There are several reasons as to why participating in a study abroad program is more advantageous than simply studying in a classroom. The largest advantage that participating in a study abroad program is that by being in a foreign country where the language you are learning is the primary language is that since you are immersed in the language, one’s proficiency in using the language will increase more quickly when compared to those that are only attending a class for their foreign language simply due to the fact one must use that language all of the time. Study abroad programs also have the added benefit of improving one’s knowledge about a particular country’s culture and traditions. Lastly, study abroad programs allow one to become friends with many new people and make many new friends. It is for these reasons of improving language proficiency, learning more about a country’s culture, and meeting new people and making new friends that I am interested in participating in a study abroad program in the

“One of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time”, Federico Fellini once stated that “A different language is a different vision of life” and I, in my turn tend to say that he was perfectly right. A person who speaks more than one language can experience multiple personalities, visions and reflections consisting which language is he speaking. High School students should comprehend the real benefit of speaking a foreign language. Being a multilingual myself and speaking fluently four languages and studying another two, I consider that I am qualified enough to persuade that my argument is strong, plausible and not ultimately-right. In the following paragraphs I am going to address the following three reasons why should other High School students learn at least one foreign language? Firstly, learning a new language enhances performances in the academic domain and makes you smarter. Secondly, knowing a new language is a high estimated and a very valuable characteristic in your professional CV. Thirdly, international travel is more pleasant through knowing a foreign language.

According to the class PowerPoint over chapters nine and ten in regards to motivation in the classroom, intrinsic motivation is when a student is engaged in the activity itself because it is rewarding to the him or her. Using this concept will help students become more motivated to do their assignment if they truly want to learn more about the topic. This concept is important to note because it can help improve students’ grades in many subjects, depending on how motivated they are in these subjects to do well in them in the end. When connecting intrinsic motivation to struggling ELL students doing their book reports, a simple solution for getting them to want to work more on their assignment is to have them choose their own country. This way they will want to learn more about a country they chose themselves, and will genuinely want to learn about their country of choice in this way. This connection also relates to a cognitive theory of motivation called interest theory. From the same source, interest theory is defined as motivating

This research paper will indicate the reason why college should consider the removal of required foreign language classes from more majors.

The United States education system lacks a national foreign language education requirement, which has resulted in a decline of foreign language learning opportunities. (“Education,” 2010). Foreign language requirements and opportunities in the nation’s schools are decreasing due to budget cuts (Skorton & Altschuler, 2012). Out of the 50 states, only 10 states have a foreign language graduation requirement set for students (“Education,” 2010). From 1997 to 2008, the number of elementary schools offering a foreign language decreased from 31% to 25%, while the number of middle schools dropped from 75% to 58%. Foreign language opportunities in high schools remained the same at around 91%; however, from 1994 to 2010 the percent of colleges that required foreign language study dropped from 67.5% to 50.7% (Skorton & Altschuler, 2012). The result

A study was conducted that looks at the effects of the success of students who were given the opportunity to participate in a foreign language program versus those who were enrolled

The ability of speaking two languages is important for a career in today’s standpoint. With countries becoming more diverse with different cultures and ethnicity, being bilingual can help an individual tremendously in the work force. With this in mind, schools should implement a class for students to learn a new language and being able to master it before graduating high school. Therefore, Schools should require students to learn and master a foreign language before graduating high school because people who speak multiple languages are intellectually smarter, it helps them communicate better in the modern world, and benefits them for the workforce.

Ask the average American adult if he or she knows a foreign language, the most common response is: “I took a foreign language in high school but I don’t remember it” (Why Learn a Second Language?). This response is no longer an acceptable response as communities in the United States become more diverse, full of many different languages and cultures. Foreign language is defined as “any language used in a country other than one's own; a language that is studied mostly for cultural insight,” according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Foreign language requirements in the United States are scarce, but important factors to educational development. Only about 15 states in the U.S. have specific requirements for foreign languages in their

“In boxing, they say everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Well, in language learning, we could just as easily say that everyone has the perfect conversation in mind until they speak to a real native.” says Why Language Classes Don’t Work author Tim Ferriss. Communication is not the focus of a foreign language class these days. Memorizing words and short sentences is not a natural function. Taking a foreign class is not effective and it’s outdated because it’s like placing a group of people, who don’t know how to calculate the area of a circle, into a room and seeing how much they know. According to Jay Mathews,“How students still look good on their report cards is easy to explain. Because much of the world is striving to learn English, Americans wonder why they should bother to learn other languages. We talk about the importance of foreign language learning to our national security, but we don’t mean it. If we need speakers of exotic tongues, we import them”.

Some students would argue that taking a foreign language class in high school would not benefit them after graduation, as they plan to study a major in which being multilingual is not essential. This may seem reasonable as some majors, such as cosmetology or psychology may not ever use a foreign language nor require further study of a foreign language. However, studies have shown that studying a foreign language builds more skills than just language. Memorization, critical thinking and interpretation skills improve immensely in those students who take a foreign language class in high school (“Benefits and Opportunities” 1). Students can then use these skills to improve academic performance in other areas, improving overall college success.

There are two types of motivations and expectations to learn English.Intrinsic motivation is a personal desire that brings someone to learn a second language. On the other hand extrinsic motivation is derived from external influence, is the student motivated by a need to learn the language, these motivation types are both important and can work simultaneously.2 In this cases Isaac by his own will wants to learn English, he knows English brings a variety of opportunities in life, for example he wants to get a better grade point average in High School, he would like to apply for a part-time job in which requires English and he wants to improve his social life.

In the past, St. Mary students were required to take a foreign language class in order to earn a foreign language credits. If they didn't take it, they would not graduate from high school. Now, some teachers think that school should take off foreign language class due to many reasons, while some teachers contend that it is necessary for student to take a foreign language class because it’s benefit to students. Thus, this issue whether to keep or to take this requirement off, will be discussed in the conference room by teachers and principal

The study of motivation in the area second language (L2) acquisition has seen much attention by researchers over the past decades. There is a general consesus that motivation is the driving fource that enables learners to expend the sustained effort it takes to learn another language (GD 2008; Moskovsky, Alrabai, Paolini, & Ratcheva, 2013), and motivation gives the competetivie edge to leanrning (Moskovsky, Alrabai, Paolini, & Ratcheva, 2013). However

Many theories have been put forward in the field of second language motivation to relate l2 learners’ goals to their motivational behaviors in learning the target language.

Apparently, attempts made in linking up various ideas may turn critical especially when it comes to the process of boosting learning. However, intelligent people may find it easier to significantly integrate the daily interaction with people based on what they already know and what they are yet to know. Preliminarily, most people living in Senegal either speak the native languages or French. Such settings, for example, may serve as the most outstanding drawback to any person willing or someone brought up in an English speaking society. Narrowing down to self-motivation, willingness and desire to learn new languages as well as social interaction form part of the factors that may help one to incorporate the new system in life. In relation to the context discussed, this section seeks to relate the experience in learning and managing different languages with outstanding theories of motivation. The renowned theories of motivation include, among others, the cognitive evaluation theory, reinforcement theory, goal setting theory, equity theory and Clayton Alderfer’s ERG theory.