Multiple studies conducted over the past decade have suggested the motivational and proficiency-related benefits of commencing language instruction at an early age. Limitations in many of these studies, however, have prevented their results from being applied to the teaching of foreign languages in the United States. In response to calls for…

Studies have examined various factors that affect pronunciation including phonetic context, style variation, first language transfer, and experience abroad. A plethora of research has also linked motivation to higher levels of proficiency in the second language. The present study uses native speaker ratings and multiple regression analysis to…

Motivation plays an important role in foreign language learning. To investigate factors that influence motivation level, the researcher surveyed 102 students studying Japanese at the University of Washington and interviewed 10 of them. From their responses, the researcher identified four de/motivational factors: (1) teachers, (2) feedback, (3)…

Little research has been conducted in the United States to explore male motivation to learn Spanish. In response, we conducted a study to investigate gender differences in motivation to learn Spanish among students in a southeastern United States high school. Building upon Gardner's (1985) influential model of second language (L2) motivation, we…

This study investigates how motivation and interaction shape the speaking proficiency of study abroad (SA) and classroom or at home (AH) language learners. The author administered a motivation questionnaire, language contact profile, and pretest and posttest simulated oral proficiency interview. The data reveal that SA and AH students had similar…

This interpretive multiple case study examines the motivation to learn a second language among sixth grade students who attended a French immersion school for grades K-5. Parent surveys, student surveys based on Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery, and individual and group interviews with students were the data sources used to identify…

This study examines the motivations, attitudes, and goals of a Spanish for native speakers (SNS) class at a large Midwestern university over a semester, using questionnaires, student interviews, classroom observation, and instructor interviews as data sources. It presents results from four students who participated in the data collection, but…

Interviews with "Shin Nisei," new second-generation Japanese, university students reveal how strongly motivation influences persistence in taking Japanese courses and the intensity with which these students use Japanese outside the classroom. The discussion stresses problems facing Shin Nisei students in traditional college foreign-language…

This paper reports the findings of an investigation of university students' attitudes toward the study of literature and culture in a foreign language program. Discussion centers on why language students consistently rate the study of literature below other aspects of their language courses. (19 references) (JL)