Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (Jan 2006)
Why students in the U.S. are learning Arabic: A study of motivation at the college-level
Abstract
Arabic language learners (N=326) at eleven institutions of higher education across the U.S. were asked about their primary motivations for learning Arabic. Ten primary motivation categories emerged from the data. By using chi-squares and one-way ANOVAs, it was established that learners who were at higher levels of study or who obtained higher levels of proficiency articulated motivations that differed from those at lower levels, which corresponded to a processing conceptualization of motivation (Dornyei, 2000, 2001, 2005). Further chi-square analyses revealed that Arabic heritage learners had motivations distinct from non-heritage learners, and those with other (non-Arabic and non-English) first language (L1) backgrounds differed in their motivations as well. The findings showed motivations varied according to proficiency and L1 background. Discussed are results which indicate that certain motivations may be more salient than others after learners progress to upper levels of instruction and/ or after the socio-political context of the second language (L2) changes.
