CC BY
82MPHTH 14.35.07
INCREASING STUDENTS' MOTIVATION BY CREATING AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
A.O. Karimova, E. Zhumataeva Toraighyrov University, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan assel.karimova@mail.ru. engilika_zhumataeva@mail.ru
The article aimed at studying the role of language learning environment in increasing students' motivation to learn the English language. A review and analysis of theoretical literature, the description of a psychological portrait of a contemporary student. the analysis of questionnaires were conducted. The authors gave definitions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. carried out a more detailed study of the required conditions for creating a language learning environment to increase motivation and ensure high efficiency of the learning process. The analysis of questionnaires showed the students' attitude towards creating a language learning environment in university classrooms. proved the predominance of extrinsic motives over intrinsic ones. A number of recommendations to improve students' motivation to learn English were given.
Keywords: motivation. motive. foreign language learning. language learning environment. language immersion.
Introduction
A foreign language plays a significant role in the life of a representative of modern society, as it involves a person's cultural development, improvement of personality.
One of the main goals of the State Program for the Development of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2020 - 2025 is to increase the global competitiveness of Kazakhstani education and science [1]. Achieving this goal becomes possible by learning English, as the most widespread and demanded foreign language, not only in our country, but also far beyond its borders. Therefore, English language proficiency is definitely one of the key components of successful professional activity of a modern, competitive specialist for effective solution of professional tasks in the conditions of dynamically changing realities.
In accordance with the State Compulsory Standard of Higher Education, 30% of academic disciplines are expected to be conducted in English and students are able to communicate in oral and written forms in a foreign language to solve interpersonal, intercultural and professional tasks [2]. This requirement demonstrates the importance of learning English. However, despite the need of good knowledge of the English language by specialists in various fields and understanding its importance, university graduates do not speak it well enough.
One of the reasons explaining this phenomenon is lack of motivation among students to learn a foreign language. A significant part of students have a motivational and emotional deficit to the English language, that forms at school and is subsequently transferred to the process of studying it at university, since this discipline does not directly relate to students' life plans and does not meet the interests of modern youth. Often, students have a negative attitude towards this discipline. It is considered to be "very difficult", "almost impossible to master", as the training takes place mainly in the traditional "read and translate" format without creating a language learning environment and immersion in it. Taking this into account, it is necessary to study the development of motivation for mastering the English language among university students by creating a language learning environment in order to increase the effectiveness of studying this discipline and improve professional training in general.
Literature review
Various approaches to understanding the essence, nature, structure and methods of studying motivation in modern science are used.
The term "motive" comes from the Latin verb "moveo" - "to move". A new dictionary of methodological terms and concepts defines "a motive" as an incentive to activity associated with satisfying a person's needs [3, 148].
I. A. Zimnaya identifies motivation as a complex combination of driving forces of behavior in the form of needs, interests, goals and ideals that directly determine human activity [4, 130].
E.P. Ilyin thinks that the learning motivation includes all factors which determine the manifestation of educational activity. They are as follows: students' needs, goals, attitudes, a sense of duty, etc. [5, 47].
According to I.A. Zimnyaya learning motivation is determined by a number of factors: firstly, by the educational system itself, by the educational institution, where educational activities are carried out; secondly, the organization of the educational process; thirdly, the subjective characteristics of the student (age, gender, intellectual development, abilities, level of aspirations, self-esteem, his interaction with other students, etc.); fourthly, the subjective characteristics of the teacher, his attitude towards the student, to the work; fifthly, the specifics of the subject [4, 224].
The learning motivation is viewed in various aspects. For instance, it is an internal psychological characteristic of a person, which is expressed in a person's attitude to various types of activity and to the world around him [6, 232]; a correlation of learning goals with the needs and interests of students at different stages of their age development [7, 14]; a conscious incentive, which is a necessary factor of strong-willed behavior of an individual [8, 62].
Kazakhstani scientists Kabenova D.M., Zhusupova R.F. [9, 223] highlight the role of the teacher in the formation of motivation when learning a foreign language and even traditions are discussed as the basis of forming professional motivation in the works of Ahmedzhanov A.B [10, 213].
Thus, motivation can be characterized as an incentive that makes a person act in order to achieve the desired goal and is directly related to the needs of the individual.
Scientists point out extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is not associated with external circumstances, but directly with the studied discipline. The student likes the foreign language and show his intellectual activity. The action of extrinsic motives can enhance intrinsic motivation, but they are not directly related to the content and process of activity. Extrinsic motivation for learning a foreign language is determined by the importance and international recognition of the English language, the possibility of getting a higher-paid and prestigious job, listening to music, watching films, reading authentic texts etc.
E. P. Ilyin and I. A. Zimnyaya associate intrinsic motivation with the effectiveness of educational activity, with the satisfaction of the need to improve the results [5, 297], [4, 136].
Due to the reduction of classroom hours and an increase in the number of hours for independent work, one of the requirements for successful learning is the students' interest to learn the language, the desire to devote time to it and make additional efforts to master this language. The motives underlying the interest or need are the sources of activity. According to the theory of self-determination by Deci E.L. and Ryan R.M. "Intrinsic motivation is enhanced by the need to interact, to be competent and to achieve autonomy. When a student consciously identifies himself/herself with the ongoing action or with its value, there is a high degree of perceived autonomy" [11, 85]. In addition to that, Ali A.K., Jafarizadegan N., Karampoor F. identify the levels of perceived autonomy. The higher the levels of students' perceived autonomy are, the better they understand their learning goals, thus, tests' results improve [12, 742].
Escobar-Fandino F.G., Munoz L.D., Silva-Velandia A.J. point out an intrinsic interconnection of motivation and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). CALL relies on the use of several technological tools and a continuous organized flow of activities closely connected to real life situations, which makes students' learning more meaningful. CALL allows students to develop all 4 types of speech activity such as listening, reading, grammar, writing and speaking, as well as the apprehension of new vocabulary and the improvement of pronunciation. Additionally, CALL fosters motivation and autonomy in students, since it lets them monitor and evaluate their development and understanding of the course core topics. When there are high levels of intrinsic motivation, especially concerned with a high perceived autonomy, students tend to control most of their tasks and academic activities. Besides, if there are favourable contextual conditions, motivation to learn English as a foreign language tends to remain high. What is more, following an online methodology seems to benefit students' performance, as long as they feel entertained, receive timely feedback and experience interaction with authentic resources, classmates and the tutor [13].
Although motivation is a substantial part of the learning process, studying some traits of it is not enough. While the volume of research concerning motivation itself in psychology and education is vast,
there have been very few works studying motivation through creating an English language learning environment. Thus, this situation still remains a worldwide interest. That is why this article focuses on motivation increase when creating an English language learning environment in Kazakhstani University classrooms.
A necessary factor is the presence of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation of participants to stimulate a foreign language communication in an artificially created foreign language environment in university classrooms. It is essential to model certain conditions in order to enhance students' motivation when learning a foreign language [14, 250].
Apparently, integrating in the curriculum activities that promote motivation and allow students to experience the sociocultural environment of the foreign language (as they do when creating a foreign language learning environment), could improve the learning process [15, 1137].
Moreover, along with motivations, a deep analysis of a contemporary student' psychological portrait is of great necessity, which will allow a thorough study of the needs of today's students, since according to many sociological and psychological studies, the difference between students of the past decade and today is very large.
Students of our days grew up during the transition from an industrial society to an information society and socio-economic reforms. According to B. G. Ananyev, one of the main sensitive periods in the development of abilities and at the same time the largest percentage of the highest coefficients of mental development corresponds to the age of young adults. The sensitive period is the stage of the greatest plasticity of susceptibility to external influences. Due to this, the young generation has a high degree of adaptability to changing conditions and at the same time is susceptible to their negative components [16, 67]. Any external factor triggers changes in the needs of students. Therefore, by studying the portrait of a student of our days, we can organize the learning process in accordance with their needs and interests, increase motivation, which in turn should have a beneficial effect on foreign language learning.
The students' academic success is about 70% due to motivation, and the share of abilities is only 30%. This means that it is a complex of motives that encourages students to study successfully; academic progress and other indicators of educational work depend on the degree of its severity. Our research has shown that modern students prefer the Internet with a huge number of sites that they need not only for entertainment, but also for studying. Almost 98 % of the surveyed students answered that the Internet on their mobile devices keeps always connected.
Thus, without taking these facts into account, obviously, it is impossible to achieve significant qualitative changes in the intellectual sphere of society, to introduce new thinking into public consciousness.
Research methodology
In order to present a more complete motivational picture directly related to our professional activities, in addition to studying theoretical literature and our own observations, we conducted a survey among students of the Higher School of Humanities at Pavlodar Pedagogical University. 200 students of 1-4 courses took part in the survey. 20,5% (41 students) of them are freshmen, 19% (38 students) are second-year students, 34% (68 students) are third-year students, and 26,5% (53 students) are fourth-year students of the educational program of Higher Education "Pedagogical Sciences". 123 students (61,5%) are female and 77 students (38,5%) are male. The measurement of the motivational sphere of students was carried out on the basis of a questionnaire developed by us for diagnosing the motivation of the English language learning in an artificially created language environment. The questionnaire included questions to clarify the motives underlying interest and need in learning a foreign language, as well as questions aimed at a more detailed study of the required conditions for creating a language environment in order to increase motivation for learning the English language, thereby ensuring high efficiency of the learning process. The questionnaire consisted of 8 questions. Open, closed and semi-closed types of questions were used in the questionnaire. The processing of the results of the questions was carried out by calculating the percentage of students of the course who chose this answer option.
Results and discussion
In the course of the study, answers to one of the first questions of the questionnaire "Are you still interested in learning English after leaving school and entering a university?" were as follows: interest increased - 102 students, interest remained the same - 84 students, interest decreased - 14 students. The percentage can be seen in diagram 1.
Diagram 1 - the percentage of respondents to question 1.
Source: compiled by the authors.
From the data shown in diagram 1, you can see that the percentage of "interest increased" is the highest - 51%, which is very encouraging, but at the same time, you can observe motivation at the same level as in school years, which is definitely an undesirable phenomenon, and a decrease in interest among 7% of students indicates that there is a problem of not taking into account the interests of students and this issue needs to be tackled. This may also be due to the prevailing number of third-year and fourth-year students. We can conclude from our own observations that undergraduates usually are not so excited and enthusiastic about doing something challenging as freshmen.
The following statement "I am studying a foreign language in order to ..." was asked to highlight the motives underlying the interest in learning English. 72 students answered - "to use acquired knowledge in my future profession", 62 students answered - "to get necessary credits (for obtaining a diploma of education)", 58 respondents chose the option - "to use acquired knowledge in necessary situations", only 8 students mentioned - "to improve overall development". The results are given in diagram 2.
Diagram 2 - the percentage of respondents to question 2.
■ to use acquired
knowledge in my
4 future profession
29 36
to get necessary
■ credits
31 to use acquired
knowledge in
necessary situations
Source: compiled by the authors.
When investigating the problem of students' motivation, it was found that most students study English in order to use gained knowledge in future work, which indicates that the extrinsic motivation of learning a foreign language certainly prevails.
However, despite the students' awareness of the importance of foreign language learning in their future career, a stable tendency of growth of the motive "to get necessary credits (for obtaining a diploma of education)" is observed. This option is mentioned more and more often as the year of study becomes
higher, and the motives "to use acquired knowledge in my future profession" and "to use acquired knowledge in necessary situations" - less often. This situation can be explained by several factors: lack of free time, as many third-year and fourth-year students begin working; difficulties in understanding the material; insufficient autonomy of students, loss of motivation for knowledge, lack of understanding of the purpose and meaning of study, etc. One more thing to mention is that the variant "to improve overall development" was chosen only by female students, i.e. 100% of this response. We think this can be attributed to the fact that females are more diligent in their studies than males. However, it is necessary to take into consideration that initially the total number of female students was higher than the students of male gender.
The next question reflected the attitude of students towards the types of lessons that could clearly indicate what they like or dislike. It is predicted that this, in turn, will show the most suitable methods of teaching and increase motivation. The question "What types of lessons do you like?" was given. The majority chose the answer "using information and communication technologies (ICT)". In quantitative terms, this is 136 students, which is 68% of the total number of respondents. The second place is the option "non-traditional" - 30 students, i.e. 15% of the total number of respondents. 20 students chose "traditional", which was 10%, followed by the option "projects with the use of ICT". It means that only 7% of the students chose this variant, i.e. 14 students.
The results of this question were expected, since the portrait of a contemporary student is completely inseparable from computer technology and the Internet, both at university and in everyday life. This suggests that by adding ICT and the Internet to the learning process, we certainly guarantee ourselves a positive effect. Also, according to the low percentage of "traditional" lessons, it is understandable that today's students do not want to work in format of "read and translate". This is how they understand the phrase "a traditional lesson" and it is always associated with reading a text and translating it. This situation is quite clear, because in many schools this is often the only method of teaching. As for the option "projects with the use of ICT" gained only 7% of the total number of respondents. This result suggests that students do not want to spend time on long-term projects, as they consider them to be energy and time-consuming, difficult to be assessed and they require a creative approach.
Another proof that the Internet has become one of the main means of teaching is the following question "How often do you use the Internet for studying?". 98% answered "very often", the other 2 % ticked "sometimes" and the answer "never" was not mentioned even once. Neither gender nor year of study matters here. Everyone uses the Internet. At present, the Internet can be identified as one of the main sources and tools of creating a language environment.
In addition to that, the main research interest was aroused by difficulties related to the choice of essential, according to students, conditions for creating an English language learning environment that would increase motivation to master a foreign language.
So, to the statement "I would like the English language classes to be held ..." the answers were distributed as follows: 70 students chose "with translating only in rare and necessary moments", 66 students found suitable the variant "only in English", 64 students answered "in both languages equally." This is 35% for the first variant, 33% for the second, and 32% for the last variant respectively.
According to the data, it can be seen that the percentage ratio is practically the same; however, it is very encouraging that a large number of students chose the options "only in English" and "with translating only in rare and necessary moments". It demonstrates that they prefer to study the English language without languages-intermediaries or at least minimize their presence. This fact proves that today's students are not afraid of difficulties and ready to find the meaning from the context, to work with authentic material, and this is the main indicator of the language learning environment.
The question "What do you think should be in the content of textbooks to make it interesting to study?» contained the following responses: A) texts related to the future profession (professionally oriented); B) interesting texts on various topics; C) texts with a variety of practical tasks; E) other
_(give your own variant). The results are: the answer "A" leads with 42% - 84 students, 60
students were for the answer "B" - 30% of all respondents, 22 students chose the variant "C" - 11%, the remaining 17%, i.e. 34 students chose the option "other".
Having analyzed the quantitative data of the above question, we came to the conclusion that the English language is considered as a mandatory component of a student's professional training and an
important prerequisite for building a successful career in the future and knowing professional terminology is very important for them. The positive response of 42% of students to option A indicates this. Also, it should be noted that students have a negative attitude to doing practical tasks and this is stated by 11% of the respondents. Under the option "other", students offered the following variants: a) tests - 9% of the total number of those who chose "other", b) dialogues - 27% of the total number, c) "something interesting" - 64% of the total number of those who chose "other". Under "something interesting", students give examples such as songs, games and video.
Judging by the research data, the problem of organizing the learning space for making progress is also of great importance. So, to the question "Does a specially equipped classroom with an artificially created language environment (a natural language environment is simulated) affect the quality of education?" 190 students (95%) answered "Yes", "Difficult to answer" was chosen by 8 students (4%), 2 (1%) students responded "No"
Studying this question deeper, it is impossible to overestimate the possibilities of such a seemingly unimportant thing as space. By organizing the study space in accordance with the tasks set, they will give a chance to increase not only the motivation to learn a foreign language, but also undoubtedly increase the effectiveness of the educational process.
The last question of the questionnaire was given as follows: "What factors do you think determine the effectiveness of teaching English?». Students gave different answers, which can be divided into the following positions: 1) internal desire of the student to learn English - 56 students (28%); 2) skill of the teacher - 52 students (26%); 3) educational and methodological support - 42 students (21%); 4) technical support - 40 students (20%); 5) personal qualities of the student (responsibility, ability to work on his/her own) - 10 students (5%). The data obtained suggest that the fundamental factors of successful learning are: the first, the need and interest of the student to learn, the second, pedagogical skills of the teacher and only few students noted the ability to take responsibility for their own learning.
Conclusion
Based on all the results obtained, the following conclusions can be formulated:
1) Overall, the study of motivation to learn a foreign language confirmed our assumption that the majority of students study the English language driven by an extrinsic motive (to use acquired knowledge in future profession) and a low level of intrinsic motives of students (which deal with learning itself).
2) It is necessary to analyze the needs and interests of students in order to improve the efficiency of the educational process by increasing the motivation towards learning English. The majority of students believe that foreign language teachers should pay more attention to spoken English, translate in rare and necessary cases, and help with mastering the language of their future profession. Also, students would like the classes to be more interesting and diverse, using audio-video materials, additional sources, ICT, as well as a specially equipped foreign language classroom. Most students believe that their interest in learning a foreign language will increase if conditions for real communication with foreigners via the Internet are provided. In our opinion, all these needs of students can be realized by creating the English language learning environment, since the language learning environment includes all of the above mentioned criteria.
References
1. Государственная программа развития образования и науки Республики Казахстан на 2020 - 2025 годы. https://www.zakon.kz/5002441-utverzhdena-gosudarstvennaYa-programma.html
2. Государственный общеобязательный стандарт высшего образования (2018) [Электронный ресурс]. URL: https://www.zakon.kz/4945368-utverzhdenY-gosudarstvennye.html
3. Азимов Э. Г., Щукин А. Н. (2009) Новый словарь методических терминов и понятий (теория и практика обучения языкам). М.: Издательство ИКАР, 448 с.
4. Зимняя И. А. (2009) Педагогическая психология: учебник для вузов. М.: Логос, 384 с.
5. Ильин Е.П. (2008) Мотивация и мотивы: учебное пособие. Санкт-Петербург: Питер, 512 с.
6. Рахманова М. Д. (2019) Формирование мотивации при обучении иностранному языку в вузе // Азимут научных исследований: педагогика и психология. Т8. № 3(28), 232-236 с.
7. Кретова Л. Н., Громов А. Г. (2019) Психолого-педагогические условия реализации модели повышения мотивации к изучению иностранного языка у студентов колледжа // Сибирский педагогический журнал № 1, 14-22 с.
8. Гараева Е. А. (2019) Исследование мотивации студентов университета к учебно-профессиональной деятельности // Азимут научных исследований: педагогика и психология. Т. 8. № 1(26), 62-65 с.
9. Кабенова Д.М., Жусупова Р.Ф. (2020) Роль преподавателя в формировании мотивации при изучении иностранного языка сегодня в условиях глобализации одним из основных требований // Вестник ПГУ № 2, 222-229 с.
10. Ахмеджанов А.Б. Мукашева К., Маликова Г. (2017) Этномэдениеттщ бшм мазм^нына ьщпалы жэне оныц мотивациялык; куатыныц гылыми негiзi // Materials of the III International Scientific-Practical Conference «Quality management: search and solutions» Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 212-216 p.
11. Deci E.L., Ryan R.M. (2008) Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across life's domains. Psychologie canadienne. № 49 (1). P. 14-23.
12. Ali A.K., Jafarizadegan N., Karampoor F. (2016) Relation between socioeconomic status and motivation of learners in learning English as a foreign language. Theory Pract. Lang. Stud. №6 (4). P. 742-750.
13. Escobar-Fandino F. G., Munoz L. D., Silva-Velandia A. J. (2019) Motivation and E-Learning English as a foreign language: A qualitative study. Helion. №5 (9). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02394
14. Каримова A.O. (2020) ЖОО-да агылшын тш саба^тарында плдж орта тугызудыц эдюнамалык; негiздерi // ПМУ Хабаршысы №3, 250-260 б.
15. Galishnikova E. M. (2014) Language learning motivation: a look at the additional program. Procedia -Soc. Behav. Sci. № 152. P. 1137-1142.
16. Ананьев Б.Г. (2008) Личность, субъект деятельности, индивидуальность. М.:Директ-Медиа. -134 с.
Тшдш орта К¥РУ аркылы студенттердщ аFылшын тшш мецгеруге мотивациясын жоFарылату
А.О. Каримова, Е. Жуматаева КеАК «Торайгыров университета», Павлодар к., Казахстан, assel.karimova@mail.ru, engilika_zhumataeva@mail.ru
Макаланыц максаты - студенттердщ агылшын тшн мецгеруге мотивациясын жогарылатудагы тшдж ортаныц рeлiн аныктау. Зерттеу такырыбы бойынша теорияныц шолуы мен талдауы, казiргi замангы студенттiц психологиялык портретiнiц сипаттамасы бойынша сауалнамаларга талдау жасалды. Авторлар iшкi жэне сырткы мотивация терминдерiне аныктамалар бердi, мотивацияны арттыру жэне бiлiм беру процесшщ жогары тиiмдiлiгiн камтамасыз ету Yшiн тiлдiк ортаны к¥рудыц кажеттi шарттарын зерттедi. Сауалнаманыц талдауы студенттердiц университет аудиторияларында тiлдiк орта к¥руга деген кезкарастарын кeрсеттi, iшкi мотивтерге Караганда сырткы мотивтердщ басым екендiгiн дэлелдедг Студенттердiц агылшын тiлiн Yйренуге деген мотивациясын жогарылату Yшiн бiркатар ^сыныстар берiлдi.
Туит свздер: мотивация, мотив, шет тiлiн мецгеру, тiлдiк орта тугызу, тiлге ену.
Повышение мотивации студентов к изучению английского языка путем создания языковой
среды
А.О. Каримова, Е. Жуматаева НАО «Торайгыров университет», г. Павлодар, Казахстан, assel.karimova@mail.ru, engilika_zhumataeva@mail.ru
Целью статьи является определение роли языковой среды в повышении мотивации студентов к изучению английского языка. Проведены обзор и анализ теории по теме исследования, описание психологического портрета современного студента, анализ анкет. Авторы дали определения терминам внутренняя и внешняя мотивация, провели более детальное исследование необходимых условий для создания языковой среды для повышения мотивации и обеспечения высокой эффективности учебного процесса. Анализ анкетных данных показал отношение студентов к созданию языковой среды в университетских аудиториях, доказал преобладание внешних мотивов над внутренними. Дан ряд рекомендаций по повышению мотивации студентов к изучению английского языка.
Ключевые слова: мотивация, мотив, изучение иностранного языка, создание языковой среды, языковое погружение.
Received on 05.10.2020.
