Attitude/Motivation Test Battery Research Articles

The effect of motivation on self-efficacy of English department students with mediational effects of learning styles and learning strategies

This study aims to investigate the effect of motivation on self-efficacy among English department students with the mediating roles of learning styles and learning strategies. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire has been adopted from the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB), the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) Version 7.0, the Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) and the Academic Self-Efficacy Scales were employed, and 109 students(N=109) took part in the current study. The sampling procedure adopted is voluntary sampling. The questionnaire showed excellent alpha Cronbach's reliability and KMO validity. The regression and mediation analysis conducted on the collected data show a statistically significant positive impact of motivation on self-efficacy through a meditation of learning styles and learning strategies. Therefore, it is highly recommended for students, teachers, and administrators to focus on motivation to increase self-efficacy.

Academic achievement, creativity, multiple intelligences, and motivation in Iranian medical students

Exploring the relationship between academic achievement, creativity, multiple intelligences, and motivation among Iranian medical students can provide valuable insights into their educational experiences and inform the development of effective strategies to enhance learning outcomes. This study investigated the relationship among Iranian medical students through a correlational-descriptive design. Participants included all 200 BA-level students of Islamic Azad University, Iran. The Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) in Persian, the Torrance Creative Thinking Test (TCTT) in Persian, and Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Questionnaire in Persian were used to collect data. The university archived their grade point averages (GPAs) to determine students' academic progress. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov Goodness-of-Fit Test, descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation tests, and independent samples t-tests were used to examine the acquired data. The data analysis revealed a significant correlation between Iranian EFL learners' creativity, multiple intelligences, motivation, and academic success; creative learners outperformed non-creative learners in terms of academic achievement; extrinsic learners outperformed intrinsic learners in terms of academic achievement; the highest academic achievement was associated with the interpersonal intelligence profile, while the lowest academic achievement was associated with the intrinsic intelligence profile. The findings may provide insight to stakeholders in the field, such as curriculum planners, tutors, and policymakers, regarding the relationship between creativity, multiple intelligences, motivation, and academic achievement, as well as the importance of factoring this relationship into ELT program design.

Exploring instrumental and integrative motivation in ESL learners of primary schools in Abu Dhabi, UAE

ESL learners are often motivated to learn English as a second language either through integrative or instrumental motivation. The purpose of this paper was to explore the type of motivation (instrumental or integrative) that impacted English language learning as well as the factors that impacted learners’ motivation. The qualitative method was adopted to conduct this research at a private school in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 12 students aged eight to 10 years old backed up by naturalistic observations. The questions of the interviews used Gardner’s Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). SPSS software was used to analyze the collected data. The main findings showed that students were highly motivated to learn English as a second language. Students’ sense of responsibility and student-teacher relationships played the most crucial role in impacting students’ motivation. The study identified its limitations and implications for future research and recommended to study the effect of technology integration on the level of motivation.

PUBLIC SPEAKING ANXIETY AMONG JORDANIAN EFL LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

ABSTRACT The current study seeks to determine the association between attitude and public speaking anxiety in the context of learning English by using a correlational research approach. A non-probability sampling approach was utilised to recruit the participants. Among four government universities in Malaysia, 191 Jordanian postgraduate students (PhD candidates) were chosen. The following two surveys were used to gather the data: (a) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS); and (b) Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). A correlational analysis was performed using Smart PLS 3.0 to test the hypotheses. The results show that attitude is substantially associated with English public speaking anxiety. It appears that among PhD students in Jordan, there is a strong negative association between attitude and public speaking anxiety in English. The findings have potential implications on language motivation and classroom instruction in foreign language settings.

The Correlation Between English Learners’ Motivation and Speaking Achievement

This research aims to determine the correlation between English learners’ motivation and speaking achievement due to the lack of student motivation, particularly in speaking skills that affect the speaking score. The samples of this study were 19 students taken from the second semester of the English Department at the Muslim University of Maros. The method used was mixed methods with correlational technique. Quantitative data was collected by distributing questionnaires to students using Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) indicators and the speaking scores taken from the speaking lecturer. Then, qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews. In analyzing quantitative data, questionnaires assessed by Likert Scale and speaking scores were analyzed using SPSS, while the qualitative data used Miles and Huberman analysis. The quantitative data results indicate a correlation between the motivation of English learners and speaking achievement, with a score of 0.672. It is considered that the higher the motivation in learning speaking, the better the speaking achievement the students achieve. Students with high motivation will try to follow the learning process intensively compared to those with less motivation. Furthermore, students' extrinsic and intrinsic motivation were analyzed by looking at the AMTB’s Gardner and the results of the interview as well. The data results indicated that students show extrinsic motivation more than intrinsic motivation in their speaking achievement.

Language Learning Motivations among Turkish Learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language: A Survey of Five Universities in Turkey.

Research on language learning motivations has been extensive. However, research on learners' motivations for learning Chinese has been underexplored compared to that for learning English. The current study aimed to investigate the motivations among 256 Turkish learners of Chinese as foreign language (CFL) who studied at five universities in Turkey. Participants completed an adapted questionnaire based on Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). A series of statistical analysis revealed three major findings. First, integrativeness, attitudes towards learning situation and attitudes towards learning Chinese were identified as the three most important motivational variables, followed by instrumentality, and parental encouragement. Language anxiety and passive motivation seemed to play a weaker role in Turkish CFL learners' motivations for learning Chinese at the tertiary level. Second, the results also show that females exhibited higher motivation to learn the target language compared to their male peers. Third, the choice of major among CFL learners appeared to influence their language learning motivations, with a notable distinction between Chinese majors and non-Chinese majors in five motivational variables: integrativeness attitudes towards the learning situation, language anxiety, parental encouragement, and passive motivation.

Role of Motivation in English Language Learning: An Evaluation of the Correlation Between Student Motivation and Proficiency in English

This study investigates the relationship between student motivation and English language proficiency among high school students. Drawing upon seminal and contemporary models of motivation, including Gardner's Socio-Educational Model, Dörnyei’s Process-Oriented Model and L2 Motivational Self System, as well as the Dynamic Systems Theory, this study underscores the role of motivation in language learning. A total of 450 students aged 16 to 18 completed a modified version of the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) and their English proficiency was assessed using the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The results indicated a strong positive correlation between motivation and English proficiency (r = .68, p < .001), substantiating the claim that high levels of motivation can contribute to improved language proficiency. This study reinforces the importance of fostering motivation in English language teaching and offers valuable insights for educators and researchers in the context of a rapidly evolving language learning landscape.

The Influence of Extralinguistic Factor on Bahasa Melayu Achievement among Chinese Learners in Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Chung Hwa, Besut, Terengganu

The research that the researcher intends to perform in extralinguistic study is by looking at the achievement of Malay language (BM) in Chinese school (SJKC) has been conducted in many researchers. However, the study of the most dominant factor of motivational, whether intrinsic or extrinsic that affects the achievement of BM among Chinese students in SJKC is still lacking. In this regard, this study outlines the extralinguistic factors in the achievement of BM among Chinese students at SJKC Chung Hwa, Besut, Terengganu. The purpose of this study is to identify the extralinguistic factors that are the most dominant motivation, whether intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation that affects the achievement of BM Chinese students. The theory used is Gardner's Theory (2005) which explains that the ability and motivation are two important factors that are related to the excellent achievement of the second language in the school. This research uses the Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) questionnaire by Gardner 2005 which has been adapted to the objectives of this study. Data analysis is done qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitative is through observation in the classroom and interviews with teachers that teach BM. Quantitative result is use to find percentage of data obtained through the questionnaire filled by respondents. This study was conducted on primary schools in Jerteh city. Respondents of the study are 40 students of 9 years olds from SJKC Chung Hwa. The findings showed that respondents were more motivated to be extrinsic than intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is an instrumental factor such as expecting rewards in the form of gifts, praise, grading and so on that has caused respondents to be interested in mastering BM as second language. The results of the study are expected to provide a comprehensive picture of the importance of motivation towards the mastery of the BM especially for non-Malay students to better understand and love BM as their second language and to make teaching and learning more fun and innovative.

Journal of Research, Policy & Practice of Teachers & Teacher Education

The shift from face-to-face to distance learning has challenged English Language teaching and learning. The present study aims to determine the ESL students’ affective filter level and the varied language learning strategies they employed to aid their learning in English online classes. The descriptive-quantitative research design was employed in this study since it used the mean percentage and the mode of the data gathered. The researchers employed a total remuneration sampling technique to select 48 respondents of the study and utilized two research instruments: Modified Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) and Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) version 7.0. As a result, it was found that ESL students have a low affective filter in English online classes. However, students were able to come up with their language learning strategies as ways of enhancing their language competence. Therefore, teachers may provide suitable learning activities in online classes, and students need to enhance their usage of language learning strategies to facilitate their learning. Parents may also support and encourage their children's goals to learn the English language.

Cultura local y aprendizaje de la lengua: su impacto en la motivación de la producción verbal en el aula secundaria de inglés

Given the relation between language and culture, the incorporation of local culture topics in the EFL classroom can serve as a means of fostering greater comfort among students when speaking in public. Therefore, the present study aimed to provide a closer look at EFL learners’ speaking performance by introducing local culture topics to speaking assignments in class. This paper reports the findings of a mixed methods study on the effect of local culture topics on speaking skills and motivation of a group of students at a high school in Cuenca, Ecuador. Quantitative data was collected through a pre-test and post-test based on the Attitude Motivation Test Battery (Gardner, 1985). Qualitative data was gathered through speaking rubrics, class observations, student questionnaires and teacher interviews to gauge students’ level of comfort during speaking activities and their perceptions on the incorporation of local culture as a focal point. While the quantitative results showed no statistical differences between the students’ pre and post motivation scores, classroom observations showed increases in their oral production and appreciation for local culture topics. Further research with a longer period of intervention time is recommended.

MOTIVATION OF PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS TO LEARN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES

The problem of motivation in foreign language learning has always been of great importance. Researchers agree on the non-static, dynamic nature of motivation, investigate the role of the motivational context, and recognize the fact that some aspects of motivation are not internal but are externally determined by the learner’s sociocultural environment. The study aims to investigate the prevalent type of motivation among pre-service English teachers in challenging circumstances. The analysis of motivation sources and ways to protect and maintain motivation to learn English as a foreign language in challenging circumstances constitutes the novelty of the study. 60 fourth-year students (57 females and 3 males) participated in the investigation. The questionnaire adapted from Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) has been used as a tool to collect quantitative data. The results reveal that the level of motivation is high with a prevalence of instrumental motivation. Qualitative data have been obtained from interviewing students. During the interviews, the students identified the sources of their motivation, critically evaluated their learning situation, and described their learning circumstances as challenging. The study suggests pedagogical implications in line with positive psychology recommendations and the latest research on the protection and maintenance of а motivation to learn English as a foreign language in challenging circumstances. The implications for teachers include developing motivational strategies, maintaining engagement, providing role models, using technology.

Students’ Anxiety and Motivation to Speak English at Islamic Boarding School

Background: 
 This study was conducted to find out the correlations and influences of students’ anxiety and motivation to students’ speaking English achievement.
 Methodology: 
 One hundred and thirteen students Islamic Boarding School of Nabil Husein Samarinda participated in this study. A stratified random sampling technique was used in this study. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCAS) and Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) were used as instruments. Multiple Regression and Path Analysis were used as data analysis techniques to analyze the data.
 Findings:
 80.4% of students’ anxiety influenced to students’ speaking English Achievement. The next finding showed that students’ anxiety correlated to students’ motivation at 94.7%. It indicated a strong correlation where the degree of correlation at 0.897. As well the students’ motivation also affected students’ speaking English achievement on the degree at 79.9%. The last finding showed that students’ speaking English was affected by students’ anxiety and motivation simultaneously.
 Conclusion: 
 This article explains how the students’ anxiety and motivation influence speaking English achievement.
 Originality: 
 This research was conducted to find out the correlations and the influences of students’ anxiety, and students’ motivation to students’ speaking English achievement.

Enhancing Oral Skills and Motivation Through Role-Playing Activities in Medical Students

<p style="text-align: justify;">Nowadays, Peruvian physicians commonly give oral medical reports to a patient´s family in English. For this reason, this research seeks to demonstrate the effectiveness of an Intervention Program for improving oral skills through role-playing activities, one hand, and, on the other, it aims to discover the kind of motivation, both goals in 40 students belonging to the Medicine Faculty of Universidad Nacional de Piura. This study has two parts, in the first quantitative phase, it measured the level of oral skills in these students, through an oral pre-test. After that, the students participated in an intervention program consisting of role-playing activities where the doctors usually use radiography to explain a medical condition. Then, the students were evaluated on their oral skills using an imaginary hospital situation similar to the pre-test. In the second part, the qualitative phase measured the Motivation of these students using the Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) in addition, a semi-structured interview could support the findings obtained in the aforementioned survey. The main findings were the improvement of oral skills and both Integrative and instrumental motivation in these students thanks to role-playing activities application.</p>

The Cultural Aspect of Learning Environment in Foreign Languages as a Means of Empowering Social and Integrative Attitudes

Due to a rising demand for social and integrative interaction among nations, the cultural and educative role of foreign language learning compatible to a sustainable pedagogy learning environment is a priority to be investigated, especially in countries which are heading toward European integration, like Albania is. This paper addresses the enhancement of formal education curriculum with focus at foreign language in order to meet the needs of learning environment by employing an interactive pedagogy methodology. The instrument used in this research is the Socio-Educative Model, Gardner R.C. (2001) which measures the intensity of the impact that cultural and educative constructs have in students` social and integrative attitudes. On national basis, by a random selection technique the Socio-educative Model presented by Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) was conducted on a sample size of N=1500. The Likert scale of assessment at a range from (1-6) with code (1) indicating absolute disagreement and (6) absolute agreement to the test statements, was used for the instrument and the results of the data gathered indicated that: English learners have moderate positive attitudes toward foreigners speaking English; the language is marked as a high priority when integration is concerned, and they expressed a very strong interest to learn the English language. Overall, the cultural aspect of learning environment reflects the students` social and integrative attitudes to learning English as a foreign language.

Instruction Type, Motivation, and Transferability in L1- Arabic and L2-French Speakers’ L3-English Cognates Pronunciation

This study investigated the extent to which explicit and implicit instruction improve L1-Arabic speakers’ articulation of English words whose cognates were acquired earlier in their L2 French. Sixty-eight secondary school students, explicit (n=35) and implicit (n=33), participated in a programme incorporating focus-on-pronunciation activities, comprising three 45-minute sessions. Their learning motivation was first rated using an adapted version of Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). Their pronunciation improvement was assessed through an oral-reading task. Ten new words were included in the post-test to see if they would generalize the instructed knowledge analogically. Results indicated that both explicit and implicit instruction had a positive impact on the students’ pronunciation advancement. However, the explicit group outperformed the implicit group with both the targeted and untaught words. There was insignificant interaction effect between instructional method and students’ motivation level, with higher motivation uniformly enhancing the effect of instruction. Nevertheless, motivation played a more crucial role in the learnt knowledge transferability when instruction was of implicit.

Motivational Factors Affecting Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Learners’ Learning of English Across Differing Levels of Language Proficiency

The present study aimed at investigating the motivational factors affecting Iranian learners’ learning of English as a Foreign Language across differing levels of language proficiency. To this end, 110 males and 70 females with an age range of 18–31 took part in the study and a mixed-methods approach was adopted. First, the researchers administered Oxford Placement Test (OPT) to determine the proficiency level of the participants and placed them into three levels of language proficiency. Elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Next, as for the quantitative part of the study, the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMBT) questionnaire was distributed among all the participants to delve into the motivational factors. Finally, a semi-structured interview was conducted to qualitatively probe into EFL learners’ motivational factors affecting their learning of English. It was found that the motivational factors which encouraged EFL learners resulted from either intrinsic or extrinsic tendencies. The recognized intrinsically-based motivational factors were personal enjoyment, social prestige, and being challenged. The extrinsically-oriented factors as the source of motivation to learn English were getting a job, pursuing education, earning more money, traveling to foreign countries, pursuing academic careers, making efficient use of technology, and effectively interacting with native speakers. It was concluded that beginner and intermediate English language learners tended to learn English more based on extrinsic factors whereas advanced learners were found to be more intrinsically motivated.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING MOTIVATION OF THAI STUDENTS OF LANTARATPRACHAUTIT SCHOOL

Various factors influence students' motivation to learn a foreign language. As a country that has never been invaded by other countries and in which Thai is the official language and English is the only foreign language taught in schools, the study of students' motivation to learn English is worthwhile researching. The goal of this study was to find out what motivated students to learn English and how that desire manifested in classroom activities. Qualitative case study was employed in this study. Three data gathering procedures were used to acquire data i.e. questionnaire, observation, and semi-structured interview. To determine their motivation, 17 fifth-grade pupils at Lantaratprachautit School in Thailand were recruited to fill out a closed-ended questionnaire which was adapted from Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). Three students with varying levels of motivation were observed in order to determine how motivation was reflected in the English classroom. In addition, to triangulate the data in this study, a semi-structured interview was undertaken. The majority of the participants were assessed as having poor motivation, which was consistent with their classroom engagement. Finally, students' interest and participation in classroom activities in the English teaching-learning process represented their motivation in English language learning.

The Impact of Cooperative Learning on EFL Achievers’ and Underachievers’ Motivation Based on Marginal Utility

This study explores the change of EFL learners' motivation in learning English with the increase of CL time based on marginal utility. Thirty learners from an intact class in Grade 10 were selected through their performance on a piloted sample Preliminary English Test. Learners were assigned to achievers and underachievers groups. The questionnaire of motivation, based on the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB), was given to both groups as a pretest. All participants underwent the same amount of teaching time and same material with the same teacher during seven-week CL, 35 sessions taking 45 minutes each. The same questionnaire was administered again at the end of one week, three-week, five-week and seven-week treatments respectively to both groups and their scores on the questionnaires were compared through an analysis of Paired Samples t-test and ANOVA. The findings showed that after one week CL, both the achievers’ and underachievers’ motivations were significantly improved compared with those in pretest; after three-week CL, the underachievers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and achievers’ extrinsic motivation declined significantly compared with those of Week One, while the latter’s intrinsic motivation has no significant change; after five-week CL, underachievers’ motivation didn’t change significantly compared with their motivation in the pretest, which means that the marginal utility took place in underachievers’ motivation during three-week to five-week CL; after seven-week CL, the achievers’ motivation increased significantly compared with their motivation in the pretest, indicating there was no marginal utility for achievers’ motivation during seven-week CL.

GENDER-BASED DIFFERENCES IN MASTERING ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS

This study aims to find out gender-based differences in mastering English language skills between male and female students in single-sex schooling. There were 330 participants from first and second-year students of Darul Ihsan Islamic Senior High School involved. Direct learning strategies (memory, cognitive, and compensation strategy) along with attitude, motivation, and anxiety are variables analyzed in this study. A questionnaire from the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) and Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) were adapted to collect the data. The data were analyzed by using Mann Whitney-U Test. The findings from the partial test show there was a significant difference between male and female students in attitude, motivation, anxiety, memory strategy, and cognitive strategy. Only compensation strategy and the simultaneous test of the variables were found to have no statistically significant difference between male and female students. The finding of the English subject score showed that female students outperform male students. It also found that male students have a higher level of anxiety than female students. Therefore, it is suggested that teachers should try to adjust the teaching and learning in male classes so that hopefully the learning circumstance will reduce the anxiety of male students.

Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes Towards Learning English in Rural University Branches in KSA: A Case Study of Al-Kamil's Branch

The present study was conducted to assess and investigate the attitudes of the Preparatory Year students towards leaning English at rural branch of the University of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The author endeavours to examine and measure the University students’ opinions and perceptions regarding the importance of Learning English. He also attempts to explore the areas of difficulties in foreign language Learning within the rural context of AlKamil College of Sciences and Arts (Makkah, Saudi Arabia). 75 randomly selected students (40 male and 35 female) participated in this study project. In this study, the researcher opted for a mixed research method. For quantitative data collection a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was adapted from Gardner’s ‘Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) along with a silent interview for a qualitative data collection in order to assess the participants’ attitudes and perceptions regarding learning English. Overall, the results reveal that students in rural university branches in Saudi Arabia hold positive attitudes towards learning English and they are constantly attempting to improve their language proficiency. This study also explores the different obstacles impeding the students’ sought progress in language learning along with the possible solutions that may enable them to use and practise English in a more spontaneous way.