Masanori Matsumoto

Motivational changes and their affecting factors among students from different cultural backgrounds

Masanori Matsumoto — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:50:21 PST

University students (N = 140) learning second or foreign languages in Australia were investigated to find whether their learning experience in a 12-week course changes their motivational intensity and their perceptions of classroom factors affecting their motivation. The study also attempted to detect any differences among the students from four different cultural/regional backgrounds; Europe & North America, North East Asia including China, Taiwan, Korea & Japan, Australia & New Zealand, and the rest. Questionnaire surveys were conducted twice, at the beginning and the end of the courses on the students learning English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese to observe how their learning experiences affect their motivations and if they come to perceive the affecting factors differently. Results showed some significant differences in motivational intensity among the groups and also after the learning experience. The results identified the learning experience has either beneficial or detrimental influences on motivation and can alter the students’ perceptions of affecting factors. The study claims that students’ cultural and/or regional backgrounds can be an important factor to validate the discussion about motivation and also the learning experience may affect learners’ perceptions in different ways, depending on where the learners come from, where they learn what target languages.

Second language learners' motivation and their perception of their teachers as an affecting factor

Masanori Matsumoto — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 22:55:11 PDT

International students learning English as a second language in Australia were studied to find how their perception of teachers' level of commitment to teach them English affects their own motivation to study English. A questionnaire survey was administered to the learners at three different levels of proficiency to also identify the relationship between the levels of study and the learners' perception of the teacher as a factor affecting the learners' motivation. The results showed that there is a positive correlation between the learners' motivation and their perception of their teachers' commitment to teach, though there are some differences among the three levels. The results also found that the level of study is an important variable which affects the learners' perception of three major teacher-related factors; behaviour, personality, and teaching introduced by Dörnyei and Csizér (1998). These findings support the general claim that language teachers are one of the most important factors influencing learners' motivation, but the learners' level of proficiency may need to be taken into consideration for a further discussion regarding the validity of a certain teaching strategy to motivate second language learners

Persistence in Japanese language study in universities in Australia: Why do university students drop out of the language courses?

Masanori Matsumoto — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:06:16 PDT

Second language learners' motivation and their perceptions of teachers' motivation

Masanori Matsumoto — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:35:04 PST

International students learning English as a second language in Australia were studied to find how their perception of teachers’ level of commitment to teach them English affects their own motivation to study English. A questionnaire survey was administered on the learners at three different levels of proficiency to also identify the relationship between the levels of study and the learners’ perception of teacher as a factor affecting the learners’ motivation. The results showed that there is a positive correlation between the learners’ motivation and their perception of teachers’ commitment to teach, and the intermediate level is the most problematic stage in English study in terms of motivation. The results also found that the level of study is a factor which affects the learners’ perception of teacher factors which most strongly influence the learners’ motivation. These findings support the general claim that language teachers are one of the most important factors influencing learners’ motivation, but the learners’ level of proficiency may be a factor that needs to be taken into consideration for a further discussion regarding the validity of a certain teaching strategy to motivate second language learners.

Persistence in Japanese language study and learners’ cultural/linguistics backgrounds

Masanori Matsumoto — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:03:00 PST

Motivational characteristics of students learning Japanese as a foreign language at universities in Australia were investigated to find out what affecting factors are closely related to their intentions for continuing/discontinuing their study. The results showed that students’ cultural/linguistic backgrounds have a significant impact on their performance in learning the language, and sustaining motivation, which is closely related to their interest in aspects of Japanese culture, is an important determinant for persistence in their study. Developing intrinsic cultural interest is an important factor for sustaining motivation, which is more likely to occur when learners have distant cultural/linguistic backgrounds from Japanese. Closer cultural/linguistic backgrounds, on the other hand, may become hazardous for having accurate self-efficacy.

Motivational factors and persistence in learning Japanese as a foreign language

Masanori Matsumoto et al. — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:27:15 PST

Extract:

This paper aims to discuss correlation of motivation with learning Japanese as a foreign language (JFL). It will investigate what features borne from the learning process are key factors that motivate learners to continue, and whether or not motivational features differ between continuing and discontinuing students, and at different proficiency levels. Motivation is one of the most important prerequisites for learning. It is often compared to the engine (intensity) and steering wheel (direction) of a car (Gage and Berliner, 1984). Hilgard et al. (1979) state that motivation is concerned with those factors which energise behaviour and give it direction. Motivation in education is generally understood as a trigger of students' thought of engaging in a particular subject, and maintains the intensity of acquiring the knowledge of the subject. Logan (1969: 155) says that ‘motivation affects the way you practice, what you observe and what you do. And there are what you learn.’

Konnichiwa from Australia

Masako Gavin et al. — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:27:14 PST

Extract:

Although many Japanese grammar books are available to Australian students, we have found that there are only a few thorough workbooks which provide communicative and written activities to reinforce grammar elements covered in class.

Konnichiwa from Australia has been prepared to supplement this need and this is volume one to four. Although primarily designed for 1st and 2nd year university students leading to Intermediate Japanese, it is also suitable for a wider scope of other learners in the community- secondary schools, Japanese courses in language schools, colleges, technical institutes and other tertiary institutions.

Persistence in Japanese language study and motivation

Masanori Matsumoto — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:26:52 PST

The diminishing number of students in second language learning (SLL) at more advanced level of study is regarded as a general problem widely recognized by both teachers and researchers in second language acquisition (SLA) (Ellis, 1994: 508). This indicates that a number of students who start learning a second language terminate the study before they acquire a high proficiency. As Ramage (1990) states, SLL is a long lasting mental and physical enterprise and it usually takes years in order to acquire a command of the language. Given this, persistence in language study should be one of the most important factors for acquiring a higher proficiency, which is regarded as successful SLA. Based on this assumption, this paper will present research results regarding persistence in Japanese language study by university students in Queensland, Australia.