Why Students Continue Studying Foreign Language After the First Year: A Mixed Methods Grounded Theory.

摘要

According to the U.S. Department of Education (2010), only 25% of students who study introductory foreign language courses continue their language studies. This is of concern because knowledge of foreign language is important for success in today's globalized world. The present study was conducted using a mixed methods grounded theory to examine this issue and create a theoretical model that explains why students continue. A total of 62 students from a southeastern university, 44 women and 18 men, served as participants for this study. Sixty two students were surveyed by a primarily quantitative questionnaire and a nested sample of 21 students was interviewed. The questionnaire provided data on epistemological beliefs, language learning beliefs, and demographic and background variables. The interviews provided data on students' beliefs, attitudes, and experiences related to foreign language study. Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Model (2004) provided the framework for the grounded theory. Students start college with predefined language learning beliefs and epistemological beliefs. These beliefs were influenced by the interactions that occurred in their immediate environments with family, school, and close friends before college. These beliefs, in turn, influenced their career interests, what discipline they chose to study, and whether or not they planned to continue their language studies. During students' time spent in college, their beliefs and attitudes were influenced by interactions with instructors, advisers, and university policies. The grounded theory was further developed by the four-phase interest framework which provides an explanation of how interests develop (Hidi & Renninger, 2006). Students that planned to continue their language studies related experiences that emphasized the relevance of foreign language. These experiences helped to initiate and maintain a situational interest that ultimately evolved into a sustained individual interest in foreign language. Students' perceptions and misperceptions about the purpose of foreign language majors also influenced their plans to continue. Based on the misperception of the time it takes to achieve fluency, students were under the impression that those with foreign language majors were limited to careers related to teaching and translating.