Motivations, language learning beliefs, and experiences of Hmong and Spanish -speaking students in the foreign language classroom
Author(s):
Landelle, Amy Jane Erkonen
Format:
Thesis
Degree granted:
Ph.D.
Publisher:
Ann Arbor : University of Minnesota, 2004.
Pages:
226
Language:
English
Abstract:
This study explored the motivations, language learning beliefs, and language learning experiences of native Hmong and Spanish-speaking students enrolled in foreign language classes at the secondary level. Although previous foreign language literature has dealt with these topics, no research has specifically addressed these issues as they apply to language minority students learning a third language in a traditional classroom setting. This study was conducted with 26 students and 10 educators from high schools in two large suburban districts. This multi-method study included administering a Likert style motivation survey, a sociolinguistic questionnaire, and the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (Horwitz, 1987) to students to gather data on their motivations, language learning beliefs, and experiences. Qualitative data included two student focus group discussions and 10 teacher/counselor interviews, providing for triangulation by both methods and participants. Findings suggested that native Hmong and Spanish-speaking students were motivated to study a foreign language by many of the same factors that motivated native English-speaking students: job, college requirements, travel. However, they were also motivated to increase their knowledge, actively communicate with language, and were less deterred by the difficulty of language learning than native English-speaking students. Although language minority students did not express the belief that they have a particular aptitude for learning another language, other students and educators indicated that they do have an advantage over other students because of their previous language learning experiences. These advantages were attributed to the value placed on language learning, having special skills and knowledge, being used to learning languages, and having realistic expectations about the difficulty of becoming proficient in a language. Finally, learning a foreign language was found to be a positive experience for language minority students. This was attributed to prior language learning experience, the leveling environment of the foreign language classroom, and the methods and influence of the teacher. A discussion of how these findings relate to the existing literature is presented as well as pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research.