Progress, Proficiency and Motivation among British University Language Learners. CLCS Occasional Paper No. 40.

Autor/in	Coleman, James A.
Institution	Trinity Coll., Dublin (Ireland). Centre for Language and Communication Studies.
Titel	Progress, Proficiency and Motivation among British University Language Learners. CLCS Occasional Paper No. 40.
Quelle	(1995), (42 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISSN	0332-3889
Schlagwörter	College Students; Demography; English (Second Language); Foreign Countries; French; German; Higher Education; Instructional Effectiveness; Language Proficiency; Language Tests; Russian; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Second Languages; Spanish; Student Characteristics; Student Motivation; Study Abroad; Surveys; Testing; Travel; United Kingdom (Great Britain) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Collegestudent; Demografie; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Ausland; Französisch; Deutscher; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Unterrichtserfolg; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Language test; Sprachtest; Russisch; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Second language; Zweitsprache; Spanisch; Schulische Motivation; Studies abroad; Auslandsstudium; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung; Testdurchführung; Testen; Travelling; Reisen; Reise
Abstract	A study of over 3,000 British college and university students investigated the relationship of student language proficiency and student demographic and background characteristics. Proficiency levels were assessed by means of C-Tests, while associated questionnaires sought to explore biographical data, language learning background, residence abroad, attitudes, motivations, strategies, and grammatical knowledge. Subjects were learners of French, German, Spanish, English, and Russian as a second language. The report begins by describing the results of a small-scale survey that indicated widespread ignorance, among university staff, of theoretical constructs underlying language testing. It then reports the divergent performances and progress rates across institutions and examines factors in college student motivation as it evolves during the college experience. Results of the study indicate: both similarities and dissimilarities among learners of different languages; a shift of emphasis in motivations between students in different years of study, with significant changes following residence abroad; major differences between United Kingdom students and their counterparts in Germany and Austria; motivation changes with age, but only marginal gender-based differences occur; and a slight but measurable relationship between integrative and/or resultative motivation and foreign language proficiency. (Contains 31 references.) (Author/MSE)
Anmerkungen	Centre for Language and Communication Studies, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC