Motivational Regulation in Foreign Language Learning

Motivational Regulation in Foreign Language Learning

Kun Li Motivational Regulation in Foreign Language Learning

Kun Li Shanghai Normal University Shanghai, China ISBN 978-1-137-60279-4 ISBN 978-1-349-93118-7 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-349-93118-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017935055 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: DCPhoto / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

Preface As an essential aspect of self-regulated learning, motivational regulation is of great importance for foreign language learners who experience the frequent problem of a lack of motivation. Therefore, it receives increasing attention from educators and teachers when they are investigating the dynamic nature of motivation. However, motivational regulation is still a less-investigated aspect in self-regulated learning. There has been no systematic study that has been devoted to examining how motivational regulation bears on foreign-language learning. Little is known about whether and how foreign-language learners regulate their motivation and what kind of role motivational regulation plays in foreign-language learning. Focusing itself on motivational regulation of Chinese college students in learning English, this book fills up a research gap by providing a systematic empirical study. The large quantities of first-hand data collected in this study point to the fact that Chinese college students use a variety of strategies to regulate their motivation in English learning. Moreover, eight types of motivational-regulation strategies are identified. The study provides an avenue for foreign-language teachers and educators to find out how the learners self-motivate when they encounter motivational problems. At the same time, the study also offers a new perspective for understanding the individual differences in foreign-language learning since the differences in using motivational-regulation strategies in terms of the students gender, specialty, and language proficiency have been explored. Additionally, the present study also investigated the impact of motivational regulation on the learning process and achievement of Chinese college students learning English. The results have indicated that motivational v

vi PREFACE beliefs helped to explain the use of motivational-regulation strategies. The students who used the motivational-regulation strategies more frequently tended to use language-learning strategies more frequently as well. The students who regulated their motivation achieved better grades than students who failed to self-regulate their motivation. Therefore, the study provides more insight into the nature and effectiveness of motivational regulation in foreign-language learning. The book will benefit different readers in the field of foreign-language learning. It indicates how educators could train language learners to regulate their motivation in order to become self-regulated leaners; and provides foreign-language teachers with instructions on how to help their students regulate their own motivation in or out of class by shaping their awareness or giving direct suggestions. As for foreign-language learners, they could learn to use these strategies to become more motivated and improve their language-learning efficiency. At this exciting moment when I have finally brought this book to a completion a project during which I had numerous sleepless nights, I would like to particularly thank my supervisor, Prof. Liming Yu, for his help and encouragement throughout my doctoral program. I am much indebted to him for his professional guidance and insightful comments on my work that laid the foundation for my present work. My thanks also go to the teachers who helped me administer the questionnaires or interviews for this study, and the students who participated in this study. Last but not least, I dedicate this book to my family, my husband, and my son, who have always been an unfailing source of support and encouragement, especially in times of difficulty and frustration.

Contents 1 Introduction 1 Motivational Regulation 2 Motivational Regulation and FL Learning 3 Why the Book? 4 Overview of the Book 5 References 5 2 Theoretical Foundation and Previous Studies of Motivational Regulation 9 Definition of SRL 9 Models of SRL 10 Social Cognitive Learning Theory 10 Social Cognitive Model of SRL 12 General Framework of SRL 13 Motivational Regulation in SRL 15 Strategies for the Regulation of Motivation 16 Motivational Regulation with Other Components of SRL and Academic Achievement 21 Motivational Components of SRL 28 Self-efficacy 28 Academic Goal Orientations 32 SRL Strategies 36 Classifications of SRL Strategies 36 SRL Strategies and Academic Performance 38 vii

viii Contents Summary 39 References 40 3 Motivational Regulation and L2 Learning 51 Self-regulated Language Learning 51 L2 Motivation 54 Conceptualization of L2 Motivation 54 Studies on L2 Motivation 55 Self-efficacy and Foreign Language Learning 59 Academic Goal Orientations and Foreign Language Learning 60 Motivational Regulation in L2 Learning 61 Language Learning Strategies 63 Definition of Language Learning Strategy 64 Classifications of Language Learning Strategies 64 Empirical Studies on Language Learning Strategies 66 Summary 69 References 70 4 Motivational-Regulation Strategies Used by Chinese College Students 77 Methods 78 Subjects 78 Design and Validation of Motivational-Regulation Scale 78 Data Collection 82 Types of Motivational-Regulation Strategies 82 Results 82 Discussion 88 Overall Pattern in Using Motivational-Regulation Strategies 90 Differences among Students Overall Use of Motivational- Regulation Strategies 91 Results 91 Discussion 93 Differences in Using Motivational-Regulation Strategies in terms of Gender and Specialty 94 Differences in Using Motivational-Regulation Strategies in terms of Language Proficiency 96 Summary 102

Contents ix Appendix 1 103 Motivational Regulation in English Learning 103 Situation One: Learning in Class 104 Situation Two: Learning after Class 104 Situation Three: Preparing for Exams 105 Appendix 2 106 Questionnaire on Self-regulated English Learning 106 References 111 5 The Impact of Motivational Regulation on EFL Learning 115 Design and Validation of ELGOS, ESES and LLSS 116 English-Learning Goal Orientations Scale 116 English Self-Efficacy Scale 117 Language Learning Strategy Scale 117 Relations between Motivational Beliefs and Motivational- Regulation Strategies 118 Results 119 Discussion 126 Relations between Motivational-Regulation Strategies and Language-Learning Strategies 129 Results 130 Discussion 133 Relations between Motivational-Regulation Strategies and English Achievement 136 Results 137 Discussion 139 Summary 142 References 143 6 Case Study on Motivational Regulation 147 Research Questions 147 Methods 147 Subjects 147 Instruments 148 Procedures for Data Collection and Data Analysis 148 Motivational Problems 149 Differences in Motivational Regulation between High and Low English Achievers 150

x Contents Interest Enhancement 150 Performance Self-talk 152 Mastery Self-talk 153 Self-reward 153 Negative-based Incentive 154 Task-Value Enhancement 155 Volitional Control 155 Self-efficacy Enhancement 157 Summary 158 Appendix 1 158 Interview Questions 158 Appendix 2 159 Diary Writing Instructions 159 Appendix 3 160 Samples of Interview on Motivational Regulation 160 Appendix 4 162 Samples of English Learning Diaries 162 7 Summary, Implications, and Recommendations 165 Major Findings of the Study 165 Motivational Regulation Strategies 166 Overall Pattern and Differences in Using Motivational- Regulation Strategies 167 Motivational Beliefs and Motivational Regulation 168 Motivational Regulation and Language-Learning Strategies 169 Motivational Regulation and English Achievement 170 Implications 170 Theoretical Implications 170 Practical Implications 172 Methodological Implications 173 Recommendations for Future Research 174 References 177 References 179 Index 197

List of Abbreviations AVSI CET4 CET6 EFL ELGOS ESES ESL FL KMO L2 LLSS MRS MSLQ SD SLA SRL Academic Volitional Strategy Inventory College English Test Band Four College English Test Band Six English as a Foreign Language English Learning Goal Orientations Scale English Self-Efficacy Scale English as a Second Language Foreign Language Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Second Language Language Learning Strategy Scale Motivational-Regulation Scale Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire Standard Deviation Second Language Acquisition Self-regulated Learning xi

List of Tables Table 4.1 Rotated component matrix for motivational-regulation strategies 84 Table 4.2 T-test statistics comparing the use of motivational-regulation strategies in terms of gender 95 Table 4.3 Multiple comparisons of motivational-regulation strategies among the three groups 99 Table 5.1 Pearson correlations between English-learning goal orientations, English self-efficacy and motivational regulation strategies 120 Table 5.2 Results of multiple regression analyses predicting motivational-regulation strategies using English-learning goal orientations and English self-efficacy 123 Table 5.3 Results of multiple regression analyses predicting language learning strategies using motivational-regulation strategies 131 Table 5.4 Pearson correlations between motivational regulation strategies and English achievement 138 Table 5.5 Results of multiple regression analyses predicting English achievement using motivational-regulation strategies 139 xiii