University students' motivation to take first and second year foreign language classes; How teachers can increase that motivation.

摘要

This study investigated U.S. college students' interest and motivation toward learning foreign languages, how their interest has influenced their decisions to continue language study, and what teachers can do to motivate them in the classrooms and to continue language study in the future. The 35 participants were students from different language classes; Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish at an American university. The instrument included a survey methodology involved qualitative and quantitative methods. The data was analyzed through descriptive, inferential, and content analyses. The result showed that the participants were interested to take foreign language classes for integrative motivations more than instrumental or global motivation. They were quiet satisfied with their classes and their teachers, but not as satisfied with various classroom activities, including vocabulary, listening, conversation, and writing skills. Teachers need to identify students' reasons for learning and encourage them by following several methods in order to increase the motivation of foreign language learners.