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Impact of learning conditions on young fl learners’ motivation
... The literature shows that the more opportunities children have to experience a language in a meaningful context, as well as using it for a particular purpose, the more effective the learning process becomes [13]. Recent studies have strongly argued that early language learning is closely related to children's experiences in the classroom and their learning conditions [7,14], and that teachers' expertise in creating an appropriate learning environment for language learning seems to have a great impact on the effectiveness of an early start [15][16][17], particularly as regards exposure, attitude, and motivation [18][19][20]. ...
... This perspective also considers learning conditions and the role of adults in children's language learning experience. Mihaljević Djigunović and Nikolov [29] propose a framework for researching YLL motivation that considers its complexity and variability, addressing children's developmental stages (Stage 1: ages 6-8, Stage 2: ages 9-11, and Stage 3: ages [12][13][14], the role of significant others (teachers, family, and peers), and the teaching and learning context (school and social environment) ( Figure 1). ...
This study aims to identify motivational and attitude variables among Chilean young English learners from Concepción. A child-appropriate Likert scale questionnaire was distributed to 137 students from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade of two state-run primary schools. The instrument considered five variables: attitude towards English, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, Ideal L2 Self, and parent-oriented motivation, because the eclectic nature of early language learning has been shown to be influenced by these factors. The variables for teacher profile considered years of teaching experience, training in primary English language teaching, and access to multisensory and audio-visual materials. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine the internal consistency of the instrument. The Mann–Whitney U test and the Kruskal–Wallis H-test using Dunn’s post hoc contrast were used to compare the motivations and attitudes by gender, teacher profile, and grade. Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient was then used to identify the relationship between the target variables and the teacher profile. Results show that teacher profile is a key factor in motivation and attitude to learning English, particularly their access to multisensory and audio-visual materials. This study’s main novelty is that it is the first time a questionnaire focused on children’s attitudes and motivations has been applied in Chile, with clear implications for teacher education and policy implementation assessment.
... Language attitudes together with language aptitude and motivation play a major role in language learning success or failure (Gardner 1985). Many studies have examined the role of attitudes towards learning a particular foreign language and language learning in general (Carr & Pauwels 2006;Cenoz 2003;Julkunen & Borzova 1997;MacIntyre, Baker, Clément & Donovan 2003;Masgoret, Bernaus & Gardner 2001;Mihaljević Djigunović 2009;Nikolov 2002;Tragant 2006;); fewer studies, though, have taken up to examine the role of attitudes towards different foreign languages and multilingualism (Clément & Kruidenier 1983;Dörnyei & Clément 2001;Dörnyei & Csizér 2002;Humphreys & Spratt 2008;Iliopoulou & Sougari 2014;Sougari & Iliopoulou 2012;. The findings of the above mentioned studies show that people may hold different attitudes and motivational intensity towards different foreign languages (FLs). ...
... Attitudes and motivation alongside with language aptitude are considered to be the best predictors of success or failure in language learning (Gardner 1985). Many studies have examined the role of attitudes and motivation in FL learning (Carr & Pauwels 2006;Cenoz 2003;Tragant 2006;Julkunen & Borzova 1997;MacIntyre, Baker, Clément & Donovan 2003;Masgoret, Bernaus & Gardner 2001;Mihaljević Djigunović 2009;Nikolov 2002), where students' attitudes and motivation were examined in relation to different factors such as proficiency level, age, gender and learning context. Furthermore, some studies have undertaken to examine learners' attitudes and motivational orientations towards different FLs. ...
Περίληψη
Στο άρθρο αυτό καταγράφεται το πολυγλωσσικό προφίλ των προπτυχιακών
φοιτητών που ακολουθούν σπουδές σε διάφορα επιστημονικά πεδία στο Αρι-
στοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης. Η δειγματοληψία έγινε σε 592 άτομα.
Ο στόχος του άρθρου είναι διπλός: αφενός η παρούσα μελέτη πιστοποιεί την
αδιαμφισβήτητη κυριαρχία της αγγλικής ως κοινού κώδικα επικοινωνίας (Jenkins
2000· Seidlhofer 2001), αφετέρου διερευνά τις επιλογές των προπτυχιακών φοι-
τητών για εκμάθηση ξένης γλώσσας, όπως επίσης κατά πόσο οι συγκεκριμένες
επιλογές κατευθύνονται και προσδιορίζονται από πιθανές μελλοντικές ανάγκες.
Αναλύεται ακόμη η επίπτωση της παρούσας οικονομικής συγκυρίας στη στάση
και στις επιλογές των φοιτητών για τις ξένες γλώσσες. Υπό αυτό το πρίσμα,
προσδιορίζεται ο ρόλος και η σημασία της αγγλικής όπως αυτά γίνονται αντιληπτά από τους φοιτητές και επιβεβαιώνεται η σημασία και κυριαρχία της αγγλικής ως διεθνούς γλώσσας επικοινωνίας.
... Analyzing the early foreign language teaching objectives specified by different countries, it is noticed that having the learners gain affective objectives is as important as the cognitive objective of gaining communicative competence. This is because learners usually have their first experiences about foreign language learning during the first stage of primary education and learners' first judgments and feelings about foreign language learning are formed during these very first years, which is critical in affecting their attitudes toward foreign language learning for the rest of their lives (Djigunovic, 2009;Schindler, 2006). ...
... Learners' first judgments and feelings about foreign language learning are formed during the early years, which is critical in affecting their attitudes toward foreign language learning for the rest of their lives (Djigunovic, 2009;Schindler, 2006). If the first experiences and impressions of the children about foreign language learning are unpleasant during these early years, they may develop negative affective and cognitive outcomes (Gordon, 2007;Schindler, 2006). ...
The main purpose of this study was to develop a valid instrument which can reliably measure the affective behaviors of young learners of English. To obtain the content and face validity of the scale, the items developed based on the review of relevant literature were assessed by an expert panel. The construct validity of the scale was tested through two independent pilot studies using exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analysis techniques. The data were obtained from 194 and 339 4th and 5th grade students in successive studies. The analyses revealed a 4-factor structure with satisfactory model-data fit indices: X2/df=1.371; RMSEA=0.033; RMR=0.019; Standardized RMR= 0.044; GFI=0.95; AGFI=0.93; NNFI=0.97; CFI=0.98]. The factors of the 17-item 3-point Likert type scale were designated as Attitudes toward learning foreign languages and English lesson, Motivation: Desire and effort to learn a foreign language, foreign language anxiety, and Attitudes toward foreigners and other cultures. These four factors together explained 53.88% of the total variance. Item-total correlations and Cronbach Alpha coefficients were estimated to test the internal consistency of the scale, and test-retest correlations were estimated to test the temporal reliability of the scale. The results showed that scale is reliable in terms of internal consistency and temporal reliability
... Vzpodbuden je tudi podatek, da velika večina staršev doma spodbuja učenje tujih jezikov (92,9 %). Kar nekaj avtorjev, med drugimi Desforges in Abouchaar (2003), Gardner (1985) in Griffith (1996), poudarjajo, kako pomembna je vpletenost staršev pri uspehu njihovih otrok v šoli na splošno in pri učenju tujih jezikov (Lindgren in Muňoz 2013;Mihaljević in Djigunović 2009;Xuesong 2006). S tem, da imajo doma dovolj literature v tujih jezikih za podporo pri učenju, se je (popolnoma) strinjalo 55,7 % anketirancev, 22,2 % pa se jih ni moglo odločiti. ...
... The percentage of the retrieved vocabulary connected to family members as sources of informal English was markedly lower (14.8%). Apparently, many Croatian parents and siblings possess English language competence that enables them to assist YLs in their acquisition of English, formally and informally (Mihaljević Djigunović, 2009. Indeed, for more than half a century generations of Croatian citizens have been receiving ear training along with exposure to authentic English input from an early age and daily. ...
A context-sensitive approach to SLA research acknowledges the interrelatedness of linguistic development and situational/cultural context. Over the years, many studies looked into the formal context of early English language learning (EELL) but the informal realms of learner experience are still largely unknown. Hence, context matters related to out-of-school availability of English and its relevance for EFL classrooms are in focus of this contribution. Sources of informal contact and linguistic gains arising from young learners’ informal experiences with English are believed to contribute to heterogeneity found in English language learning outcomes, and to point at important interactions between local learning context, age and early formal instruction. Sources of out-of-school contact with English and a corpus of self-reported informally acquired English vocabulary by learners aged 8.5–10.5 are presented. Additionally, the influence of gender as a background variable was explored. Findings are discussed against a growing awareness of heterogeneity embedded in sociocultural contexts of early EFL instruction. Finally, challenges faced by teachers of young learners and researchers of early English language development are addressed along with pedagogical implications of the study outcomes.
... Indeed, children appeared well aware of the role of ELF across different cultures (cf. Csizér and Kormos 2009;Mihaljević Djigunović 2009). ...
Research into communication strategies and ELF is a thriving area of investigation, that has so far looked into cooperative strategies leading to successful communication and mutual understanding, or how miscommunication is resolved, above all in academic as well as business ELF (BELF) contexts, and, more recently, international students’ communities.
ELF interactions have been shown to be characterized by the speakers’ mutual cooperation in the co-construction of meaning. Repetition, paraphrasing, as well as self- and other-repair and pre-emptive moves have emerged as important strategies, together with the exploitation of multilingual resources and repertoires. Communication strategies, rather than a mere compensation device, are thus to be considered an essential element in the process of effective communication, in that they are strategically used by speakers as part of “communicative capability.”
This paper explores communication strategies emerging from data in the Leisure subsection of the VOICE corpus. Through a qualitative Conversation Analysis approach, the analysis focuses particularly on interactional strategies employed to ensure mutual understanding and effective communication. Data have been first analysed through keywords signalling request for clarification and/or repetition, and then qualitatively focusing on how individual multilingual resources are naturally deployed and shared in the strategic co-construction of meaning and comprehension, particularly as to concepts and ideas that are lingua-culturally connoted.
... Bu süreçte çocukların yabancı dille ilgili yaşadıkları ilk deneyimler çok önemlidir (Edelenbos vd., 2006). Çünkü çocukların yabancı dile karşı edindikleri ilk duyuşsal kazanımlar, ileriki yıllarda alacakları yabancı dil eğitimine karşı tutumları açısından son derece belirleyici olmaktadır (Djigunovic, 2009;Egel, 2009;Katsuyama vd., 2008;Schindler, 2006). Avrupa'da ve Amerika'da çocuklara yabancı dil öğretimiyle ilgili yaşanan gelişmeler Türkiye'nin eğitim politikalarını da etkilemiştir. ...
Amaç: Bu araştırmada ilkokul düzeyinde İngilizce derslerini yürüten öğretmenlerin erken yaşta İngilizce öğretimine ilişkin yeterlilik düzeylerinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Çalışma nicel ilişkisel tarama desenlerinden nedensel-karşılaştırma modeline göre yürütülmüştür. Araştırmanın katılımcılarını Kütahya merkez ilçesindeki 62 devlet, 8 özel okuldaki 80 İngilizce öğretmeni oluşturmaktadır. Veriler erken yaşta yabancı dil öğretimine yönelik kuramsal bilgi testi ve “Çocuklara Yabancı Dil Öğretimi Yeterlik Ölçeği” kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Yapılan analizler sonucunda öğretmenlerin genel olarak erken yaşta yabancı dil öğretimine ilişkin kuramsal bilgi ve özyeterlik düzeylerinin yüksek olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. İngilizce öğretmenlerinin erken yaşta İngilizce öğretimine ilişkin kuramsal bilgi düzeylerinin; cinsiyetlerine, mezun oldukları fakülte türüne ve erken yaşta yabancı dil öğretimine ilişkin bir eğitim alma durumlarına göre benzer olduğu; ancak mesleki kıdemleri açısından ise 6-10 yıl arası mesleki kıdeme sahip İngilizce öğretmenlerinin kuramsal bilgi düzeylerinin diğer mesleki kıdemlere sahip öğretmenlere göre daha yüksek olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Öğretmenlerinin erken yaşta İngilizce öğretimine yönelik özyeterlik algılarının cinsiyetlerine, mesleki kıdemlerine ve mezun oldukları fakülte türüne göre benzer olduğu, diğer taraftan erken yaşta yabancı dil öğretimine ilişkin bir eğitim alanların yeterlilik algılarının almayanlara göre anlamlı düzeyde daha yüksek olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Araştırmada ayrıca İngilizce öğretmenlerinin erken yaşta İngilizce öğretimine ilişkin kuramsal bilgi düzeylerinin, erken yaşta yabancı dil öğretimi uygulamalarına yönelik özyeterlik algılarının istatistiksel açıdan anlamlı bir yordayıcısı olmadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Sonuçlar ve Öneriler: Bulgulardan hareketle 2023 Eğitim vizyonu kapsamında yabancı dil öğretmenlerine verilmesi planlanan lisansüstü ve uluslararası sertifika eğitimlerinde erken yaşta yabancı dil öğreten öğretmenlerin ihtiyaçlarına odaklanacak şekilde uygulama ağırlıklı tasarlanması önerilmiştir.
... Johnstone (2009) believes that CLIL programmes may help maximise the key variables of time and intensity and yield impressive linguistic and content outcomes, as they help learners become fluent and confident L2 users (Mihaljevic Djigunovic 2009;Nikolov & Mihaljevic Djigunovic 2006). Since the 1990s, such programmes have become more and more commonplace in Canada, the Basque country, and Europe (Dalton-Puffer 2008; Eurydice Report 2012) because they lend themselves to naturalistic FL learning. ...
... The same differences could be claimed for the motivation aspect as well. Young learners' motivation to learn a foreign language varied according to the factors of parental influence (Ohlshtain, Shohamy, Kemp, & Chatow, 1990), positive attitudes towards the learning context and the teacher (The Pecs Project (Nikolov, 2002), Nikolov, 1999Julkunen, 2001), and impact of learning conditions (Djigunović, 2009). Moreover, young Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language) Asmalı 58 learners are mostly intrinsically motivated to learn a language till the age of eleven after which the indications of instrumental motivation appear (Nikolov, 1999). ...
According to recent modifications in Turkish educational system, English
language teaching starts in the second grade. Young learners studying in this grade
were in the focus in this study. This paper reported on the findings of a mixed
method study conducted in three different primary schools in the west of Turkey.
The main aim was to represent the views of the second graders regarding their
motivation and attitudes toward learning English and their perceptions concerning
English language learning and instruction. While quantitative data were gathered via
two questionnaires from 192 participants; three personal semi-structured interviews
and a focus-group interview were conducted for qualitative data gathering.
Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Following data
reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification phases, qualitative data
were analyzed through interpretive-descriptive analysis technique. The findings
indicated that parents, teachers, and favorable learning conditions and activities were
important factors in determining young learners’ attitudes and motivation to learn
English. Students’ attitudes were mostly positive toward learning English. Singing
songs and playing games were their favorite activities and they had an intrinsic
motivation to learn English.
... This chapter focuses on the main features of the framework, what can do statements and various task types were specified and what lessons were learned from various phases of the project. AQ2 1,* 1 The focus on how learning and assessment interact with young learners' individual differences may shed light on a new challenge in early language learning: why after the first enthusiastic period of learning a new language, young children's motivation, similarly to experiences with older learners, declines over time (Mihaljević Djigunović, 2009a; Nikolov, 1999 and how young children's selfperceptions are shaped by what happens in the classroom over the months and years. Most studies exploring these issues have found that varied levels of performances on tests play a key role in how motivated and anxious learners are, how they perceive themselves and what goals they set for themselves in the long run. ...
The aim of this chapter is to present a framework for assessing young learners of foreign languages for diagnostic purposes. The first section outlines the most important trends in language assessment and describes the educational context where the project was implemented. Then, the chapter discusses how children between the ages of 6 and 12 develop in a foreign language and outlines the most important principles of assessing young language learners. The actual framework was designed for the four skills; it aimed to cover the first 6 years of primary education in Hungarian public schools. The document used the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR, 2001) as a point of departure and includes agespecific 'can do statements' and task types corresponding to them. Readers are encouraged to critically reflect on how the findings could be adopted in their own contexts.
... In fact, an early foreign language program's success depends mainly on carefully considering the cognitive, affective, physical, and social developmental characteristics and meeting the specific age group's learning needs (Agullo, 2006;Cameron, 2001;Edelenbos et al., 2006;Şad, 2011;Tost Planet, 1997). Otherwise, an early start may even bring negative consequences because learners' attitudes and judgments are constructed when they first meet the foreign language and are also decisive for their future learning experiences (Djigunovic, 2009;Egel, 2009;Katsuyama, Nishigaki, & Wang, 2008;Schindler, 2006). Thus, "How to teach?" and "Who should teach?" ...
This study aimed to investigate the perceived efficacy and willingness levels of prospective classroom teachers to teach English at the primary level. The study was designed as a baseline descriptive survey, followed by complementary correlational and ex post facto models. Participants were 251 prospective classroom teachers. Data was collected with “The Perceived Efficacy and Willingness Scales for Teaching Young Learners English.” Prospective classroom teachers, particularly females, were found willing to teach young learners English as a Foreign Language (EFL). However, participants, particularly males, perceived themselves as ineffective at performing critical classroom activities for teaching English. Freshmen felt more effective than seniors at teaching young learners EFL. Also prospective classroom teachers of all grades from 1st to 4th years were similarly willing to teach young learners English. Path analysis revealed significant positive associations among perceived efficacy (PE), willingness (WILL), and perceived level of English proficiency (PEP). PEP was found directly responsible for about half (R2 = .48) the variance in PE. PEP indirectly and positively affected WILL through PE’s full mediation effect. Lastly, PE directly and positively predicted WILL, with an R2 of 0.16.
... Another possible reason may be that the discrapancies are due to the differences between the contexts in which the young learners were learning the FL. Contextual influences, both at the macro and micro levels, are now increasingly recognized as a significant factor in early FLL (Mihaljevi Djigunovi , 2009b). From the temporal perspective, an interesting recent observation of young FL learners' attitudinal development suggests that over the years young learners, especially the less successful ones, tend to become bored or disillusioned if they do not feel they have made expected progress in mastering the FL (Bolster, 2009). ...
Affective learner factors were first considered as a cause of success in language learning. This was followed by a change in approach and recently authors (e.g., Edelenbos, Johnstone, & Kubanek, 2006) have considered them an important outcome, especially in early foreign language learning (FLL). Current research into affective learner factors in early FLL tries to catch the developmental aspects too, and studies are emerging that take a contextual view as well. This paper describes a study on affective characteristics of young FL learners that combines the developmental and contextual perspectives. Using the case study methodology the author analyses the affective profiles of three young learners of English as a foreign language who were followed for 4 years. The analyses are done taking into account their immediate language learning environment, home support, out-of-school exposure to English and language achievement. The findings suggest that affective learner factors contribute to the dynamic complexity of early FLL.
... learners' reported self-perceptions (Blondin et al., 1998;Mihaljevi c Djigunovi c, 2009). In the study reported here, learners were asked to compare themselves to their classmates in terms of their pace of learning, and asked how they were able to make that judgement. ...
The present study explores young learners' awareness of foreign language learning and of their learning conditions. The participants were 76 Catalan-Spanish children who were learning English at primary school. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal data were collected by means of two different interviews that contained questions related to pupils' views about themselves as learners, their learning of English, the difficulty of English language learning, the classroom layout and the learning activities with which they learnt most. Pupils' answers showed an early awareness of foreign language learning and learning conditions as well as the influence of the learning environment and experience on the changes that reshaped their views as they pass through primary education.
... Indeed, children appeared well aware of the role of ELF across different cultures (cf. Csizér and Kormos 2009;Mihaljević Djigunović 2009). ...
The presence of English in Europe is increasingly pervasive: experiences “from above” in educational contexts combine with contacts with English “from below” in the linguistic landscape at large. In educational contexts, international school partnerships create increasingly frequent opportunities for learners at different school levels to experience language use in ELF contexts. International exchanges can thus be seen as a point of intersection between bottom-up and top-down contact with English, where learners step into the role of ELF users deploying their linguistic resources to communicate in international ELF settings.
This paper explores how English is used in its role of a lingua franca in a set of written and spoken data gathered within two such international projects which took place in the Verona area, Italy, in school years 2009–2011. As part of the project primary school pupils aged 9–11 interacted with peers from European countries using English as the shared lingua franca of communication. Besides the children's awareness of the presence of English and of the role of ELF in outside-school contexts, these interactions are characterised by several elements which are found in ELF communicative settings: for example, lexical innovations, code switching employed to signal cultural identity, and deployment of pragmatic strategies in oral communication. In this way these young ELF users appear to stretch their linguistic resources of self-expression and communication. Therefore, findings can bear significant potential implications in terms of teaching practices.
... The first point to note is that there is a great deal of variation in government policy from one country to another and even within the same country (see, for example, Brock-Utne and Holmarsdottir, 2004;Ho, 2003;Y. Hu, 2007;Kapur, 2009;Mihaljević Djigunović, 2009). Moreover, while in some countries, such as South Korea or Oman, the government maintains close central control over the implementation of policy (Al-Issa, 2007;Butler, 2009;Lee, 2009;Mitchell and Lee, 2003) , in others, such as Brazil, few or no guidelines are offered (Gimenez, 2009). ...
Motivation plays a critical role in young learners' success in acquiring the English language, impacting their engagement, confidence, and long-term learning outcomes. This review explores the key motivational factors-both intrinsic and extrinsic-that influence English language learning among young students. A systematic literature review was conducted using academic sources from Google Scholar, ERIC, and JSTOR, focusing on studies published between 2010 and 2023. Thematic analysis was applied to identify patterns related to motivation, its barriers, and effective strategies. Intrinsic motivation, driven by natural enjoyment and curiosity, leads to sustained learning, while extrinsic motivation is most effective when paired with engaging activities. Key motivational influences include teacher support, peer interaction, family involvement, and appealing learning materials. Barriers such as irrelevant content, dull instruction, and fear of failure hinder progress. Strategies like games, storytelling, and positive reinforcement significantly boost motivation. The study highlights the importance of balancing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to enhance English learning in young learners and emphasizes the need for further research on how technology affects motivation in this age group.
With the advancement in technology over the past few decades, there has been a rapid increase in state of the art surveillance tools and techniques. Surveillance is becoming a global issue in the digital age. The world is compelled to understand the dynamics of surveillance in the contemporary world. Surveillance has changed from being physical and spatial to being networked and it relies heavily on modern technology. So, it is indispensable to recognise the ever-changing forms of surveillance. The capacity of surveillance has dramatically increased with new digital technology. It has become an important issue in surveillance studies and we need to understand its intangible risks and complexities in the digital age. The revisitation of the ideas of Jeremy Bentham, Michel Foucault, Karl Marx as well as those of contemporary social theorists like David Lyon, Zygmunt Bauman, F�lix Guattari, Gilles Deleuze and others plays a vital role in the development and understanding of new theoretical approaches in surveillance studies. With the rise in surveillance tools and techniques there has also been a change in power dynamics in the society. So, surveillance studies not only provide a helping hand to understand the complexities of new and different forms of surveillance but also help to understand the changing power dynamics in the society. Living in a �Surveillance Society� has led to new, different and extreme forms of power and control. The misuse of surveillance technologies leads to exploitation of the masses, discloses their intimate lives as well as becomes a threat to privacy and freedom of expression and liberty. The world should be made conscious of the repercussions associated with surveillance in the digital world.
The technological revolution has bought the whole world connected to each other. Technology is incorporated into almost every commercial and social sector of life including health too. E- Health has took its pace in the 21st century in various parts of the world. Pakistan, too is running a lot of programs that incorporate technology and digitization in the health sector. This paper focuses on the health incentivization via Sehat Sahulat Program launched by the government of Pakistan. It will cover all the essentials relating to the program including some case studies of the people who are using this service. The case studies will highlight the merits and demerits of the program too.
The researcher's topic was "Effectiveness of National Professional Standards for Teachers in the Teaching Learning Process," which aimed to investigate teachers' perspectives of various national professional standards for teachers. To see how effective a national professional standard for teachers is at improving educational quality. The study's target demographic was all 1588 female elementary school teachers. In Tehsil Swabi, there are 843 female elementary school teachers who are accessible. Out of total population 100 female primary school teachers were randomly selected from 25 Government Girls Primary Schools of Tehsil Swabi. The number of participants from each school were four. To collect data from the respondents, a closed ended questionnaire containing 10 items based on Likert scale was developed with the consultation of the supervisor in relation to the objective of the topic. The collected data was presented in tabulated form. Frequency and percentage were used as statistical tool to analyzed data. Finding of the study revealed that Half of the respondents were unaware that National Professional Standard for teachers are introduced in 2009. More than half of those polled had no idea how many National Professional Standards for Teachers exist. Half of the subjects have no idea about level in each national professional standard. Majority of the participants agreed that knowledge and understanding is the 1st level of NPSTs. Maximum of the participants were unaware that disposition is the 2nd level of a NPST. Most of the respondents agreed that subject matter knowledge is important for teacher to improve their subject related knowledge. A large portion of participant believed that human development and growth is considered as a key standard to familiarize teacher with different stages of child development.
This study was designed to find out the effectiveness of Management Information System in Privately Managed Secondary Schools in Rawalpindi, to understand the concept of MIS, to identify the ways by which the managers are using MIS in their organizations and to identify the bottlenecks of MIS, if any, and suggest the measures to overcome these problems. The population of the study were the principals of all the privately managed secondary schools in Rawalpindi. The study was delimited to private school systems. 50 Heads were randomly selected as sample of study. The design of the research is descriptive. The data was collected through questionnaire and checklist. A closed ended questionnaire was constructed for principals using MIS. The researcher delivered and collected questionnaires directly from study participants.. The data collected through questionnaires and check lists were tabulated and analyzed in terms of frequency and percentage. The findings of the study concluded that MIS reduces the workload of management, helps in `solving enough problems of school, reduces the errors in general , improves the quality of education, and makes data retrieval and data storage very easy. However majority of principals face hurdles to maintain the system in their institutions. From the study�s findings and conclusions it was recommended that every educational institution should be equipped with MIS, parents and students should have online connectivity to the system and principals should have updated knowledge of MIS to meet the emerging challenges and problems.
The role of motivation and extramural English exposure in explaining individual differences in young English language learners' (YELLs') English performance is unclear. In this study, we hypothesized that different types of extramural English exposure predict YELLs' (Dutch, N = 262, 10 years old, grade 4) oral and written English receptive vocabulary knowledge, and that motivational factors act as mediators. A distinction was made between YELLs learning English only informally through extramural English exposure and YELLs learning English also formally at school. A path analysis showed that the total impact of familial extramural English exposure and extramural English exposure through entertaining media was greater for the YELLs learning English informally, compared to YELLs learning English also formally. While the sources of extramural English exposure were directly predictive of performance with regard to both oral and written English receptive vocabulary tests for YELLs' learning English informally, linguistic self-confidence fully mediated these relationships for YELLs learning English formally. Our findings call for further development of theoretical frameworks explaining the relationship between YELLs' motivation and exposure.
This project investigates early learning and teaching of English in Danish primary schools. Encouraged by recent calls for research to apply a complex multifactor research design to investigate early foreign language (FL) learning (Edelenbos & Kubanek 2009; Lindgren & Muñoz 2013), the project investigates the impact of starting age of learning, i.e., the age factor, and a range of contextual factors (the quantity and quality of exposure to English inside and outside the classroom) and socio-affective factors (children’s motivation and attitudes towards learning, and parents’ education, (perceived) proficiency in the FL, their attitudes towards language learning, and their use of the foreign language professionally) in children’s rate of L2 learning and short-term English language proficiency.
This study examined the progress in lexical and grammatical knowledge among 252 learners of French in England across the last two years of primary education and into the first year of secondary school in relation to teaching and teacher factors. It compared linguistic outcomes from two different approaches, one which emphasized oracy and the other which combined literacy with attention to oracy development. We also explored the relationship between linguistic outcomes and other teaching/teacher factors: teaching time, teacher level of French proficiency, and teacher level of training in language instruction. Learners completed a sentence repetition task and a photo description task, making small but statistically significant progress in both grammatical and lexical knowledge between test points. While teaching approach had little impact on such progress, other teaching and teacher factors did, particularly the French proficiency level of the primary school teacher and the amount of teaching time devoted to French.
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The growing number of young children around the world learning English has resulted in an increase in research in the field. Many of the studies have investigated approaches to learning and teaching, with a particular emphasis on effective pedagogies (e.g. Harley 1998; Shak and Gardner 2008). Other studies have focused on the linguistic gains of children (e.g. Smojver 2015) and on the complexities researching children entails (see Pinter 2011 for an excellent overview). However, despite calls in the literature, few studies have examined in detail the effects on young children (ages 5–10 years) of the teacher using different languages in the classroom, that is, L1 and L2. The study reported here addresses this issue. Drawing on interactional data from two NEST (native English speaker teacher) classrooms, interviews with NESTs and homeroom teachers, and from the NESTs’ diaries, it examines the effects of languages used by two NESTs on young children’s learning. One NEST understands and can use the children’s L1; the other only understands and uses L2. We will show that in the context of the young learner classroom, teachers who know the children’s L1 have a greater repertoire of teaching skills and so can provide more language learning opportunities for language learning. This reality, we believe, supports the case for employing bilingual teachers wherever possible for the young learner classroom.
This paper focuses on young foreign language learners' attitudes and motivations. An overview is given of the main issues in this research area, based on key European studies. Approaches to studying these affective learner characteristics are described. Some attention is devoted to data elicitation techniques and the importance of triangulation. Research findings are presented through overviews of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies carried out in different European settings. The latter are presented in more detail, because their findings seem to be more revealing of the early foreign language learning process. The overall conclusion of this review paper is that young foreign language learners' attitudes and motivations are not stable learner characteristics but change over time, creating layers of complexity that warrant further research. Suggestions about possible future directions in researching young foreign language learner attitudes and motivations, and the application of its findings are also made.
This study investigates the interrelation of motivation, autonomy, metacognition, and L3 gains made as a function of three months of intervention with computer software specifically designed for the private use of dyslexic Swiss German learners of Standard German as a second language (L2) and English as a third language (L3). Based on questionnaire data and phonological/orthographic and semantic L3 measures gathered from 40 subjects (ten dyslexic participants receiving special training, ten normal readers matched on training situation, ten controls matched on reading ability, ten controls with median reading abilities), it was found that self-directed, multi-sensory training in the L3 is a potentially important tool in intervention for dyslexic students, as it not only allows the students to improve in learning foreign languages but also to move from feelings of apprehension and doubt to linguistic self-confidence. Thus, the results allow us to gain further insight into the L3 learning experiences of dyslexic elementary school students in a learner-directed learning environment, contributing to the existing body of research on the educational importance of learners developing autonomy and metacognition.
In the Storyline approach, a fictive world is created in the classroom, with learners working in small groups, taking on the role of characters in a story. The story develops as they work on a range of tasks which integrate the practical and theoretical content of the curriculum. This article reports on a study based on the syllabus for English, in which a class of Swedish 11–13-year-olds took on the roles of families who had moved into a new street in England, and highlights the role played by cooperative group work in the second learning process.
Assessing the motivational responses of 239 elementary school students among 271 students (141 boys, 130 girls) comprising 63 third (8–9 years old), 62 fourth (9–10 years old), 75 fifth (10–11 years old), and 71 sixth (11–12 years old) grade students in one public elementary school in Tokyo, Japan, this study examined a motivational model of English learning, based on self-determination theory (SDT). This study also explored how developmental differences would appear in the motivational model. Results support the notion that perceived teachers' autonomy support positively predicts intrinsic motivation through students' perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, although some evidence exists for partial mediation. Regarding age differences, the path from students' perceptions of competence to intrinsic motivation showed higher coefficients for students of higher grades than for students of middle grades; the path from perceived teachers' autonomy support to intrinsic motivation showed higher coefficients for students of middle grades than for students of higher grades.
This article looks at the attitudes and motivation of Hungarian children between the ages of 6 and 14: why they think they study a foreign language, how they relate to school subjects and what classroom activities they like and dislike. The long-term study was conducted in the ethnographic tradition where the teacher, syllabus designer and researcher was the author, and the inquiry was prompted by classroom needs. Three groups of children were involved for eight years each during the years of 1977-85, 1985-93 and 1987-95 in Pécs, Hungary.
The first part of the article considers the literature on motivation from the perspective of child foreign language learning, whereas the second part looks into how the findings of the Pécs study may contribute towards a better understanding of the effects of specific pedagogic procedures on motivation.
We regret that, due to a technical error, figures 1-6 in the Research Report by David Lasagabaster (Lasagabaster, 2003) were incorrectly printed. We apologise to the author and reprint in full the corrected version of the paper on the following pages.
The learning of more than two languages in the school context is becoming very commonplace all over Europe, especially in the many places where a minority language is spoken. The situation of the Basque educational system is a very good case in point, as, apart from Basque and Spanish, English is also learnt at school. This study examines the attitudes of 1,097 university students towards the aforementioned three languages, using Baker's (1992) questionnaire on attitudes as the main instrument of the survey. In a previous study carried out with a smaller sample (133 students) in which the majority were Basque Philology degree students, it was observed that the participants' LI had a clear impact on their attitudes. In fact, those students who had Basque as their LI viewed the two international languages (Spanish and English) less favourably. In the case of the present sample, it was expected that students would not show such a negative attitude, as the range of degree courses being followed is much wider. Because the Basque language does not form the central core of the participants' studies, their attitudes towards Spanish and English will be more positive and farther from what Baker calls a bunker attitude.
This article reports on an investigation into the motivation of secondary school students in the South-west of England to learn foreign languages. A questionnaire was constructed based on a model derived from the motivation literature to examine students' responses on 16 constructs related to motivation. This was administered to 228 students in years 7, 8 and 9. The analysis revealed a decrease in motivation with age, and higher level of motivation among girls than boys. It also revealed a strikingly higher motivation to learn German than French, which was even more marked when the boys onl1, were considered. These findings were further investigated using interviews. Both girls and boys were able to provide clear explanations for differences between the genders, as well as for the language differences. These included such aspects as French being considered feminine, it not being `cool' for boys to be seen to make an effort at French, and the tendency for boys not to try at anything that appears to be tedious.
During 1963, arrangements were made by the then Ministry of Education for a national experiment in foreign language teaching to be carried out in selected primary schools in England and Wales. The main purpose of the experiment, which came to be known as the Pilot Scheme for the Teaching of French in primary schools, was to discover whether it would be both feasible and educationally desirable to extend the teaching of a foreign language to pupils who represented a wider range of age and ability than those to whom foreign languages had traditionally been taught. Under the Pilot Scheme, French was to be introduced into the primary school curriculum on an experimental basis from September 1964 onwards. The choice of French as the language to be taught was virtually inevitable, since it would have been impossible to provide an adequate teaching force for the implementation of the experiment if any language other than French had been chosen. In most of the schools taking part in the Pilot Scheme, French was to be taught throughout the primary stage of the experiment by class teachers who had received special in-service training, rather than by specialist teachers of French. Arrangements were made to provide continuity of teaching at the secondary stage, so that all the pupils taking part in the experiment would be able to continue learning French without interruption for at least five years.
The present study involves a cross–sectional investigation of second–language (L2) communication among students in a junior high French late immersion program. The effects of language, sex, and grade on willingness to communicate (WTC), anxiety, and perceived communication competence, on frequency of communication in French, and on the attitude and motivation variables are examined globally and at each grade level. It was found that students’ L2 WTC, perceived competence, and frequency of communication in French increased from grades 7 to 8 and was maintained between grades 8 and 9, despite a drop in motivation between grades 7 and 8 and a steady level of anxiety across the three grades.
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