An Analysis of Leamer Motivation of Less Commonly Taught Languages

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the process of student motivation construction. It explores the initial motivation of students studying less commonly taught languages, specifically Chinese, Japanese, and Russian, and how students' initial motivation changes over time. By utilizing a qualitative approach, students' unmodified views towards their motivation are analyzed in-depth. Data were collected in the beginning of the fall term and in the beginning of the winter term (four months later) through questionnaires and interviews. The findings suggest that many students initially start to study the target language because of their attraction towards an uncommon language and the challenge that such languages hold. At the second stage, however, the majority of the students expressed a development of intrinsic motivation, i.e., enjoyment they obtained through learning the target language. Based on the findings, the study suggests how teachers and administrators can sustain students in less commonly taught language programs.

Keywords

• Purpose of study
• Russian
• Japanese
• Chinese
• motivation
• challenge
• teachers