The Language Learning Motivation of Early Adolescent French and Spanish Elementary ...

359 Pages·2009·4.26 MB·English

by  Pam Wesely

The Language Learning Motivation
of Early Adolescent French and Spanish Elementary Immersion Program Graduates

A DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
BY

Pamela Mary Wesely

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Diane J. Tedick, Adviser

June, 2009
© Pamela Mary Wesely, June 2009
i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“Behind the mountain…more mountains” – Haitian proverb

One of my graduate school friends & colleagues said this to me after I finished
my defense. And it is true – going through conceptualizing, writing, and defending a
dissertation is a lot like a series of mountains, where each mountain seems like it must be
the mountain, until you get over it, and you can see the rest of the mountains behind it.
So I would like to use this space to thank the people who helped me get over the
mountains on the way to this document. Sometimes these people were holding the lines
or pointing out the handholds that would keep me moving upwards, sometimes they were
helping me to enjoy the climb, and sometimes, maybe the best of times, they were
encouraging me to look around at the view, and to realize that climbing a mountain can
be pretty exhilarating.

First here, I have to thank Diane J. Tedick, my advisor. Dee got me involved in
my graduate program nine years ago, when I took a class with her as a non-degree
student. I’m pretty sure that I would not be typing this if I had not had her as my first
professor at the University of Minnesota. Her rigorous encouragement from beginning to
end has given me structure and inspiration. She was never afraid to push me or to praise
me, and both aspects of that have been vital to my success in this program. Thank you,
Dee. I look forward to a long friendship as colleagues in the field.

I would also like to thank the members of my dissertation committee: Tara
Fortune, who never failed to give me careful and incisive advice about immersion
education and its stakeholders; Martha Bigelow, who mentored me through one of my
first research projects and my first work with student teachers; and Pat Avery, who
introduced me to social science research methodology. Other professors and mentors in
the University of Minnesota community like Susan Ranney, Connie Walker, Kimerly
Miller, and Michael Harwell have given their time and input freely, and for that I thank
them, too. My friends and colleagues in the Center for Advanced Research on Language
Acquisition (CARLA) have supported my work from the start. Kentaro Kato and the
Office of Research Consultation helped me with my statistics questions. The members of
the research seminar in 2006-2007 provided important critiques and asked me tough
questions as I crafted the pilot study for this dissertation. Thank you.

The Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship 2008-2009 and the Thesis Research Grant
awarded by the University of Minnesota’s Graduate School provided significant financial
support and important votes of confidence in my research.
ii

My participants, from district level administrators to individual students and
families, were of course key to the success of this study. I wish that I could thank them
all by name, but hopefully they know who they are. They have set a high standard for the
schools and individuals with whom I will conduct my research in the future; I can only
hope that I can find such helpful, cooperative, insightful individuals in other schools.

I also need to thank the people who have been holding my emotional lifelines
through this whole process. First of all, thank you to the mom support group in all of its
incarnations: Karla Stone, Magara Maeda, Candance Doerr-Stevens, Sachiko Horii, and
especially Kristi Liu. Thanks to Kristi again and Cassie Glynn, who helped me with
coding my interviews and were all too happy to talk with me about my data. Other
graduate student colleagues who have done everything from critique my surveys, to share
important readings, to simply remind me of the joys of research and scholarship,
especially: Letitia Basford, Diana Dudzik, Jill Flynn, Mary Lee Nichols, and all of my
officemates over the years in Peik 224.

I also want to thank my mom, Meridel Wesely, and dad, the late Marvin Wesely,
both of whom taught me to never, ever doubt my own intellect or capacity to work. I
miss my dad, and I wish he could have seen me accomplish this, but, as my daughter
says, he is in the sky and watching. My sister, in-laws, and other family members have
helped me to develop a faith in myself that has carried me through this process. They
have also given me both practical help and kind forgiveness because of the time that I
needed to spend on this work. Thank you. My friends outside of the University of
Minnesota, especially Elise Robinson, Anne Hendrickson, and the late Marki Talle, gave
me perspective and laughter in my journey. My colleagues at Breck School helped a
young teacher to identify the burning questions that she wanted answered about language
acquisition and her students. You gave me my start, and I thank you, too.

And finally, thank you thank you thank you to my husband, Matt Arnold, whose
generosity, love, and bravery have touched every page of this document. I wonder if I’ll
ever be able to repay you for the tremendous gifts that you have given me. Fiona and
Malcolm, you make life worth living. It’s going to be quite a journey together.
iii

DEDICATION

For my husband, Matt.
iv

ABSTRACT
This mixed methods study focuses on the transition between elementary and
middle/junior high school in one-way immersion programs in the United States.
Understanding more about this transition is important to creating immersion programs
that provide the maximum benefits to students, schools, and the community. An
exploration of students’ language learning motivation at this point of their education can
help with this understanding. The primary goal of this study is thus to investigate the L2
learning motivation of elementary immersion school graduates, with a particular focus on
issues vital to the unique context of immersion education.
Three hundred fifty-eight (358) students who had graduated from five public
elementary immersion schools in one metropolitan area were the target population. The
secondary target population was their parents. One hundred thirty-one (131) students and
their parents responded to surveys, and 33 students were interviewed. Data analysis
procedures included a theme analysis of the interview data, a statistical analysis of the
survey data, and an integrated consideration of the qualitative and quantitative findings.
Findings were organized around two topical frameworks in immersion education:
persistence and attrition in immersion programs, and developing cross-cultural
understanding in immersion students. This study found that the participating immersion
graduates’ decisions to persist in the immersion program were more based on peer
influence and their assessments of the school environment of the immersion continuation
program than any other factor. Additionally, students who demonstrated the most cross-
cultural understanding had experienced increased exposure to other cultures, languages,
v

and individuals outside of the immersion classroom. Other findings reflected the
respondents’ understandings of the nature of language and culture, their relationships
with their parents and teachers, and their many reasons and uses for learning a language.
The conclusion includes suggestions and implications for district-level
administrators, school administrators, and teachers in immersion programs.
vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS....................................................................................................i
DEDICATION....................................................................................................................iii
ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................vi
LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................xii
LIST OF FIGURES..........................................................................................................xiii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..................................................................................1
Background and Rationale.............................................................................................1
Why Learn a Language in the United States?..........................................................1
Why Immersion Language Programs? ....................................................................2
Why Language Learning Motivation? ....................................................................4
Significance of the Problem...........................................................................................5
Research Questions........................................................................................................7
Overview of Study.......................................................................................................10
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................13
Introduction..................................................................................................................13
Motivation....................................................................................................................13
The Socio-Educational Model...............................................................................16
Integrativeness and Integrative Orientation.....................................................18
Instrumentality and Instrumental Orientation..................................................21
Attitudes toward the Learning Situation..........................................................24
Attitudes toward Learning the Language.........................................................27
Language Anxiety............................................................................................30
vii

Home Background Characteristics..................................................................32
Critique and Conclusion..................................................................................34
Alternate Theories of L2 Learning Motivation......................................................36
Investment........................................................................................................36
L2 Motivational Self System...........................................................................41
Other Theories of L2 Learning Motivation.....................................................46
Theories of Motivation in Educational Psychology...............................................49
Attribution Theory...........................................................................................50
Self-Efficacy Theory........................................................................................52
Other Theories of Motivation from Educational Psychology..........................56
Immersion Education...................................................................................................57
Motivation Research in Immersion Contexts........................................................59
Does motivation relate to achievement in immersion programs?...................60
Are immersion students more motivated than non-immersion students?.......63
What is immersion student motivation like?...................................................65
Does motivation relate to persistence in immersion programs?......................68
Topical Frameworks for this Study........................................................................71
Persistence and Attrition in Immersion Programs...........................................72
Developing Cross-Cultural Understanding in Immersion Students................73
Conclusion...................................................................................................................77
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY..........................................................................78
The Mixed Methods Approach....................................................................................78
Definitions.............................................................................................................78
Debates...................................................................................................................82
The Mixed Methods Design and Philosophy of this Study...................................86
Schools: The Immersion Contexts...............................................................................90
Participants...................................................................................................................97
viii

Data Sources................................................................................................................99
Obtaining Access...................................................................................................99
Procedures for Initial Contact of Target Population............................................100
Parent Survey.......................................................................................................103
Student Survey.....................................................................................................104
Procedures for Identifying and Selecting Student Interviewees..........................106
Student Interviews...............................................................................................109
Data Analysis.............................................................................................................112
Phase One: Preliminary Data Analysis during Data Collection..........................112
Phase Two: Initial Data Analysis.........................................................................114
Initial Qualitative Analysis: Transcriptions and Initial Coding.....................114
Initial Quantitative Analysis: Statistical Analyses.........................................118
Phase Three: Second Iteration of Qualitative Theme Analysis...........................122
Phase Four: Exploration of Integrated Findings..................................................124
Phase Five: Mini Case Studies.............................................................................125
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: PERSISTENCE AND ATTRITION
IN IMMERSION PROGRAMS......................................................................................127

Introduction................................................................................................................127
Two Case Studies.......................................................................................................129
Case Study 1: Carlos............................................................................................129
Case Study 2: AnneMarie....................................................................................133
Discussion............................................................................................................137
Attitudes toward Learning the Language…in an Immersion Setting........................138
Survey Responses: Unexpected Attitudes, Revealing Trends.............................140
Defining Immersion Language Learning.............................................................143
Patterns of Thinking and Belief about Immersion Language Learning...............149
Conclusion...........................................................................................................151