How Is Learning Motivation Shaped Under Different Contexts: An Ethnographic Study in the Changes of Adult Learner's Motivational Beliefs and Behaviors Within a Foreign Language Course

Frontiers in Psychology
Wenjin Vikki Bo, Mingchen Fu

Abstract

There has been a burgeoning interest of students' motivational beliefs in determining their motivational behaviors in classroom activities: choice of task and persistence of task. Previous research mostly used quantitative methods to understand students' general motivation, without taking contextual factors into consideration. To fill in this gap, the present study examined the influence of changing contexts on students' motivational beliefs in a Chinese language classroom, and how those changes in motivational beliefs shaped their motivational behaviors in class activities. An ethnographic multiple-case study approach was adopted, and six adult learners were chosen from a Chinese language course in a Hong Kong university. On-going semi-structured interviews, class observations, stimulated recall and document reviews were conducted to understand student development across time. Findings show that the more proficient students were showing relatively stable motivational beliefs as well as behaviors throughout the foreign language course. In contrast, the less proficient students were demonstrating obvious changes in their motivational beliefs and hence behaviors, due to the different contexts of non-exam and high-stake exam. The ...Continue Reading

References

Jan 6, 2000·Contemporary Educational Psychology·A Wigfield, J S Eccles
Feb 24, 2001·The British Journal of Educational Psychology·Z Dörnyei
Apr 13, 2001·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·A J Elliot, H A McGregor
Dec 26, 2001·Annual Review of Psychology·Jacquelynne S Eccles, Allan Wigfield
Jul 3, 2009·The British Journal of Educational Psychology·Kit-Ling Lau

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