Eötvös Loránd University, Faculty of Humanities PhD Programme in Language Pedagogy School of English and American Studies Programme Director: Péter Medgyes DSc, Professor
DISSERTATION SUMMARY
Rita Szaszkó
The Effects of Intercultural Contact on Adult Hungarians’ Motivation for Learning English as a Foreign Language
Supervisor: Kata Csizér PhD, Assistant Professor
Dissertation Examination Committee:
Chair: Zoltán Kövecses PhD, DSc
Internal Opponent: Melinda Edwards PhD, Assistant Professor
External Opponent: Marianne Nikolov PhD, habil., DSc, Professor, Chair of Department of English Applied Linguistics, University of Pécs Secretary: Krisztina Károly PhD, habil., Associate Professor, Director of
Studies
Members: Zsuzsanna Tóth PhD, Lecturer, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Institute of English and American Studies Gyula Tankó PhD, Assistant Professor
Edit Kontra PhD, Associate Professor, Department Chair
Budapest, 2010
Introduction
Globalization, increasing worldwide economic interdependence, rapid population shifts and more efficient means of travel and telecommunications in the 21st century have resulted in a growing exposure to cross-national and cross-linguistic contact (Bialystok
& Cummins, 1991) and a change in inter-ethnic attitudes worldwide (Brislin, 2001). As regards Hungary, there has been an unprecedented increase in intercultural contact since the end of the 1980s in particular English (Dörnyei & Csizér, 2005). Therefore, the investigation of how intercultural contact affected English language learning motivation can be seen as a relevant issue. There are two further reasons why such research could be welcome. Firstly, intercultural contact is a means in learning a foreign language (FL) - that is, during the different phases of language development, contact with other cultures can help students advance on the language proficiency continuum (Dörnyei & Csizér, 2005). Secondly, intercultural contact is an end in learning a FL as FL learners’ goals involve communicating with representatives of other cultures.
Kormos and Csizér’s (2007) research highlighted the effects of inter-ethnic contact on Hungarian children’s motivation for learning foreign/second languages. (In this dissertation foreign language (FL) and second language (L2) should be regarded as synonyms and they refer to any language used or learnt by an individual and this language is not his/her mother tongue.) The reason for research into the adult Hungarian population’s FL learning motivation is that intercultural contact can have different effects on children and on adult FL learners’ motivation due to age (Harley, 1986; Robertson, 2002).
This dissertation aims to gain insights into how intercultural contact affects English language learning motivation among adult Hungarian learners - that is, what
structures and relationships characterise intercultural contact and FL learners’
motivation.
1. Theoretical Framework 1.1. Definition of Key Concepts 1.1.1. Intercultural contact
Based on various definitions in intercultural contact research (Allport, 1954; Csizér &
Dörnyei, 2005; Csizér & Kormos, 2008, 2009; Dörnyei & Csizér, 2005; Kormos &
Csizér, 2007; Pettigrew; 1986, 1998; Pettigrew, Christ, Wagner & Stellmacher, 2007) in this research framework intercultural contact is an umbrella term that involves any form of encounters of two foreign cultures. In the present dissertation intercultural (cross- cultural/interethnic/intergroup) contact is conceptualized as the participant’s:
a) direct exposure to a person who is a member of a L2 speaking community (direct/interpersonal contact);
b) indirect encounters with the target culture and language through influential others and via cultural products (indirect/non-interpersonal contact).
1.1.2. Learners’ motivation
Based on various definitions for learners’ motivation provided by researchers in the motivation literature (Ames & Ames, 1989; Crookes & Schmidt, 1991; Dörnyei, 2001;
Gardner, 1985; Oxford & Shearing, 1994), within the framework of this research learners’ motivation is defined as a driving force which sets goals for FL learners regarding various aspects of FL learning (learning strategy, desired ultimate level of FL
proficiency etc.), a force which sustains FL learners’ effort and persistence with fluctuating intensity.
1.1.3 Adult Hungarian language learners
Within the range of this research context adult Hungarian learners are conceptualized as Hungarian non-college/university students. They are male and female learners of English over the age of 19 learning English at accredited private language schools in Hungary.
Their English language proficiency is on a scale from the pre-intermediate to the advanced levels.
1.2. Intercultural Contact Research
This research is related to intercultural contact theory and empirical data. It has been found that although Allport’s (1954) theory has been challenged by many researchers and it has undergone various modifications since the 1980s (Pettigrew, 1998; Stephan, 1987), it is still regarded and used as a base theory. Another influential theory, Tajfel and Turner’s (1979) social identity theory, also played a significant role in intercultural contact research and therefore, underlying models were built upon it in the 1980s, such as the decategorized contact model (1984), the common ingroup model (1989, 2000), the intergroup contact model (1986) and the dual identity model (Dovidio, Gaertner &
Valdzic, 1998; Gaertner, Rust, Dovidio, Bachman & Anastasio, 1994; Hornsey & Hogg, 2000). Since the 1980s, various hypotheses, theoretical frameworks and models (Pettigrew, 1998) have been constructed, drawing on both the Contact Hypothesis and the social identity theory.
1.3. Learners’ Motivation Research
Learners’ motivation research, theories and models have incorporated and benefited from various fields of psychological paradigms and theories. The first significant influence on the field was social-psychology, which paved the way for the Gardnerian (Gardner &
Lambert, 1959, 1972) theory in SLA research, whose theory was the guiding, unchallenged paradigm for many decades. However, the Gardnerian conceptualization of integrativeness and instrumentality has been widely criticized since the revolution of cognitive psychology in the 1980s. Motivation researchers also pointed out that the Gardnerian theory did not focus on the microperspective of classroom L2 learning. A new generation of learners’ motivation researchers (Dörnyei & Csizér, 2005; Dörnyei &
Ottó, 1998; Kormos & Csizér, 2007; Ushioda, 2001) drew attention to the fact that motivation was not a stagnant construct but a dynamic one and therefore, the ongoing processes regarding learners’ motivation should be highlighted.
1.4 The Place of the Present Dissertation in the Field of SLA Research
This doctoral inquiry is related to previous social psychological investigations conducted by Hungarian researchers (Csizér & Dörnyei, 2005; Csizér & Kormos, 2008, 2009;
Dörnyei & Csizér, 2005; Kormos & Csizér, 2007; Nikolov, 2001). It was found that there was a research niche in this field as very little information was known about the English language learning motivation of Hungarian adult learners at accredited private language schools in terms of how these learners’ motivation was affected by intercultural encounters. Furthermore, new research was needed into the relationships of indirect contact situations and related affective variables. Further empirically based models had
to be created to display the complexity of adult FL learners’ direct and indirect contact with the target and other cultures.
2. Umbrella Research Question
Since the present doctoral research is characterised by a mixed methods design an umbrella (overall/principal) research question was formulated (Cresswell, 2003; Dörnyei (2007).
How does intercultural contact affect adult Hungarian’s motivation for learning English as a FL?
3. Research Design
A brief summary of the structure and the components of the present doctoral research was summed up as in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1
Research Structure and Elements of Phase 1 and 2
_______________________________________________
Research phase Instrument Method of data analysis
Phase 1: qual 1
3 structured interview sessions (November, 2005)
Structured
interview schedule Protocol analyses
Phase 2: qual 2 2 think-aloud sessions (November-December, 2005)
Think-Aloud monologue on
(Pilot-quest1, Pilot-quest2)
Protocol analyses
_______________________________________________
Table 2
Research Structure and Elements of Phase3 and 4
________________________________________________
Research phase Instrument Method of data analysis
Phase 3: quan
Pilot questionnaire study (N=100) (December, 2005-March 2006)
Pilot questionnaire (Pilot-quest3)
Principal component analyses and reliability check
Descriptive statistics Correlation analyses with SPSS 11.0 for Windows Phase 4: QUAN
Questionnaire study (N=669) (May, 2006-December, 2006)
Validated questionnaire (MAIN QUEST)
Principal component analyses and reliability check
Descriptive statistics Correlation analyses with SPSS 11.0 for Windows
________________________________________________
4. Validation and Piloting of the Main Questionnaire 4.1 Structured Interview Study
There were three participants and the research instrument was a structured interview schedule. The interviews lasted 35-50 minutes. The aim of the study was to yield items for the questionnaire that I wanted to use as the main questionnaire of my doctoral research. These three interview sessions resulted in the initial version of the questionnaire called Pilot-quest1.
4.2 Think-Aloud Study
Two participants provided data through their think-aloud monologue during which they completed the questionnaire. The first participant filled in Pilot-quest1. After the data
analysis of the first think-aloud monologue Pilot-quest2 was developed. The second participant completed Pilot-quest2. Subsequent to the protocol analysis of the second think-aloud monologue Pilot-quest3 was created.
4.3 Pilot Questionnaire Study
The pilot questionnaire study was conducted with 100 participants and the instrument was Pilot-quest3. Various statistical analyses were computed with this quantitative data in the following order: principal component analysis, descriptive statistics, t-test and correlation analysis. The most consistent overall finding of the data procession was that the adult Hungarian learners perceived that intercultural contact had a stronger effect on their communicative competence than on their motivation for learning English. It was also found that the participants very rarely had to use English at work. Finally, it was revealed that the most frequent type of intercultural contact was contact through cultural products.
5. The Main Study
The data of the main study was collected from 669 participants through the validated and piloted main questionnaire titled MAIN QUEST. The quantitative data analyses were as follows: principal component analysis, descriptive statistics, t-test One-way ANOVA and structural equation modelling. The research questions and hypotheses and the related methods of data procession were listed in Table 3.
Table 3
Research Questions and Hypotheses of the Main Study
______________________________________________
Research question Hypothesis Method of data
analysis
Research question 1 ___________________
To what extend do the MAIN QUEST items cover and constitute the hypothesised dimensions?
Hypothesis to Research question 1 _______________________________
The MAIN QUEST dimensions are identical to
the components of Pilot-quest3 Principal component analysis
Research question 2 ___________________
Which dimensions are characterised by the highest and the lowest mean values regarding the dimension groups of MAIN QUEST?
_ Descriptive statistics
Research question 3 ___________________
To what extent is the nature and relationship between intercultural contact and learners’
motivation influenced by the participants’
gender?
Hypothesis to Research question 3 _______________________________
Female learners demonstrate a higher intensity of motivation and effort to learn FLs than males in particular in terms of integrative motivation (Gardner & Lambert, 1972; Williams, Burden &
Lanvers, 2002)
T-Test
Research question 4 ___________________
To what extent do learners’ characteristics determine learners’ motivation, intercultural contact and stereotypes?
- One-way ANOVA
Research question 5 ___________________
What relationships can be detected among the dimensions of MAIN QUEST?
Various forms of direct/indirect encounters with the target culture and its members have a positive effect on learners’ English language learning motivation, provided their experience during a particular type of intercultural encounter is associated with positive perception. In the case of negative experience, learners’ motivation can be affected in a negative way. (Pettigrew, 1998)
Correlation analysis
Research question 6 ___________________
What kinds of relationship characterise learners’
motivation, intercultural contact, attitudes and behaviour?
Hypothesis 1 to Research question 6 _______________________________
There is an indirect relationship between learners’ motivation and their behaviour.
(Clément, Dörnyei & Noels, 1994; Csizér &
Dörnyei, 2005; Gardner, Tremblay & Masgoret, 1997)
Hypothesis 2 to Research question 6 _______________________________
There is a direct relationship between learners’
motivation and their behaviour. (Kormos &
Csizér, 2007).
Structural equation modelling
______________________________________________
The findings with regard to the research questions and hypotheses of the main study were formulated as follows:
Research question 1. The dimension groups of MAIN QUEST were: (1) Motivational
and Attitudinal Dispositions, (2) Motivated Learning Behaviour, (3) Intercultural Contact, (4) Perceived Intercultural Contact Effect and (5) Stereotypes. All of these dimensions were justified by reliability checks.
Hypothesis related to Research question 1. The MAIN QUEST dimensions were
identical to the components of Pilot-quest3 and therefore, this hypothesis was justified.
Research question 2. Considering all the dimensions of MAIN QUEST, Vitality USA
had the highest mean score whereas Use of English at Work had the lowest mean value.
Research question 3. There were six dimensions where a significant difference was
found between the female and male Hungarian adult learners of English. Out of these six MAIN QUEST dimensions, the females’ mean scores were higher than the male scores in case of five dimensions. Only the dimension of Instrumentality indicated higher male mean values, which meant that the male learners were dominantly instrumentally motivated.
Hypothesis related to Research question 3. Female learners had a higher level of
motivation and effort to learn FLs than males, in particular in terms of integrative motivation – that is, this hypothesis was justified.
Research question 4. All the tested variables, that is the participants’ age, qualifications,
current field of employment, degree of English language learning support from their workplace, residence, present level of English knowledge and the desired ultimate level of English knowledge were determining factors regarding learners’ motivation, the frequency and type of intercultural encounters and stereotypes about the target countries and their speakers.
Research question 5. Integrativity had the most frequent significant relationships with
the other dimensions as it correlated with Contact through Cultural Products, Contact in the Private Sphere, Written/Electronic Communication and Information from Others.
Research Question 6. The ten structural equation models presented in this dissertation
revealed a unidirectonal relationship among the dimensions of the linguistic self- confidence, intercultural contact, attitude and learners’ behaviour continuum.
Hypothesis 1 related to Research question 6. Models could be set up on the MAIN
QUEST data, which fitted Theoretical model 1 (Figure 1). Therefore, this hypothesis was justified.
Theoretical Model 1
The relationship of learners’ motivation, intercultural contact, attitudes and behaviour
Figure 1. The schematic representation of the theoretical model tested via structural equation modelling. The model has been created based on the theoretical frameworks of Clément, Dörnyei and Noels (1994), Csizér and Dörnyei (2005) and Gardner, Tremblay and Masgoret (1997).
The related MAIN QUEST items are presented in italics.
Learners’
Motivation - Integrativeness - Instrumentality - Vitality - Linguistic Self- Confidence - Language- Related Anxiety
Intercultural Contact - Contact in the Private Sphere -Written/Electronic Communication - Information from Others - Contact through Cultural Products - Use of English at Work
változó
Attitudes - Affective - Attitude England/USA /Australia - Cognitive Attitude - England/USA /Australia - Action Attitude England/US /Australia
Learner Behaviour - Effort - Persistence
Hypothesis 2 related to Research question 6. Models could be set up on the MAIN
QUEST data, which fitted Theoretical model 2 (Figure 2) – that is, this hypothesis was justified.
Theoretical Model 2
The relationship of learners’ motivation, intercultural contact, attitudes and behaviour
Figure 2. The schematic representation of the theoretical model tested via structural equation modelling. The model has been created based on the theoretical framework of Kormos and Csizér, 2005.
The related MAIN QUEST items are presented in italics.
6. Conclusions 6.1 Principal Findings
Various forms of direct and indirect intercultural contact affected adult Hungarians’ motivation for learning English diversely.
Learners’
Motivation - Integrativeness - Instrumentality - Vitality - Linguistic Self- Confidence - Language- Related Anxiety
Intercultural Contact - Contact in the Private Sphere -Written/Electronic Communication - Information from Others - Contact through -Cultural Products - Use of English at Work
változó
Attitudes - Affective - Attitude England/USA /Australia - Cognitive Attitude - England/USA /Australia - Action Attitude England/US /Australia
Motivated Learning Behaviour - Effort - Persistence
Various forms of direct and indirect encounters with English speakers and English speaking cultures had a more substantial impact on the adult Hungarians English communicative competence rather than on their English language learning motivation.
Various forms of contact through English-speaking cultural products had the most substantial effect both on integratively and instrumentally motivated Hungarian adult learners of English.
Adult female learners of English demonstrated consistent integrative motivation towards learning the English language while Hungarian adult males were consistently instrumentally motivated to improve their English.
Adult Hungarian learners of English perceived that the vitality of England and the USA were fairly influential.
The Gardnerian definition for integrativeness needed certain modification regarding Hungarian adults since the fact that they want to improve their English could be interpreted as an inner drive, as a means of self-fulfilment in part.
However, at the same time this element of self-completion could be accompanied by the instrumental use of English as the lingua franca in various contexts.
There was a unidirectional relationship between learners’ motivation, various forms of intercultural contact, affective attitude towards the target cultures (mainly England and the USA) and learners’ behaviour when learning English.
There was an indirect relationship between the English linguistic self-confidence of adult Hungarians learners of English and their motivated learning behaviour.
For adult Hungarians the need to use English at work was a motivation force only to a very small extent.
6.2 The Strengths and Limitations of this Doctoral Research
During the data procession there were some missing cases, which further reduced the amount of data and increased the chance for sampling error. The present dissertation does not contain any qualitative follow-up study. However, it must be mentioned, that qualitative data has been collected via two sets of semi-structured interviews. The first set of six interviews focused on out-class intercultural contact to further explore how Hungarian adults’ motivation for English was affected by various forms of out-class intercultural encounters while the second series of six interviews investigated the effects of the participants’ in-class intercultural contact on their motivated learning behaviour.
6.3 Future Extension of the Research
I aim to submit the previously mentioned qualitative follow-up studies for publication as journal articles. I am also planning to carry out a quantitative large scale MAIN QUEST study to focus on the in-class intercultural contact of Hungarian adults learning English at accredited private language schools in Hungary. Second, a fine-tuned mixed designs investigation into the reasons for the rare use of English at work in the Hungarian context is worth further empirical research.
6.4 Pedagogical Implications
The findings of my dissertation suggests that teachers can design and rely on tasks that focus on English and American cultural products (realia) and on learners’ perceptions of the vitality of the USA and England taking into consideration various learners’
characteristics especially their ages and occupations. These tasks can be integrated into
course-book syllabuses as supplementary tasks or whole courses and syllabuses can be designed based on authentic cultural products of the target cultures taking into consideration learners’ individual needs and levels of English knowledge. Lesson plans can be designed built upon traditional cultural products or upon electronic ones, of which the latter can further enhance learners’ motivation to learn English, especially for learners in their 20s. Based on various findings of the present doctoral research it can be asserted that specially designed tasks integrated into in-class and out-class learner activities can have beneficial effects on the English language learning motivation and the communicative competence of Hungarian adults.
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