Reviews research conducted on adult populations dealing with correlates or predictors of proficiency in a second language. Four classes of individual difference variables are considered, including (1) attitudes and motivation; (2) language aptitude and intelligence; (3) language learning strategies; and (4) personality variables. (83 references)…

Conceptualizations of self-directed learning have emphasized the social characteristics of learner isolation or social autonomy, neglecting the importance of pedagogical and psychological factors. However, psychological self-directedness or psychological control is the necessary and sufficient cause for self-directed learning and best…

Examines the role of cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational skills in problem solving. Cognitive skills include instructional objectives, components in a learning hierarchy, and information-processing components. Metacognitive skills include strategies for reading comprehension, writing, and mathematics. Motivational skills include motivation…

States that faculty often attribute developmental students' academic difficulties to poor motivation. Investigates motivational differences between 60 developmental students and 74 regular-admission students enrolled in either a community college or a residential university. Results of t-test on motivational levels measured by the self-report…

Reviews the research on nontraditional (adult) college students. Discusses the recent growth of this student population, adult student characteristics and life situations, learning motivation and achievement of adult students, adult students' preferences in the classroom, and principles of andragogy. Contains 61 references. (SV)

Cooperative learning improves students' learning motivation in a diverse college student population by creating a favorable disposition toward the learning experience through personal relevance and choice; creating an understanding that learners are effective in learning something they value; and creating challenging, thoughtful learning…

Reviews and synthesizes a number of motivational models, issues, and strategies, showing their interrelationship, relevance to higher education, and strongly similar conceptual themes and terminology. The models' consistency suggests that inclusion in a coherent community raises awareness and enhances positive attitudes; what emerges is a…

Identifies guidelines from the literature relating to screen design and design of interactive instructional materials. Describes two types of guidelines--those aimed at enhancing motivation and those aimed at preventing loss of motivation--for typography, graphics, color, and animation and audio. Proposes a framework for considering motivation in…

Examines the relationships among goal orientations, the use of cognitive strategies, and academic achievement for 234 undergraduate students at the United Arab Emirates University. Finds that performance-goal orientation had a negative effect on grade-point average (GPA), whereas learning-goal orientation had a positive effect mediated by…

Focus groups of six instructors and 21 physical-therapy students examined separately clinical and classroom experience. Results revealed (1) a mismatch between student and faculty expectations; (2) student preference for passive learning; (3) concern about teacher/student relationships; (4) student anxiety about career expectations; and (5)…

Investigates the attitudes of Brazilian English-as-a-foreign-language learners toward the target language. The focus is on their perception of the importance of English as a language for international communication, the role of English within Brazil, and the learners' expectations of time and energy to be consumed in the learning of the language.…

Uses a cognitive motivation approach to view students' learning on Web-based instruction (WBI). Introduces the new CANE Model as a means for diagnosing motivation problems. Presents one WBI class at a teacher education institution in Taiwan as a case study to illustrate the process of how to diagnose motivation problems and find appropriate…

Discusses the articulation between teaching and learning, how to differentiate them, and how to establish relations between them as it pertains to aspects of knowledge. Aims to develop teaching situations more relevant to learning. Teaching is associated with knowledge to be taught, knowledge sequencing, and teaching situations. Learning is…

Proposes that the confluence of stimulus appraisal and social cognition that is effected by the neural system in the brain has important implications for language and learning theories. Describes the anatomy and functions of this neural system and discusses how it may operate in motivation for second language acquisition and how in conjunction…

Integrative motivation was found to correlate significantly with American Sign Language (ASL) proficiency for 115 hearing faculty and staff at a postsecondary program for deaf students. Instrumental motives, however, were perceived as less important. Higher achievement in ASL was also associated with a positive cultural attitude toward deaf…