Gallery Presentation International Positive Psychology Association 7th IPPA World Congress 2021

Investigating semester-long engagement in out-of-class L2 learning from the perspective of motivation and self-control (#334)

Tatsuya Taguchi 1
  1. Aichi University of Education, Kariya, Aichi, JAPAN

Background

Education is key to achieving wellbeing, and second/foreign language (L2) learning plays an important role in the educational system. Because L2 acquisition requires long-term learning and classrooms are an important venue for this, much attention has been paid to classroom motivation (e.g., Dörnyei, 2001). As a result of this, however, little attention has been paid to (1) the necessity of out-of-class studies, and (2) the importance of research through the lens of self-control, given the many distracting temptations (such as smartphones) in out-of-class environments (e.g., Taguchi, 2020). The current study explores this uncharted area.

Hypotheses/Research Questions

This study addresses research questions including (1) Which is more important to out-of-class learning hours, motivation or self-control? and (2) How do students behave in out-of-class environments?

Sample Characteristics and Sample Size

In total, 148 students learning English as a foreign language were recruited from two Japanese universities.

Design

This research employed both survey and interview approaches. At the beginning of the semester, a questionnaire was administered to assess L2 motivation and self-control. At the end of the semester, a second questionnaire assessed average weekly out-of-class study hours during the semester. Based on the results of the first questionnaire, students among the top and bottom groups on the L2 self-control scale were interviewed about their learning behavior outside class during the semester.

Results

Some preliminary findings were as follows. Correlational analyses showed that L2 motivation was correlated weakly with out-of-class study during the semester, but self-control was correlated more strongly with them. Interviews found that students regarded as highly self-controlled managed their studies better than less self-controlled counterparts in daily situations.

Scientific Contribution

This research provides evidence that self-control is crucial for out-of-class learning engagement and offers pedagogical implications.

  1. Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  2. Taguchi, T. (2020). Investigating self-control strategies of university students learning English in Japan. In T. Pattison (Ed.), IATEFL 2019 Liverpool Conference Selections (pp. 45-48). Faversham: Pilgrims.
  • Keywords: Arts and Humanities, Coping and Emotion Regulation, Education, Motivation, Strengths