The attitudes and motivation of children towards learning rarely spoken foreign languages: a case study from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the attitudes and motivations of two Saudi children learning Japanese as a foreign language (hence JFL), a language which is rarely spoken in the country. Studies regarding children’s motivation for learning foreign languages that are not widely spread in their contexts in informal settings are scarce. The aim of the study described in this article was to understand what had motivated two Saudi children to learn Japanese outside the school context and how they viewed themselves as ideal JFL speakers in the future. The investigation builds on Dörnyei’s [2005. The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum] theory of the L2 Motivational Self-System. Additionally, based on Mitra’s [2012. Beyond the Hole in the Wall: Discover the Power of Self-Organised Learning. TED] concept of Self-Organised Learning Environment, the children’s efforts to learn on their own by using digital resources were taken into consideration. The researcher’s observations and the children’s interviews and diaries have been employed in order to obtain in-depth understanding of their attitudes and motivation. Results revealed that the media had played a significant role in influencing the children’s decision to learn Japanese and that they were able to use various digital language resources to support their learning without receiving formal instructions. The study provides pedagogical implications for educational authorities and researchers.