Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Alexandra Lemonnier
Sylvie Hamel
Laval University
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 2
Table of Content
1. Introduction ................................................................................................... p. 3
2. Literature Review .......................................................................................... p.5
3. Methodology.................................................................................................. p. 7
a. School Context and Participants ............................................................. p. 7
b. Research Instruments.............................................................................. p. 9
i... Teacher questionnaire ................................................................... p. 9
ii... Student questionnaire .................................................................... p. 10
c. Data Gathering........................................................................................ p. 11
d. Data Analysis.......................................................................................... p. 12
4. Results ........................................................................................................... p. 12
a. First Research Question: strategies and activities used
by teachers .............................................................................................. p. 12
i. Questions one to three: strategies.................................................. p. 12
ii. Question four: best strategies to improve student’s motivation .... p. 13
iii. Question five: activities that seem to interest students
the most ......................................................................................... p. 14
iv. Question six: what influences a student’s motivation ................... p. 14
v. Question seven: student choice of activity .................................... p. 14
b. Second Research Question: Types of Activities that Motivates
the Students ............................................................................................ p. 15
i. Demographic questions ................................................................. p. 15
ii. Questions four to seven: level of students’ language skills .......... p. 15
iii. Questions on students’ attitude ..................................................... p. 16
iv. Questions concerning cooperative learning .................................. p. 17
v. Questions about activities and strategies ...................................... p. 18
vi. Questions about class atmosphere. ............................................... p. 19
vii. Students’ favorite types of activities ............................................. p. 19
viii. Activities students wanted to do more .......................................... p. 20
ix. Activities that the teacher should do to make English more
interesting ...................................................................................... p. 20
c. Third Research Question: Correlation Between Teachers’ and
Students’ answers ................................................................................... p. 21
5. Discussion...................................................................................................... p. 22
6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................... p. 24
7. References ..................................................................................................... p. 26
8. Appendix A ................................................................................................... p. 28
9. Appendix B .................................................................................................... p. 31
10. Appendix C .................................................................................................... p. 35
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 3
CONDUCTED IN CLASS
Abstract
This study investigates the perceptions and opinions of 67 ESL learners and two ESL
teachers towards different types of activities, and the categories of activities which might
school. The three research questions allowed to have a better understanding of the teachers’
view and opinion, as well as those of the students, and to examine whether the views of
both teachers and students agree. The study was conducted through the use of
questionnaires, one for the teacher and one for the students. The results put forward
different types of activities and strategies put in place by the teacher, and showed that the
participants of the study had positive attitudes toward learning the second language and
seemed to enjoy most of the activities discussed in the study. Results also illustrated a high
Introduction
Many factors can affect one’s willingness to learn a new language, such as one’s
ability, the perception of the second language (L2) at home, etc. Two of the most important
factors related to learning a new language are one’s motivation and attitudes towards the
target language. Motivation can have many definitions, but, in the context of learning an
L2, Gardner defined it as the “effort to learn a language together with the desire to achieve
a goal and supported by positive attitudes toward learning the language” (as cited in
evaluative manner toward someone or something” (Hummel, 2014, p.201). These remain
two of the top preoccupations and priorities of the teaching world. When students adopt
positive attitudes and have a high motivation, valuable learning occurs. Even though there
are external factors that can influence students’ motivation such as one’s health, his/her
family background, and exposure to technology, something can be done in the classroom
Not all students are motivated to learn. This becomes a problem in the classroom
for teachers and the other students who have a strong desire to learn a new language and
that are motivated. The unmotivated student will cause difficult management problems in
the classroom and can lead to an unpleasant classroom atmosphere and affect the teacher’s
motivation (Falout, Elwood, & Hood, 2009). Factors found to be influencing student
motivation have been explored in several studies. However, as stated by Rinne (1998), a
strategy that works for a student one day may not be effective the next day since the
population in schools differ and its context varies one year after the other. Furthermore, the
methods used to motivate will affect each student differently, which is why investigating
the factors motivating the students to learn a language is still relevant today.
Another reason to look into motivational issues is that the students who are
of motivational style (Galloway, Rogers, Armstrong, & Leo, 1998). These authors argue
that although most people attribute the motivational attitudes to the students’ characteristic,
it is more likely to be explained by the interaction between the students and the varied
activities found in the school classroom. In addition, it appears that learned helplessness is
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 5
a factor that influences the motivation and attitudes toward learning and that these students
reject any attempts to keep on going due to their lack of achieving high grades.
The aim of this research is threefold, and thus based on three research questions:
1. What types of strategies and activities are used by teachers to keep students
2. What types of activities help to better grasp the students’ attention and
Literature Review
Motivation is at the heart of learning. Much research on this topic has been done in the
past to inquire about the reasons that drive students to achieve their learning goals and
succeed. Moreover, each researcher has his/her own theory about what and how motivation
affects learners which had and still has a huge impact in the field of education. First, Rinne
(1998) states that motivation is a “percentage game” meaning that this human feeling varies
depending on when learning takes place, where, and, perhaps, on the weather forecast.
Being a long-time teacher, Rinne (1998) suspects that an approach to teaching that focuses
on the lesson content produces the highest encouraging and efficient method to motivate
students. In addition, he states that any good teacher is capable of coming up with different
intrinsic lures from the lesson content to the students. By revealing varied appeals, the
characteristic of the content, chance is that all the students in the class will be captivated
by something in the lesson. In other words, he believes that what prevails is to hook the
students right from the start, pick their curiosity and stimulate their imagination. Indeed,
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 6
variation is important to captivate the students’ attention, revealing appeals must fascinate
in order not to bring students to boredom. Moreover, challenging the students to execute
tasks that are neither too difficult nor too easy is another practice that provides student
motivation. Rinne (1998) reveals that students will achieve tasks on the account of feeling
satisfaction from something they realize they can accomplish. The rewards are seen by
some teachers to be practical and somehow magical, especially for younger students in
elementary schools. Students quickly learn to behave and work properly to obtain some
kind of compensation. Extrinsic rewards derive from the outside of a person and lead
students to positive behaviour. In fact, they do not. Professionals in the field of teaching
debate about such methods seeing that it promotes the students to believe that they are the
only reasons to studying and working hard at school (Pastoll, 2009). Likewise, Hootstein
(2016) believes that offering students tangible prizes and privileges to increase student
motivation generates detrimental effects. Pastoll (2009) states that intrinsic motivation
students which will form their learning behavior. In addition, teachers tend to implement
new strategies to support conventional teaching through activities, games, and include tasks
that captivate the students’ interests (Hootstein, 2016). Furthermore, it appears essential to
provoke students’ enthusiasm right from the beginning of a lesson. Using strategies to
trigger their appetite, promotes positive attitudes toward the language course content and
increases the learner’s desirability to learn (Guilloteaux & Dörnyei, 2008). Next, some
2003), and enhancement of students’ curiosity (Mayer, 2011). According to Mayer (2011),
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 7
students.
Regarding the climate of the classroom, Clement, Dörnyei and Noels (1994)
an increase in motivation among the students. They also found that the atmosphere and
cohesion of the classroom also had positive outcomes on the students’ performances. In
addition, Wingfield and Wagner (2007), in their study, found that group work had positive
effects on the L2 learners, since they would be able to identify themselves to their
classmates with which they share similarities. When these learners would work together, it
would lead to an increase of their motivation, which in turn would improve their
performances. In addition, it has been proven that if students have positive attitudes toward
the L2 and its culture, there are more chances that their L2 acquisition will be improved
(Ellis, 1994).
Methodology
The action research project was conducted in two different schools in the city of
Quebec: the elementary school L’École de l’Escale et du Plateau and the high school
Académie Ste-Marie. The elementary school is situated in Charlesbourg and is part of the
Premières-Seigneuries School Board. The school was ranked 4/10 on a low-income rank
(1 being the least disadvantaged and 10 being the most disadvantaged), and 2/10 on a socio-
economical rank (MEES, 2017). Overall, there were 511 students and a few different
programs, such as musicals, intensive English, English concentration, and Montessori. The
two groups that participated in this research, as well as their ESL teacher, Mrs. Tremblay
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 8
(a pseudonym), were from the Montessori program, whose main goal is to regroup students
from different levels in one group. Thus, students in each group were in grades four, five
and six. This grouping method is meant to help the students develop their cooperation and
social skills through learning with students from other levels than their own. Therefore, the
two groups participating in this study were composed of students from grade four, five and
six who were always together in class, both in their homeroom classes and speciality
classes (i.e. English, music, and physical education classes). It also centers the learning
As for the Académie Ste-Marie, which is situated in Beauport, it is also part of the
Premières-Seigneuries School Board. The school was ranked 5/10 on a low income rank
and 2/10 on a socio-economical rank (MEES, 2016). This high school, mainly constituted
of students in the first secondary cycle, has a population surpassing 500 students. The
school has an educational project called ASM that has three objectives. The first objective
relies on offering support to the students for an easy transition between cycle one and cycle
two. Other objectives in this project take into consideration promoting the success of the
students by offering them different formations that will respond to their needs, promoting
and offering a safe and harmonious environment for students by aiming towards respectful
relationships, developing a sense of belonging, and ensuring follow-ups with the students.
In addition, the school staff works to develop the quality of the students’ first language,
which is French, in writing and reading. The Académie Ste-Marie offers two types of
English programs: Enriched English as a Second Language (EESL) and advanced English
which is a program considered to be in between the EESL program and the core program
of English. Concerning the EESL program, the students had twelve classes of English on
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 9
thirty-six, that is, thirty percent of the time. The program offers them the possibility to
participate in an immersion school trip every year and they are teamed up with students
from a high school in Manhattan, New York, in a tandem project. Furthermore, the focus
of this EESL program takes into consideration cooperative learning, tutoring and
speed. In both programs, students must have maintained a high degree of academic
performance in the third cycle of primary school. The school also offers other concentration
programs such as the sciences and multisport. The participants of this project were the
students of a secondary one class in the EESL program with their teacher named Mrs. Roy
(a pseudonym) who had been teaching English as an L2 nearly 12 years. The students were
Research Instruments
This research will be conducted through the use of surveys to compile relevant data
on the topic of motivation in children learning a second language. For the purpose of this
study, there were two types of questionnaires used which were created by the researchers,
one intended for the teachers, and the other one for the students. The teachers willingly
gave their approval to be part of this study. In addition, ethical approval to conduct the
study was obtained from the students’ parents. All participants will remain anonymous and
only the research team will have access to the data. A total of two sample questionnaires
from the teachers were filled out and 67 questionnaires were completed by the students
developed in order to investigate the teachers’ perceptions on the types of strategies and
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 10
activities that keep the students motivated in learning English. Items one to five focused
mainly on the types of activities and strategies used by the teachers to motivate their
students, while the sixth item focused on their opinions about the different characteristics
influencing a student’s motivation. The last question investigated the teachers’ views about
letting students choose tasks. All items were open questions, and the questionnaire was
only given once at the beginning of the study. An additional section to the questionnaire
was added for further investigation. It consisted of a series of statements referring to varied
motivational strategies. This was written in the form of a Likert-type scale and indicated
how the teachers considered the value of each cited strategy: from being a factor of a high
Student questionnaire. Likewise, the second step was to give the students a
questionnaire. Twenty-nine items were developed to inquire about their motivation to learn
English and the types of activities that they thought increased their motivation. The items
were adapted from the answers received by the teachers through the questionnaire they had
completed. The first part of the questionnaire included three items about demographic
characteristics, such as gender, age, and the year in school. The second section consisted
of four items about their perception of their English competency. The compilation of the
information from the two first sections was used to draw a portrait of the participants and
their level of English skills through short-answer and multiple choice questions. In the third
section, items eight to 26 employed a Likert-type scale to indicate how true each statement
was to the students. These items were used to both draw a better portrait of the participants’
attitudes towards learning English, and examine their perceptions of their English course,
thus investigating on the types of activities the students found the most interesting and that
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 11
increased their motivation. In the last section, items 27 to 29 were open questions
deepening their opinions about the types of activities that could motivate them more to go
to class and learn the language. The whole questionnaire intended for the elementary
students was bilingual, meaning that every question and its answers were given both in
English and in French to ensure the complete understanding of the questions by the
students. The questionnaire was only given once. As for the students in the EESL program
in the secondary one cycle, the questionnaire was written only in English due to their
Data Gathering
The first step in collecting data for this action research was to administer the teacher
questionnaire to the participating teachers. Both teachers could bring the questionnaire at
home in order for them to be able to reflect on the questions before answering. Then, the
second step was to adapt the student questionnaire from the answers received by the
teachers.
The third step to conduct the study was to present the questionnaire to the students
who were taking part in the research. The students at the elementary level were given paper
copies. The questions were not read to the students considering that they were both written
in English and in French to facilitate their comprehension. On the occasion that the students
did not grasp the meaning of a question, the researcher could offer his support and assist
the student by answering his/her interrogations about the different items on the list. The
questionnaire was distributed only once. Likewise, the questionnaire was given only once
to the students at the high school level. The researcher administered the questionnaire by
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 12
using an online tool called Socrative, and the researcher was available to provide assistance
Data Analysis
Once the data was collected, it was compiled in an Excel sheet by the researchers.
The data gathered from the teacher questionnaires were analyzed as qualitative data and
compared to each other. The approach used to analyze the data from the student
questionnaire was done through descriptive statistics, which is to describe and summarize
the information gathered. Thus, the quantitative data gathered from the multiple choice and
Likert-style questions (questions 4 to 26) were compiled in order to know precisely how
many students chose each answer for each question. This led to having a better view of the
students’ perceptions and opinions about the different items. Moreover, the qualitative data
collected from the open-ended questions (questions 27 to 29) were also compiled in order
to know what answers were most popular amongst the students. Statistical comparisons
were then made between data from the elementary and the secondary students. In addition,
organizing data by using graphs shows the information in a simple manner to understand
the frequency of the results. Lastly, the data gathered from the teacher questionnaires and
from the student questionnaire were compared to examine whether there was an agreement
Results
Questions one to three: strategies. To begin, question one required to list between
five and ten most useful strategies. Mrs. Tremblay, the elementary ESL teacher, listed eight
really important strategies that she taught her students. Those strategies were listening,
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 13
participating, speaking in English, looking, concentrating, asking for help, doing the
actions, and doing the gestures, to which she also added circumlocution, plan and review.
She added, in the following question, that she modeled these strategies with the students
all through the two first cycles of the elementary program, so that students were able to use
them themselves when they move to the third cycle and to secondary school. She also
stated, in question three, that “they are used to bring my students to be more independent
and secure in the learning process,” and that the students had to use these strategies every
class. Mrs. Tremblay explained that she made sure that the students clearly understood the
strategies, that she modeled them and that she wrote to the parents so that they were aware
Mrs Roy, the teacher at the secondary level, listed nine strategies to question one:
project-based learning, the communicative approach, the use of ICTs, brainstorming, pre-
reading, summarizing, using visual and videos, activating prior knowledge, and
differentiation. For the second question, she mentioned that all of the methods mentioned
above were implemented in her teaching for diverse purposes. Mrs Roy set up her class in
groups of four. As a result, communication and projects were at the heart of her teaching
methodology. Furthermore, she mentioned using conspicuously all the strategies written in
fourth question, Mrs Tremblay stated that the best strategies to improve students’
motivation were modeling the strategies mentioned earlier and give the students the tools
to help them understand (i.e., vocabulary lists, grammar points, dictionary, etc.), whereas
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 14
Mrs Roy considered that hooking the students with visuals was her best strategy. She added
that procuring a goal to the students was another important factor to increase motivation.
Question five: activities that seem to interest students the most. Upon asking
which activities appeared to interest the students the most, working in teams, playing
games, and using their iPads were Mrs Roy’s response. The elementary school teacher, for
her part, reported that her students seemed to prefer LESs that contained many kinds of
activities (e.g., writing, reading, arts, games, listening, etc.). She added that it was
important to respect what the students liked and disliked, and to try to respect them as much
as possible when creating LESs that will be carrying out on a few classes.
Question six: what influences a student’s motivation? Mrs Tremblay stated that
one important thing is if whether the student liked English or not, and whether the teacher
respects and takes time to get to know the students. Along the same lines, Mrs Roy
responded that having a positive relation with the students maintained the students’
motivation.
Question seven: student choice of activities. On the one hand, the elementary
teacher answered that she liked to give students a choice between two or three different
elements because she feels like students appreciate to have a sense of power even though
this power was controlled by the teacher. On the other hand, Mrs Roy, the secondary
teacher, did not agree with this idea. Her reaction to this question was that she acted more
people, having hands on learning experiences, letting the students have a say in their
learning, including ICTs, having a positive relation with the students and relating materials
factors, except for attributing a reward system, which she considered to be low/somewhat
motivational.
As for Mrs Roy, exposing students to motivated people, including ICTs, having a
good relationship with the students, and relating the teaching material to their lives were
the other statements on the list were categorized as moderate/good motivational factors.
Finally, Mrs Roy did not state a ranking for the motivational factor of hands on learning
experience.
students in fourth grade, fifteen students in fifth grade and fifteen students in sixth grade.
Twenty-two of these students were girls whereas there were 20 boys, and one participant
forgot to answer this question. For the students at the secondary school, all participants
attended year one of the first cycle. Seventeen girls and seven boys answered the
questionnaire.
students’ perception of their own English skills (i.e., writing, speaking, listening and
reading comprehension) showed that a majority of students perceived their skills as being
so-so to very good, with only a minority of students viewing their skills as poor or very
poor. The same thing could be observed from the students at the secondary level.
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 16
Questions on students’ attitude. More than 80% of the students at the elementary
level answered that they agreed and strongly agreed to enjoying going to their English
classes, while 12% answered that they disagreed and only 2% totally disagreed. At the
secondary level, all students answered that they either agreed or strongly agreed (see graph
1). When asked if the students thought that learning English was useful, 91% of the
secondary 1 students strongly agreed and 8% agreed, whereas 84% of the elementary
students strongly agreed, 14% agreed and 2% totally disagreed. Regarding the statement
“I think that the subjects seen in class are interesting,” more than 85% of the elementary
students either strongly agreed or agreed to the affirmation, and only 9% and 2%
respectively disagreed and strongly disagreed. Also, 2% answered both ‘I agree’ and ‘I
disagree’ to that statement. A percentage of 75% of the secondary students agreed that the
subjects in class were interesting, 20% strongly agreed and 4% disagreed. English was
considered important to all the students at the secondary level and to 98% of the elementary
Regarding the statement stating that learning English is stressful, the results showed that,
in the secondary group, 4% strongly agreed, 12.5% agreed, 58% disagreed, and 25%
strongly disagreed to being stressed. At the elementary level, more than 60% of the students
disagreed and strongly disagreed to English being stressful, whereas 14% and 19%
60%
50%
40% Elem. Grade 4
30% Elem. Grade 5
20% Elem. Grade 6
10% Sec. Grade 1
0%
I strongly agree I agree I disagree I totally disagree
Students' opinion
elementary and secondary students enjoyed working with others in their language class.
Fifty-eight percent and 40% of the elementary students respectively strongly agreed and
agreed to the statement, whereas 2% disagreed. At the secondary level, 41% strongly
agreed and 58% agreed on this statement. In addition, they stated that working with
teammates helped them better understand the subject to a proportion of 33% who strongly
agreed and 63% who agreed. At the elementary level, 49% and 37% respectively strongly
agreed and agreed, and 14% either disagreed or strongly disagreed. The results were similar
with the statement stating that working with others helps them improve their English skills,
with 25% of the secondary students strongly agreed and 75% agreed, whereas the
elementary students answered in the proportion of 42% and 51%, respectively. Seven
percent of the students at the elementary level either disagreed or strongly disagreed.
Alternatively, a total of 58% of secondary students disagreed with the statement “I prefer
to work alone,” although 33% agreed. As for the elementary students 30% disagreed with
towards activities and strategies used by their ESL teacher, the results show that both
elementary and secondary students perceived all the items mentioned as being helpful in
their L2 acquisition or as being more agreeable while still being helpful, except for one
type of activity. Thus, students reported in an imposing majority (more than 90% in most
cases) that they either agreed or strongly agreed to the statements. This means that activities
such as watching videos or movies, working on projects, talking within small groups,
working with iPads (or ICTs), viewing visuals (pictures), having interesting introductions
and modelling of the activity by the teacher are all techniques reported by the participants
to be agreeable and useful in their L2 acquisition. The ability for the students to choose the
subject was also considered as being agreeable by the participants, but with a lesser
majority than for the other items, with 76% of the students either strongly agreeing or
agreeing. The only activity considered as not being helpful or agreeable was learning from
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 19
a textbook, with 61% and 4% of the participants respectively disagreeing and strongly
Question about class atmosphere. For item 18, 67% of the students at the
secondary level answered that the atmosphere in class helped them to be motivated and
attend class, 21% strongly agreed. Only 12.5% disagreed with this statement. As for the
students from the elementary level, 37% and 35% answered that they respectively strongly
agreed and agreed with the statement. Twenty-six percent disagreed and only 2% strongly
disagreed.
Students’ favorite types of activities. When asked about their two favorite types
of activities, the answers that stood out were: working on projects (21 students out of 43),
watching movies (12), doing collaborative work (12) and making presentations (6). Among
secondary students, the most popular activity pointed out as their favorite consisted of
using technologies (12 out of 24 students), especially using the iPad. Working on projects
(10) and in teams (9) were listed as the second and third most popular choices. Different
games and activities including all the class was their fourth best option (5). Watching
movies or videos (4), reading and then having questions to aid their comprehension were
favoured (2). Other items on their list included writing texts, working in the activity book,
the types of activities the students would like to do more often in their ESL classes. The
most popular answer from the elementary students was collaborative work, with ten
students out of 43 reporting this answer, although five of them specified that they preferred
to work in pairs. The second most popular activity was working on projects (8), and the
third one was watching movies (7). As for the secondary students, the most popular activity
was using the iPads and technologies (9 out of 24 students). The second most popular
answers were the activities done in teams and the games when they were with the English
monitor (6). In third place came watching more movies with which they had to answer
comprehension questions (4). Reading books and participating in projects were reported
next (3).
Activities that the teacher should do to make English more interesting. The last
question of the questionnaire concerned the types of activities teachers should implement
in order to make the L2 more interesting. The answer who came back the most of the
elementary students was that nothing had to change in the English classroom (14 out of 43
students). The second most popular answer was outings related to the English language
and culture (4). The third and fourth most popular answers were respectively to have more
collaborative work (3) and to have more arts projects (2). The secondary level students’
most popular answers regarding what they wished their teacher should consider were, in
the order listed, including projects (6 out of 24), using hooks such as videos, having short
activities, and using pictures before a lesson (5), preparing activities (4), incorporating the
After comparison between the teacher’s answers and the students’, similarities were
revealed. First, the secondary teacher listed that project-based learning was an important
strategy she used with her students, which correlates with the students’ attitudes towards
such projects (see table 3). A strong majority of students had answered that they strongly
agreed or agreed to the usefulness of doing projects in their L2 acquisition. Projects were
also the secondary students’ second preferred activity. Second, regarding the use of ICTs,
both the elementary and the secondary teacher classified it as being a highly motivating
factor for the students. Along the same line, the students also stated in a vast majority that
using iPads in class was agreeable and useful (see table 3), and the secondary students even
ranked the use of ICTs as their first favorite activity. A third similarity is that both teachers
stated that having a positive relationship with the students is an important factor for their
motivation, which fits with the students’ opinions that the classroom atmosphere helped
them be motivated, with 72% of the elementary students and 88% of the secondary students
Regarding the possibility of letting the students have a choice in the activities or
topics covered in class, the two teachers disagreed: the secondary teacher stated that she
did not let the students such choices, whereas the elementary teacher considered it was
important since it gave the students some responsibilities and some semblance of power.
However, the secondary teacher still considered letting the students have a say in their
learning process as being moderately motivational element, while the elementary teacher
considered it as being highly motivating. Accordingly, 76% of the students stated that they
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 22
would like to choose subjects covered during class. Lastly, the elementary teacher ranked
considered it as a moderate factor, but she listed the communicative approach as a useful
strategy. Both strategies involve students to speak in small groups which they highly
preferred and relates to these two strategies. Moreover, over 90% of the students
favorite activity for the elementary students and the third for the secondary students.
Discussion
The results of this action research showed that, in the most part, students had
positive attitudes towards learning English. Indeed, a vast majority stated that they enjoyed
going to their English class and that they perceived the subjects covered by the teacher as
being interesting. Plus, they believe that learning English is useful, while not really being
stressful. As supposed by Ellis (1994), such positive attitudes toward learning English
would certainly lead to ameliorate the students’ language acquisition and performances.
Although the students did not mention anything regarding their relationship with
the teacher, both the teacher at the elementary and the secondary level emphasized the fact
that building a relation with students had a positive influence on students’ motivation. It is
suggested that “the smallest incident of confidence-building can become a turning point in
a student’s motivation to learn” (Pastoll, 2009, p. 140). Moreover, Pastoll (2009) argues
that the simplest thing said to students potentially affects their attitude toward learning. In
order to build confidence in a student, there must be mutual respect and the teacher being
a model should be the first to initiate rapport with the students by being friendly, lively,
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 23
available, and open. “Murphey, Falout, Fukada, and Fukada (2012), in their review of the
literature on group dynamics in education, point out the many benefits of a positive social
climate: a greater sense of belongingness that reflects the human need to feel accepted by
others; greater feelings of security and wellbeing; higher levels of autonomous and self-
regulated behaviors; a stronger sense of identity; higher levels of interest and engagement;
learning and communicating; and increased appreciation of members within the group” (as
cited in Poupore, 2016, p.723). Another valuable form of building relationships and student
trust is to quickly get to know their names. Additionally, show interest in who they are and
what they like. Kumaravadivelu (1991) said that when we know the learner’s personal
approaches and perceptions, our intervention with the student will be more productive.
With respect to using ICTs in the classroom, both teachers and students considered
it as being extremely motivating. This is to no surprise since students are greatly attracted
by almost anything relating to the Internet, television, and video games. One way to bring
about lessons that captivate the students relies on implementing technology in class as
with new media”. Thus, using ICTs is a strategy that can make teaching lessons more
appealing to students in that it includes novelty. Varied and innovative uses of technology
intend to promote motivation in learning such as building wikis, collaborative writing, and
Regarding the opinions of both the teachers and the students toward teamwork, they
addition, group work has been proven to have many positive outcomes. Students can relate
and identify with others, which could in turn increase the students’ motivation and thus
their performances (Wingfield & Wagner, 2007). In addition, Yashima (2012) argues that
teamwork helps the students practice and improve their communication skills.
Furthermore, another positive effect of group work it that “when [it is] properly conducted,
a cooperative learning exercise liberates a lot of student energy, because it enables them to
Conclusion
To conclude, this action research examined, first, the types of strategies and
activities that were used by teachers to keep students alert, motivated and involved in
learning English as a second language. Second, what were the different activities that lead
students to be more attentive and motivated from their perception. And, if the views of the
teachers concurred with the ones of the students. The results found in this research supply
practical tips for pedagogical purposes. Teachers should be made aware that there is quite
a substantial array of methods available to increase student motivation. Given the fact that
students become easily weary of school and sometimes indifferent, increasing the
using efficient motivating approaches would empower them to change things by raising
students’ motivation to learn and place them on a path toward success. We can identify a
few investigations that could be done for future research concerning the topic of motivation
at school. First, inquiries could examine if the strategies used by language teachers apply
to other topics at school and thus also create an impact on motivation. Second, further
economical rank school where children have learning difficulties to see if it brings change
to the students’ views on learning a second language and improve their grades significantly.
programs that have adopted ICTs in the learning process with others who do not benefit
such technology.
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 26
References
Clement, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K.A. (1994). Motivation, self-confidence, and group cohesion
Ellis, R. (1994). The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Falout, J., Elwood, J., & Hood, M. (2009). Demotivation: Affective states and learning Outcomes.
Galloway, D., Rogers, C., Armstrong, D., & Leo, E. (1998). Motivating the difficult to teach. New
Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. New York:
Palgrave.
Hootstein, E. W. (1994). Motivating students to learn. The Clearing House, 67 (4), 213-216.
http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/site_web/documents/PSG/statistiques_info_d
ecisionnelle/Indices_PUBLICATION_20152016.pdf
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 27
Pastoll, G., (2009). Motivating people to learn...and teachers to teach. Bloomington, IN:
AuthorHouse.
Poupore, G. (2016). Measuring group work dynamics and its relation with L2 learners’ task
Rinne, C. H. (1998). Motivating students is a percentage game. The Phi Delta Kappan, 79 (8),
Wigfield, A., & Wagner, A.L. (2007). Competence, motivation, and identify development during
adolescence. In A.J. Elliot, & C.S. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation
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Insights from research, theory, and practice (pp. 119–135). Houndmills: Palgrave
Macmillan.
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 28
Appendix A
Teacher Questionnaire
1. Make a list of strategies (5-10) that you think are the most useful when teaching
to the students.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
7. Do you sometimes let the students choose the activities/topics they will do in
class? Why?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
8. Rank the following statements from highly being motivational factors to poor according to
your opinion.
Cooperative learning
Include ICT
Use self-evaluations
Problem-solving activities
Appendix B
Student Questionnaire
For questions 4 to 7, circle the answer that corresponds the most to what is true
to you.
Pour les question 4 à 7, encercle la réponse qui correspond le mieux à ce qui est
vrai pour toi.
c. So-so / Moyen
d. Poor / Faible
e. Very poor / Très faible
For the questions 8 to 26, put an X in the box that corresponds the most to what is
true for you.
Pour les questions 8 à 26, fais un X dans la case qui correspond le plus à ce qui
est vrai pour toi.
I strongly I agree / I disagree / I strongly
agree / Je Je suis Je ne suis disagree / Je
suis tout à d’accord pas ne suis pas du
fait d’accord tout d’accord
d’accord
For the questions 27 to 29, write your opinion about the questions.
Pour les questions 27 à 29, écrit ton opinion par rapport aux questions.
27. What are your two favourite types of activities in your English class?
Quels sont tes deux activités préférées dans ton cours d’anglais?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
28. What type of activity would you like to do more often in class?
Quel type d’activité aimerais-tu faire plus souvent dans ton cours d’anglais?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
29. What type of activity should the teacher do to make English more interesting?
Quel type d’activité devrait faire ton enseignant(e) pour rendre l’anglais plus
intéressant?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION OF ESL LEARNERS 35
Appendix C
Recherche-action
Cher parent,
Votre enfant est invité à prendre part à un projet de recherche visant à déterminer les
attitudes et motivations des élèves dans l’apprentissage de l’anglais en tant que langue seconde.
L’enseignante de la classe a déjà donné son accord à ce projet. Avec votre permission votre enfant
sera invité à répondre en classe à un questionnaire sur les attitudes et les motivations de
l’apprentissage de l’anglais chez les jeunes. La contribution de votre enfant favorisera l’avancement
des connaissances dans le domaine de l’apprentissage scolaire.
Il est entendu que les renseignements recueillis auprès de votre enfant sont confidentiels,
aucune information ne permettra d’identifier votre enfant et seules les personnes responsables du
projet auront accès au contenu du questionnaire et utiliseront les renseignements recueillis aux fin
d’un travail écrit à remettre dans le cadre de leur programme d’étude.
La collaboration de votre enfant est importante pour la réalisation de ce projet mais, quelle
que soit votre décision nous vous remercions du temps pris à examiner cette demande.
En tant que parent de l’enfant participant à cette recherche, je reconnais avoir lu le présent
formulaire et consens volontairement à ce que mon enfant participe à ce projet de recherche.
Date_____________________________________