A Motivational Model in Japanese Elementary Students' Foreign Language Activities

概要

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The purpose of this study is to examine how pupils' motivational attitudes changes as the number of English activity classes increased and to investigate the relationship between their motivation and other subscales. A first survey was conducted at three elementary schools in April 2009, while a second survey took place at three schools (two of the previously used schools plus a new one) in March 2010 in Japan. The findings showed that there was not much difference in the motivational items in the two schools between 2009 and 2010 (the beginning and end of the 2009 academic year, respectively). However, while motivation did not increase at all in 2010, students tended to consider that learning English was more important in 2010. It indicated that the pupils started to recognize foreign language activities as a subject to learn, not to participate in. In terms of the relationship between motivation and other subscales, the result showed that most influential subscale on motivation was students' learning attitudes in both the 2009 and 2010 models. The two models also indicated that elementary homeroom teachers (HRTs) will need to increase children's interest in, and positive attitudes toward, English, and create a good atmosphere in the classroo.