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Publication info: IRAL, International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching ; Heidelberg 40.2
(2002): 89-116.
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Abstract
Building on the motivation in language learning discussion of recent years (e.g., Gardner 1985; Drnyei 1994;
Gardner et al. 1997), long-term empirical research investigating motivation in pronunciation learning has been
undertaken at the English Department, Vienna University (e.g., Dalton et al. 1997; Smit and Dalton 1997, 2000).
In its final stage, the focus has turned to the interaction of the variously attested motivational factors and
achievement in advanced EFL pronunciation learning. This article first provides a description of the motivation
test administered to 141 respondents in 1997/98, and the kinds of motivational factors those students of English
have revealed. Then the factors are investigated with regard to their interaction with the students' achievements
in the obligatory pronunciation module. The results show that learning success is related to the module-
independent factors of students' level of proficiency before the module and their individual readiness to work on
and change their pronunciation.
1. Introduction
Despite disagreement about the aims of pronunciation learning in ESL and EFL contexts (e.g., Jenkins 1998a,
1998b), its relevance as an integral part in mastering a foreign language seems to go unquestioned. Similarly,
while the role motivation plays in language learning might be open to discussion, its integral status in the
learning process is generally accepted (e.g., Drnyei 1994; Elliott 1995; Gardner et al. 1997). When considering
the two aspects in combination, i.e., motivation in pronunciation learning, the degree of ambivalence seems to
be enhanced and even more difficult to investigate. The small number of previous studies have come up with
fairly contradictory claims, placing motivation either at the centre of pronunciation learning as such (e.g., Elliott
1995; Moyer 1999) or marginalizing it as impossible to measure (e.g., Coates 1986). At the same time, this
extremely ambivalent, not to say contradictory, status of motivation in pronunciation learning stands in stark
contrast to the general relevance attached to students' motivation. For that reason, a considerable part of the
long-term research project focusing on the pronunciation classes at the English Department of the University of
Vienna (e.g., Dalton et al. 2000) has concentrated on the relevance of motivation (e.g., Smit and Dalton 1997).
As reported in IRAL 38, a preliminary motivation in pronunciation construct was established, based on an initial
study (Smit and Dalton 2000). As this study did not include students' success in the pronunciation module, it
has been deemed necessary to undertake further research.
The aim of this article, then, is to shed empirical light on the hitherto tacitly accepted hypothesis that the
students' achievement in the pronunciation module is positively influenced by the factors of the motivation in
pronunciation construct. In order to test this hypothesis, the original motivational test was administered again in
an adapted version. After a brief discussion of the construct (see Section 2) and the study (see Section 3), I will
present the study results, focusing on the motivational factors (see Section 4.1 and Section 4.2) and their
interaction with the students' achievements in the pronunciation module (see Section 4.3),1 which will give rise
to discussions of the theoretical construct itself, and the relevance of our students' motivation in pronunciation
achievements (see Section 5).
2. The motivation construct
__ (1996). Moving language learning motivation to a larger platform for theory and practice. In Language
Learning Motivation: Pathways to the New Century, Rebecca Oxford (ed.), 71-80. Hawaii: Second Language
Teaching and Curriculum Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Ehrman, Madeleine E. (1996). An exploration of adult language learner motivation, self-efficacy, and anxiety. In
Language Learning Motivation: Pathways to the New Century, Rebecca Oxford (ed.), 81-104. Hawaii: Second
Language Teaching and Curriculum Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Elliott, Aaron R. (1995). Field independence/dependence, hemispheric specialisation, and attitude in relation to
pronunciation accuracy in Spanish as a foreign language. Modern Language Journal 79: 356-371.
Gardner, Robert C. (1985). Social Psychology and Second Language Learning. The Role of Attitudes and
Publication title: IRAL, International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching; Heidelberg
Volume: 40
Issue: 2
Pages: 89-116
Number of pages: 28
ISSN: 0019042X
CODEN: IRALA4
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