Assessment of some significant affective variables and the prediction of achievement in French.

Abstract

A test to measure attitude toward the learning of French as a second language (ALFS) was developed. Measures of motivational intensity and orientation were modified to fit the local situation. Estimates of internal consistency (XH-20) of these instruments were obtained. It was found that ALFS spanned a four-dimensional space and the factors were labelled utilitarian-, aestheticism-, tolerance-, and projection-attitude. A stepwise regression analysis revealed that tolerance and motivational intensity were the most effective of the seven competing predictors of achievement in French, accounting for 27.8 per cent of the variance, whereas the entire set of predictors accounted for 30.6 per cent of the variance.As early as the 1940s it was recognized that the factors of aptitude and intelligence alone could not account for the large degree of variation in levels of achievement in second language acquisition. Studies soon began to place considerable importance on the attitudes and motivation of the learner.One of the first comprehensive investigations specifically related to the effect of affective variables on second language acquisition was that of Dunkel (1948) although Larsen, Wittenborn, and Giesecke (1942) had already found that significantly more of the high achievers in college German showed an interest in German and had a desire to master the language.Jordan (1941) also assessed attitudes toward five school subjects, including French, of 231 boys in North London. He found that attitude toward French tended to be most favourable during the first year of study and then declined steadily. He also found this attitude to vary with the general standard of academic attainment, the brightest forms having the most positive attitude. It was also noted that achievement was related to the utilitarian motives of the Ss. Pritchard (1935) had earlier arrived at similar conclusions.Jones (1949, 1950) assessed the effects of home background, sex, year level, and intelligence on attitude and achievement in Welsh. He found that positive attitude declined with experience in the subject and with increased age. There was a statistically significant sex difference in attitude scores, girls showing a more favourable attitude toward Welsh than " We are grateful to the unknown reviewers and the editor for their valuable comments and suggestions.

On the predictive validity of the attitude/motivation test battery

“…Attitude Towards Learning French. This 10-item scale was adapted from Randhawa & Korpan (1973). A high score (maximum = 70) indicated a positive attitude towards learning French.…”

ON THE VALIDITY OF AFFECTIVE VARIABLES IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: CONCEPTUAL, CONTEXTUAL, AND STATISTICAL CONSIDERATIONS 1

“…Attitudes toward learning French. This is a ten-item scale adapted from Randhawa and Korpan (1973). A high score (maximum = 70) indicates a positive attitude toward learning French.…”

Correlation, causation, motivation, and second language acquisition.

“…Similarly, we realized that an individual who was truly motivated to learn a second language would find the act of learning the language rewarding, so we added a measure of Attitudes toward Learning French (cf. Randhawa & Korpan, 1973). Thus, the AMTB assessed Motivational Intensity, Desire to Learn French, and Attitudes toward Learning French.…”