Investigating Situational Interest As Motivation To Learn Online

Abstract

Students studying Japanese at the main campus of the largest public university who have accommodated to face-to-face learning had to adapt to online learning sessions after the COVID-19 phenomenon emerged in early 2020. They had to learn independently and were expected to have digital technology skills in addition to having devices required for synchronous and asynchronous learning sessions. Would this change affect their motivation to learn Japanese? The researchers were motivated to undertake this study because investigating the motivational variables of language learning in online classes has profound impacts on instructors and students, as well as teaching and learning approaches. This quantitative study was conducted to explore the motivation of students to learn Japanese online. The study used a Google Form survey and all items were measured on a 5 Likert scale. The data were organized in four sections. Section A, the demographic profile, had 5 items, Section B had 12 items on Triggered Situational Interests, Section C had 14 items on Maintained Situational Interests and Section D had 12 items of Emerging Individual Interest. The categories in the instrument were inspired from Hidi and Renniger's ( 2006) situational interest and then incorporated into Fowler's (2018) online motivation. 161 students from three clusters of Science and Technology, Arts and Humanities and Business and Administration taking Japanese as an elective, participated in this study. Data were analysed using SPSS frequency statistics. The findings showed that there was a significant positive correlation between respondents triggered situational interest, maintained situational interest, and emerging individual interest in learning Japanese online. Students, on average, had an internal and external motivation to learn Japanese through online platforms and personal interest influences their motivation. Some pedagogical implications such as student's performing tasks in class, the grading system, course content and the role of the

Exploring The Relationship of Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in Learning The Japanese Language

“…Bagheri and Farhani (2022) found that students at an elementary level find learning English exciting because it offers knowledge beyond their mother tongue. Similarly, Abas et al (2023) noted that Japanese language learners exhibit integrative motivation, showing enthusiasm in class discussions, confident communication, and strong connections with peers. However, Abas et al (2023) also identified instrumental motivation among Japanese language learners, centered on achieving good grades and success.…”

“…Similarly, Abas et al (2023) noted that Japanese language learners exhibit integrative motivation, showing enthusiasm in class discussions, confident communication, and strong connections with peers. However, Abas et al (2023) also identified instrumental motivation among Japanese language learners, centered on achieving good grades and success. Conversely, Kamaruddin et al (2020) encountered that English and Mandarin language learners in Malaysia are motivated by jobseeking opportunities, career advancement, and gaining knowledge.…”

“…Several studies have been done to scrutinize the learning of foreign languages, particularly focusing on aspects such as motivation. One such research by Abas et al (2023) explored the impact of triggered situational interest on motivation for online Japanese language learning. They collected data from 161 tertiary level respondents utilized a questionnaire consisting of Hidi and Renniger's (2006) situational interest and Fowler's (2018) online motivation.…”

“…The findings revealed that cooperative communication enhanced online learning motivation for Japanese language among tertiary level students. On top of that, Abas et al (2023) noted that adequate support through student-instructor interaction from Japanese language instructors has created an encouraging online learning environment for students. Based on their findings, Abas et al (2023) proposed that Japanese language instructors leverage students' focus on performance in class to promote foreign language learning further.…”

“…On top of that, Abas et al (2023) noted that adequate support through student-instructor interaction from Japanese language instructors has created an encouraging online learning environment for students. Based on their findings, Abas et al (2023) proposed that Japanese language instructors leverage students' focus on performance in class to promote foreign language learning further. Another research examining foreign languages and motivation was conducted by (Marszalek et al, 2022).…”