Motivation To Learn A Foreign Language In Malaysia

Ainol Madziah Zubairi, Isarji Hj Sarudin

Abstract


Many nations have addressed the need to produce graduates who are multilingual in theeffort to compete in the global society. Malaysia has acknowledged the importance ofproficiency in a third language in order to develop human capital that drives the keconomyas well as competes in the international arena. This study investigatedMalaysian students’ motivation to learn a foreign language. Triangulation of methodsconsisting of survey questionnaire, document analysis and focus group discussion wereemployed for data collection. A survey based on a 16-item questionnaire was formulatedand more than 500 students from University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and UniversitiTeknologi MARA (UiTM) responded to the survey. Responses to the survey weresubjected to the Rasch and descriptive analyses in order to capture salient features ofstudents’ responses. The findings of the study indicate that UKM and UiTM studentswere extrinsically and intrinsically motivated to learn a foreign language. The results ofthe t-test, however, indicate a significant difference in terms of the motivation of studentsfrom the two universities.

Keywords


foreign language learning, policy, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, Malaysian students

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ainol Madziah Zubairi, Isarji Hj Sarudin & Mohamad Sahari Nordin. (2007). A Study of

the effectiveness o Foreign Language Programs in Malaysia. Proceedings in the

nd Annual Congress of the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia,

Making a Difference: Challenges for Applied Linguistics, University of

Wollongong, 1-3 July, 2007.

A rationale for foreign language education: A position paper of the National Council of State Supervisors of Foreign Languages (NCSSFL). (2009). (Online) Retrieved

February, 2009 from

http://cchs.churchill.k12.nv.us/WaiteN/a_rationale_for_foreign_language.htm.

Bond, T., & Fox, C. (2001). Applying the Rasch Model: Fundamental measurement in

the human sciences. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Carreira, M. J. (2004). Motivation for learning English as a Foreign Language in

Japanese Elementary Schools. Unpublished Master’s thesis. Tsuda College,

Tokyo, Japan.

Christian, P., & Rhodes, N. (2005). Fostering foreign language proficiency: What the US

can learn from other nations, Phi Delta Kappan, 87(3), 226-228.

Daud, R. (1994). Seminar to hear views about foreign tongues. (Online) Retrieved 23

March, 2007 from

http://archives.emedia.com.my/bin/main.exe?f=doc&state=2b2895.15.29

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985) Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human

behavior. New York: Plenum.

Dornyei, Z. (1994). Understanding L2 motivation: On with the challenge! The Modern

Language Journal, 78, 515-523.

Isarji Sarudin, Ainol Zubairi & Sahari Nordin. (2007). Gender differences and motivation

to use English among public university students in Malaysia. Paper presented at

the Malaysia International Conference on Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

(MICOLLAC). Subang, Malaysia, 22-24 May 2007.

Kagoshiman. (1991). Importance of learning languages. (Online) Retrieved 24 March,

from http://archives.emedia.com.my/bin/main.exe?f=doc&state=63igus.11.113.

Kimura, Y., Nakata, Y., & Okumura, T. (2001). Language learning motivation of EFL

learners in Japan: A cross-sectional analysis of various learning milieu. JALT

Journal, 23 (1), 47-68.

Linacre, J. M. (1999). Estimation methods for Rasch measures. Journal of Outcome

Measurement, 3, 382-405.

Linacre, J. M., & Wright, B. D. (2000). WINSTEP: Multiple choice, rating scale, and

partial credit Rasch Analysis [computer software]. Chicago: MESA.

Morgan, D. L. (1988). Focus group as qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Pintrich, P. R. (2000). Multiple goals, multiple pathways: The role of goal orientations in

learning and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 544-555.

Pufahl, I., Rhodes, N. C., & Christian, D. (2000). Foreign language teaching: What the

United States can learn from other countries. ERIC Document ED 447720.

(Online) Retrieved 4 January, 2007 from

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019

b/80/16/ae/16.pdf.

Sarban Singh. (1999). Foreign languages institute obtains cabinet approval. New Straits

Times. (Online) Retrieved 12 August, 1999 from http://www.emedia.com.my.

Schmidt, R., Borale, D., & Kassabgy, O. (1996). Foreign language motivation, internal

structure and external connections. In R. Oxford (Ed.) Language learning

motivation: Pathways to the new century. (pp. 9-70). Honolulu: Hawaii University

Press.

Skehan, P. (1991). Individual differences in second language learning. Studies in second

language acquisition. 13, 275-298.

The Ministry of Higher Education. (2007). The National Higher Education Strategic

Plan beyond 2020. The Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia Press.

Welles, E. B. (2004). Foreign language enrollments in United States institutions of higher

education, Fall 2004. ADFL Bulletin, 35, 73-95.

Williams, M. (1994). Motivation in foreign and second language learning: An interactive

perspective. Educational and Child Psychology, 11 (2), 77-84.

Zeszotarski, P. (2001). ERIC review: Issues in global education initiatives in the

community college. Community College Review, 29, 65-72.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


 

 

 

eISSN : 2550-2131

ISSN : 1675-8021