Abstract
Motivation can determine success or failure in second language learning process, however there is a limited number of published investigations dedicated to motivational strategies in a European context. The purpose of the present study is to replicate Cheng’s and Dörnyei’s (2007) research to test the validity of their findings in a different cultural milieu. 101 foreign language (FL) and second language (L2) teachers were asked to rate a list of 47 motivational strategies according based on the degree of importance they perceived. In addition, they were also invited to specify how they acquainted with each strategy. The results of the study suggest that, even though the use of motivational strategies is decidedly context-dependent, the prevailing importance of some strategies might be cross-cultural. In particular, strategies related to classroom climate could also be considered as preconditions to employ further strategies. The highest-rated strategies are also indicated as acquired mostly through experience, which highlights the far too little attention that motivational strategies have so far received in education programmes for the formation of language teachers.
Highlights
Motivation is at the same time one of the most important and most fascinating aspect of psychology, in that it is a determining factor in establishing how and why individuals think and behave in a specific way.Within an educational context, the importance of motivation is often undervalued until teachers start noticing that students lack for it – which usually happens long after it has gone
In 1994, a debated started on the pages of The Modern Language Journal, in which the importance of providing teachers with effective motivational strategies was suggested as a valid method both to motivate students and “make L2 motivation research more ‘education-friendly’” (Dörnyei 1994a, 283), that is “congruent with the concept of motivation that teachers are convinced is critical for [second language] success” (Crookes, Schmidt 1991, 502, quoted in Dörnyei 1994a, 283)
The chief/main goal of the present study is to explore the perception of motivational strategies among Italian teachers
Summary
The importance of motivation is often undervalued until teachers start noticing that students lack for it – which usually happens long after it has gone. The turning point in the research can be located at the beginning of the nineties, when Crookes and Schmidt (1991) asked for the reopening of the research agenda to bring L2 motivation up to date and catch up on cognitive psychological concepts. In 1994, a debated started on the pages of The Modern Language Journal, in which the importance of providing teachers with effective motivational strategies was suggested as a valid method both to motivate students and “make L2 motivation research more ‘education-friendly’” (Dörnyei 1994a, 283), that is “congruent with the concept of motivation that teachers are convinced is critical for [second language] success” (Crookes, Schmidt 1991, 502, quoted in Dörnyei 1994a, 283)
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