Investigating external motivating factors in CALL settings Dr George S. Ypsilandis Dept. of Italian Studies Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

The Background: Introduction Vocational Education Polytechnics Technical Universities Vocational Education Vocational Schools Geography Vocational Schools Secondary Education Technical Universities Universities

The situation English language Problematic Lack of suitable material Mixed ability groups Vocational Schools clientele from secondary education Schools where French lang. English lang. Placement Test Beginners 5 hours per week Advanced 2 hours per week Beginners + Advanced for ESP Again mixed ability

The teaching method  Course book  Grammar oriented The problem Those students with HIGH interlanguage level thought they had nothing to learn Those students with LOW interlanguage level thought they could not learn Motivation was very low

Indicators of low Motivation Class attendance was low Willingness to participate in class activities was low Motivation is contagious … and so is lack of motivation

Motivation is increased by “unique combination of tutorial, interactive, and visual capabilities” Kenning & Kenning (1983:3) Low student motivation Neither instl nor integr Internal or external Any negative reactionwas attributed to technophobia of students or teachers Teacher motivation Computer Enthusiasts by increasing self confidence (Ahmad et al. 1985) “an innate attraction... (especially for teenage boys..)” Roberts (1981:121) Language as a subject of study and not as a medium Not giving ‘voice and identity’ Or ‘engage in future selves’ Teacher Reaction Employ engagement / pedagogical strategies to enhance motivation “there is no evidence whatever in the extensive research literature on the affective and motivational aspects of second language acquisition (see e.g. Gardner 1979; Heckhausen and Weiner 1972), to suggest that the computer - or any other extrinsic motivator - will have more than a very short-term effect in enthusing the jaded language learner” (Thomas1986:117). Scholfield, P.J. & Ypsilandis G.S. (1994) "Evaluating Computer Assisted Language Learning from the Learners΄ Point of View" in Graddol, D. and Swann, J. Evaluating Language Multilingual Matters LTD. pp

Traditional Use At a later stage 1 st Stage 2 nd Stage 1 st MC 1. Ind. 2. Group 2 nd SB 3. Ind. 4. Group 3 rd GF 5. Ind. 6 Group

The experiment: 3 stages 1 st Stage Vocabulary, Grammar, Cultural HyperTexted Material Practice: Testing Software 2 nd Stage Preparation Stage of a topic Some Linguistic Input 3 rd Stage Class discussion Teacher’s Role: Offer Extra Feedback Teacher’s Role: Assist Preparation Teacher’s Role: Coordination discussion in target language

Data Collection Class Observations 28 items Questionnaire Odell’s (1986) Technical Pedagogical

Results: General Indicators of Motivation change from observations Class attendance was increased Class participation was increased Students used their break to study the material!!!!!

Results: Technical Design Features Loading the program Get Help Quitting the program Repeating the program Following the instructions Options offered Manipulating the Cursor Screen Layout Generally Positive in all seven groups

Strong disagreement of first 6 with 7 Compatibility of program with other teaching. Adequacy of feedback provided by program Kruskal-Wallis’s test (p=.0000). Mann-Whitney’s test p= Kruskal-Wallis’s test (p=.0000). Mann-Whitney’s test p=.0002.

Strong disagreement of first 6 with 7 Suitability of program to personal needs Intrinsic interest of program Kruskal-Wallis’s test (p=.0298). Mann-Whitney’s test showed that was due to marked correlations between the subjects 2,4,5,6 Kruskal-Wallis’s test (p=.0002). Mann-Whitney’s test ALL 6

Strong disagreement of first 6 with 7 Motivating quality of computer task Preference for computer based learning Kruskal-Wallis’s test (p=.0000). Mann-Whitney’s test p= Kruskal-Wallis’s test (p=.0000). Mann-Whitney’s test ALL 6

Suitability of content to objectives Suitability of content to task Kruskal-Wallis’s test (p=.0000). Mann-Whitney’s test 2,4,5,6 Kruskal-Wallis’s test (p=.0006). Mann-Whitney’s test 4,6 Some agreement of traditional with experimental

Further exploration of the Data, Exploratory Correlations among Dependent variables (Spearman) Program useful to needs Thematic content suited to objectives (p=0.04) Linguistic content suited to student level (p=0.02) Preference for computer- based learning (p=0.09) Found the task motivating

Further exploration of the Data, Exploratory Correlations among Dependent variables (Spearman) Words/text useful regardless of the activity Linguistic content suited to student level (p=0.08) Preference for computer- based learning (p=0.005) Found the task motivating

Conclusions: Impact of motivation theory on CALL? Motivation seems to be a ‘multidimensional construct closely linked with the content of task which needs to satisfy learner’s personal needs and be at the right level. Giving voice and identity to what the learner wishes to do with language The type of activity does not add to motivation if the above is missing. Activities need to be meaningful

Further conclusions integrating CALL material with what is going on in the rest of a language course is seen positively by users. CALL to match method of teaching The more elaborate feedback does not pass unnoticed by CALL users and indeed receives a more favourable reaction. Feedback seems to be playing a major role in subjects’ attitudes (positive or negative) to CALL software.

Limitations PPP approach…. Now out of fashion The questionnaire was very general and, therefore, it could not provide an in-depth analysis of any area. Rather it has played a reconnaissance role, in spotting areas of difficulty with possible suggestions, which, however, need further experimentation and evaluation. This procedure does not tell us much about the learning process itself which could be the target in future CALL research

Finally Technology by itself does not add to motivation However It may have a possible effect as a pedagogical / engagement strategy