Motivational Factors in Multilingual Students' Learning Additional Languages: The Case of English and Turkish

Abstract

APA Citation: Dincer, A. (2018). Motivational factors in multilingual students' learning additional languages: The case of English and Turkish. AbstractThe current study examined the relationships among motivational factors (i.e., motivation types and motivational strength, and language anxiety) in the simultaneous learning process of additional languages. A mixed-methods design was conducted with 86 multilingual learners learning both English and Turkish. The data were collected using a survey and follow-up open-ended questions about the motivational factors. There were three major findings of the study. First, the motivational factors in one language were positively correlated with the same factors in another. Second, although the learners' motivation (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic and integrative) and motivational strength to continue their education showed no differences in both languages, their L2 anxiety towards learning additional languages was statistically different, in that learners were less anxious when learning English language than learning Turkish language. Third, multilingual learners' interest in learning other languages and willingness to integrate in the target language culture, the status quo of the target language in the global world and the level of unfamiliarity of the target language seem to play a role in the learners' beliefs of motivation, feeling in learning additional languages and intention to study languages. Overall, the study highlighted the role of multilingualism in learning English and Turkish. It also shed light on understanding L2 affective factors learning distinct L2s.

Psychometric Properties of the Motivation Towards English Scale in University Students

“…Azar & Tanggaraju (2020) conducted their study on motivation in second language acquisition in Malaysia. Dincer (2018) researched motivational factors in additional language learning in Turkey and used a questionnaire with 26 items. Choomthong & Chaichompoo (2015) conducted their research on students' motivation to learn English, they used a questionnaire with 14 items.…”

FUNCTIONS OF SPEAKING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE & SPEAKING ANXIETY

“…People, specifically L2 learners may have missed many opportunities in the study or life as the world now necessitates for English interaction for varied transactions. However, it is learnt that with the students' intrinsic motivation to learn English -knowing that English is greatly used worldwide for business and international transactions; for both written and oral communication -it is found that this group has the potential to excel in learning English language (Dincer, 2018). Anyhow, one of the reasons related to the unwillingness to speak up especially when using English language could be the individual's speaking anxiety (Shirkhani, et al 2020); in which people are found to feel exceptionally comfortable when relying on a written script when they speak or present as they can avoid themselves from being nervous when speaking (Wilang, 2018).…”

Is English the Culprit? Longitudinal Associations Between Students’ Value Beliefs in English, German, and French in Multilingual Switzerland

“…Moreover, the motivational development might not be the same for all students. Previous studies indicate systematic individual differences in students’ motivational beliefs depending, for instance, on their gender, language background (Brühwiler & Le Pape Racine, 2017; Rjosk et al., 2015; Walter & Taskinen, 2008), or experience with learning several languages at home (Dincer, 2018; Lanvers et al., 2019; Thompson & Lee, 2018).…”