43 วารสารวิชาการศิลปศาสตร์ประยุกต์ กรกฎาคม - ธันวาคม 2557 1 นักศึกษา สาขาหลักสูตรและการสอน มหาวิทยาลัยราชภัฎสุราษฎร์ธานี 2 ผู้ช่วยศาสตราจารย์ ประจ�าคณะครุศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยราชภัฏสุราษฎร์ธานี 3 อาจารย์ประจ�าคณะครุศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยราชภัฏสุราษฎร์ธานี การพัฒนาชุดกิจกรรมการเรียนรู้ เรื่อง ทฤษฎีบทพีทาโกรัส กลุ่มสาระการเรียนรู้คณิตศาสตร์ ชั้นมัธยมศึกษาปีที่ 2 Development of a Learning Package on Pythagorean Theorem for Learning Group in Mathematics for Matthayomsuksa 2 อุร�พร ช�ติวัฒนธ�ด� 1 ร�ตรี นันทสุคนธ์ 2 พิมพลักษณ์ ว่องอภิวัฒน์กุล 3 บทคัดย่อ การวิจัยครั้งนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อพัฒนาชุดกิจกรรมการเรียนรู้ เรื่อง ทฤษฎีบทพีทาโกรัส ส�าหรับนักเรียนชั้น มัธยมศึกษาปีที่ 2 ให้มีประสิทธิภาพตามเกณฑ์ 80/80 เปรียบเทียบผลสัมฤทธิ์ทางการเรียนของนักเรียนก่อนและหลังการ ใช้ชุดกิจกรรมการเรียนรู ้ และศึกษาระดับความพึงพอใจของนักเรียนชั้นมัธยมศึกษาปีที่2ที่มีต่อชุดกิจกรรมการเรียนรู ้ เรื่อง ทฤษฎีบทพีทาโกรัส กลุ่มตัวอย่างที่ใช้ในการวิจัยครั้งนี้ เป็นนักเรียนชั้นมัธยมศึกษาปีที่ 2/1 จ�านวน 30 คน ภาคเรียนที่1 ปีการศึกษา 2556 โรงเรียนคีรีรัฐวิทยาคม ต�าบลบ้านยาง อ�าเภอคีรีรัฐนิคม จังหวัด สุราษฎร์ธานี เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการวิจัย ประกอบด้วยชุดกิจกรรมการเรียนรู้ 3 ชุด แบบทดสอบประจ�า ชุดกิจกรรมการเรียนรู้ ชนิดเลือกตอบ 4 ตัวเลือก 3 ฉบับๆ ละ 10 ข้อ แบบทดสอบวัดผลสัมฤทธิ์ทางการเรียนชนิดเลือกตอบ 4 ตัวเลือก 30 ข้อ 1 ฉบับ และ แบบสอบถามความพึง พอใจ มี 20 รายการ การวิเคราะห์ข้อมูลโดยใช้สถิติพื้นฐานได้แก่ ร้อยละ ค่าเฉลี่ย ส่วนเบี่ยงเบนมาตรฐาน และสถิติทดสอบ ได้แก่ สถิติทดสอบที ผลการวิจัยพบว่า ชุดกิจกรรมการเรียนรู้ เรื่อง ทฤษฎีบทพีทาโกรัส มีประสิทธิภาพ (E1/E2) เท่ากับ 80.44/ 78.22 ซึ่งเป็นไปตามเกณฑ์ ผลการเปรียบเทียบผลสัมฤทธิ์ทางการเรียนหลังการใช้ชุดกิจกรรมการเรียนรู ้สูงกว่าก่อน ใช้ ชุดกิจกรรมการเรียนรู้ อย่างมีนัยส�าคัญทางสถิติที่ระดับ 0.01 และ นักเรียนมีความพึงพอใจที่มีต่อการใช้ชุดกิจกรรมการ อยู่ในระดับมาก ค�ำส�ำคัญ : ชุดกิจกรรมการเรียนรู้ ทฤษฎีบทพีทาโกรัส Abstract This research aimed to develop learning package: the Pythagorean Theorem. It was managed for the second year students in secondary school to reach efficiency (80/80) compare students’ achieve- ment before and after using the learning package, and study satisfaction level of the students toward the learning package. Research samples were 30 secondary school students (M. 2/1) who enrolled the course in the first semester of academic year 2013. They studied at Khirirat Witthayakhom School in Ban Yang Sub-district, Khirirat Witthayakhom District, Suratthani. The research instruments were three copies of learning packages, three copies of 10 items of lesson quizzes. Each quiz was constructed with four multiple choices. The 30 items of achievement test and 20 items of satisfaction questionnaire were also used. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistic; percentage, Mean, and Standard Deviation. Hypotheses were tested by using t-test. The research results revealed that; the learning package got efficiency (E 1 /E 2 ) at 80.44/78.22 which was under the criterion, the comparison results of achievement after treatment used was higher than preliminary process. It was at statistical significant level of .05. , and the students’ satisfaction level toward learning package was high. Keywords : Learning package , Pythagorean Theorem
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thesecondyearstudentsinsecondaryschooltoreachefficiency(80/80)comparestudents’achieve-mentbeforeandafterusingthelearningpackage,andstudysatisfactionlevelofthestudentstowardthelearningpackage.Researchsampleswere30secondaryschoolstudents(M.2/1)whoenrolledthecourse in the fi r s t semeste r o f academic yea r 2013 . They s tud ied a t Kh i r i r a t WitthayakhomSchoolinBanYangSub-district,KhiriratWitthayakhomDistrict,Suratthani.Theresearchinstrumentswerethreecopiesoflearningpackages,threecopiesof10itemsoflessonquizzes.Eachquizwasconstructedwithfourmultiplechoices.The30itemsofachievementtestand20itemsofsatisfactionquestionnairewerealsoused.Datawasanalyzedwithdescriptivestatistic;percentage,Mean,andStandardDeviation.Hypothesesweretestedbyusingt-test.Theresearchresultsrevealedthat;thelearningpackagegotefficiency (E
AbstractThe purpose of this study is to study the anxiety level of the parents and conduct of raising
Autisticadolescentandtherelationshipbetweentheanxietiesoftheparentsandbehaviorofraisinganautisticteenager.Thesamplesusedinthisstudywereparentsofchildrenwithautismaged13-24yearswho received Special Education services at Special Education Center and Special Education Center, Nonthaburiprovince.Therewere140parents.Toolsusedinthisstudyincludethequestionnairedata,testanxietyofparentsofchildrenwithautism,testofbehaviorsofraisingAutisticteenagers.Thestatisticsusedindataanalysisaremean,standarddeviationandthecorrelationcoefficiencyofPearson.
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KarenEisenMenger.(2012).Grief and lost potential in the parents of adult children with severe mental illness.Kentucky: University of Louisville.Retrieved December 7, 2012,fromhttp://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/sin-gleitem/collection/etd/id/2465/rec/2
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A Study of Learners’ Beliefs about English as a Foreign Language Learning of Grade 9 English Program (EP) Students in Pathum Thani
Saisuda Ngoksimma1
Nawarat Siritararatn2
63วารสารวชาการศลปศาสตรประยกตกรกฎาคม - ธนวาคม 2557
1. IntroductionEnglishProgram(EP)educationhasbeen
immensely popular among Thai parents andstudents whowish to improve the learners’English skills, in terms of academic purposes,communicativepurposes,andjobopportunities.EPistaughtinEnglishbyeitherThaisorforeignteachersinfivemainsubjectsincluding,mathe-matics, science, social studies, grammar, andliterature.AsagreatnumberofparentsbelievethatEPcanhelptheirchildrenimproveEnglishskills,theytrytopushtheirchildrenintosuchaprogram. As a result of this popularity,morenumbersofbothprivateandpublicschoolstrytorespondtothisdemandbyprovidingtheEPeducation intheirschoolswiththebelief thatbeing able to communicate in Englishwouldmakestudentsmore‘globalised’.
However, a large number of bilingualeducationinThailand,likeinmanyAsiancoun-tries,focusestheirinstructionalmethodmainlyonthetraditionalapproachwhichemphasizesforms andmemory (Truitt, 1995; Yang, 1999;Vibulphol, 2004).With this traditional teachingandlearningmethodology,theoptimalgoalsthatbothlearnersandparentsexpectmightnotbefulfilled. Besides, there are some drawbackswhichcanoccuralongwithhavingconventionallearningandteachingmethodinthiscontext,forexample, teacher acting like amaster in theteacher-centeredapproachcontributinginstruc-tionalactivities,memorizationtasks,andpatternsdrills.WhileEFLlearnersexpectcommunication,theyhardlygetthisskillthroughthetraditionalmethodofinstruction.Infact,learningtousealanguageisnotonlyamatteroflearningformbutalsoderivingtheabilitytounderstandhowthelanguageisusedproperly.Asaresult,stu-dentsusuallybecomegoodEFLlearnersinsomeskills especially in reading. Thismay not theexpectationthattheparentsandthestudentslookforfromtheEP.Oneofthepotentialfactorsthat lead to this problemmay arise from the
mismatchbetweenthestudentsandteachers’beliefs and expectations. Therefore, teachers,educators,educationaladministratorsshouldbeclearaboutthelearners’expectationsbasedontheir beliefs and practices so that they couldprovide lessons that can optimize learners’abilities and expectations. Using conventionallearningtoteachEnglishasaforeignlanguageintheThaiculturalcontextstartsasearlyaskin-dergartenandcontinuesuntilthegraduatelevel.Theconventional teachingmethod is teacher-centered which emphasizes on instructionalactivities,andpatterndrills.ThiscouldhavesomedrawbacksiflearnersexpecttolearnEnglishasasecondorforeignlanguageforcommunicationpurposesaslearningtousealanguageisnotjustamatterofformbutalsounderstandinghowthelanguage functions. Many studentsmight notperceivesuchbeliefsaboutlanguagelearningortheirownabilitiestolearninthisway.Therefore,teachers,educators,andeducationaladministra-torsshouldmeetlearners’expectationsbasedontheirbeliefsandpractices,therebyenablinglearners to explore their strengths andweak-nesseswhileaccommodatingsuchbeliefsthatbenefitsthemorshapesnewpositivebeliefsifsuch beliefs hinder them from success. If thisapproachfails,studentscouldloseconfidenceinpedagogicalmethodsinconsistentwiththeirbeliefs.
2. Research QuestionsThepurposesofthisstudyaretoidentify
learners’beliefswhichcanreflectsomeaspectsoftheirlearningprocessesandhowtheselearn-ers accomplish their language learning. Suchbeliefsthatthelearnersholdorprocesscanbegroupedandidentifiedtofacilitatetheonesthatbenefitthelearners’strongpointsandeliminatelearners’negativebeliefswhichcanleadtopoormotivation.Thisstudyattemptstoidentifyandanalyze EFL learners’ beliefs about languagelearning,basedonthefivecategoriesofBeliefs
Beliefcanbebrieflydefinedinthisstudyas perception of an individual at a particularcircumstance,unlessitisalteredandaddedbymoretrustworthyinformation,oritseemstrueasanindividualfeelsitislikelytobetrue.Beliefscouldbeanintegrationoftheinformationinputforexample,experience,practice,theory,provi-sionalinduction,observationaswellastheindi-vidual’ssomewhatillogicalnotionwhichmightnotbedescribedscientifically. It isapersonalvariable.Beliefscanbringaboutacertainsetofthoughtsthatexpressorconductparticularbe-haviors (i.e. some peoplemight believe thatlearningaforeignlanguagerequirespayingmoreattentiontosyntaxasitisexplicitandessentialforplacementtests;therefore,theymightignoreauralfluencyorcommunicativetasks).
both theactions andexperiencesof languagelearners (Horwitz, 1999). Recent findings sug-
gested that the beliefs that language learnershold about a target foreign language and itsculture affect their attitudes toward that lan-guage.Othervariablesalsoplayarole intheirsecondlanguagemotivations(Masgoret&Gard-ner,2003).BeliefshavealsobeenreportedtohaveanotableeffectonL2 learners’strategyuse,withnegativeattitudesandbeliefsresultinginpoorstrategyuse(Oxford,1994).White(1999)asserted that language learners’ expectationsdeveloped prior to their experiences are alsoinfluencedand shapedby theirbeliefs. Theseexpectationsinfluencehowindividualsreactto,respondtoandexperienceanewenvironment.Inotherwords,learners’beliefs,formedthroughtheirexperiences,guidethemintheirconceptu-alizationsoflanguagelearningandinfluencetheapproachestheyadopttoL2learning(Benson&Lor,1999).Iftheybelievethatlanguagescanonlybelearnedthroughtranslationandexplanation,theywillexpectthelanguageinstructiontobebasedontranslationandexplanationandwillrejectanyapproachadoptedbytheteacherthatdoesnotcorrespondtothisexpectation.Iflearn-ers believe that languages are learned bymemorizing and reproducing, theywill adoptstrategies tomemorize vocabulary items andgrammar rules to reproduce thesewheneverrequired.Iftheybelievethatunderstandingthemeaningandcommunicationisimportanttheywilladoptstrategiestoabsorbthelanguageinitsnaturalcontext.
3.3BeliefsaboutlanguageLearningAccording to Hong (2006), beliefs about
TheBeliefsaboutLanguageLearningIn-ventory(BALLI)wasfirstdevelopedbyHorwitz(1985)forresearchandteachertrainingpurposes.NoparticularBALLIisusedfortheEFLcontext.In sum, five subsets of beliefs are included,namelybeliefsaboutforeignlanguageaptitude,beliefsaboutthedifficultyoflanguagelearning,beliefs about thenatureof language learning,andbeliefsaboutlearningandcommunicationstrategies.
foreignlanguagelearninghasputemphasismoreonstudent-centeredlearning.Amongtheseper-spectives are learners’ beliefs about languagelearning,whicharearesultofanumberoffactorsthat shape an individual’s thinking and beliefformation, including past experiences, culturecontexts,andnumerouspersonalfactors(Bernat& Gvozdenko, 2005). Some researchers studybeliefsaboutlanguagelearningandtheuseoflanguagelearningstrategiesofdifferentgroupsof learners. Abraham and Vann (1987) investi-gatedbeliefsandstrategiesofEnglishasasecondlanguage(withdifferentabilitylevels.)Relation-shipbetweenbeliefsandlanguagestrategyusedatawas derived from an interviewwith twolearners: successful andunsuccessful learners.Theyassertedthatthetwolearnersstudiedpos-sesseddifferentbeliefsaboutlanguagelearninginregardtoformsorfunctions.Moreover,theirbeliefs tended to associatewith theflexibilityandvarietyoftheuseofstrategies.Thesuccess-fullearners,whobelievedthatlanguagelearningrequiredattentiontobothformsandfunctions,werefoundtoemploymoreflexibleandvariedstrategies.Bycontrast,theunsuccessfullearnerswhoperceivedlanguagelearninginalimitway,theyusedamorefixedsetofstrategiesthatwaseffectiveonlyinsomecircumstances.Inthesamevein,Wang(1996)foundthedifferencesinbeliefs
andstrategiesuseofthetwogroups.Wangcon-cluded that themajority of the unsuccessfullanguagelearnerstendedtopossessanegativebeliefaboutlanguagelearningsuchas:theydidnotbelievethattheyhadforeignlanguageapti-tude;theybelievedthatEnglishwasadifficultlanguage;theyvaluedtheimportanceoftransla-tioninEnglishetc.Likewise,inWenden’s(1987)study,differencesinbeliefsandstrategyuseinthree groupsof learners: function-based, rule-based, and affective-based learnerswere alsostudiedbyinterviews.Shefoundthatthethreegroups of learners, who held different beliefsaboutlanguagelearning,reportedusingdifferentlearningstrategies.Thefunction-basedgroupofstudents,whowereidentifiedas“Usethelan-guage”, employed communication strategies.Theyfocusedmoreonmeaningnotform,per-ceivedthatlisteningandspeakingwereimpor-tant,andpreferredcommunicativeactivitiesandauthenticmaterials.Therule-basedgroup,whowas labeled as “Learn about the language”,employedcognitivestrategies,attendedtoform,wasconcernedaboutgoodorproperlanguage,and valued the learning of grammar and vo-cabulary.Theaffective-basedgroup,describedas“Personalfactorsareimportant”,didnotusedifferentstrategiesfromtheothertwogroupsorheldaparticularlearningapproachinregardtoformsor functions.Theyattendedtoaffectivevariableswhenevaluatingtheirlearning.Thesethree studieswereconducted inESLcontextsand they share some common evidence thatdifferentgroupsoflearnersmayholddifferentbeliefsaboutlanguagelearningandmayemploydifferent language learning strategies. Severalbeliefswerefoundtobeassociatedwiththeuseoflanguagelearningstrategiessuchasself-effi-cacy, beliefs about the nature and value oflanguagelearning,beliefsabouttheimportanceof guessing, and beliefs about joy in speakingEnglish. Inotherwords, studentswithpositivebeliefsaboutforeignlanguagelearningtendto
9 students. The selection of EP group was purposivesampling,whichintendedtoselectaschoolprovidinganEnglishprogramcurriculuminPathumThaniprovince.Agroupof57(outofthetotal59)participantsofgrade9studentsatSuankularbwittayalai Rangsit School under theBasicEducationCommission,MinistryofEduca-tionofThailandparticipatedintheBALLIsurveyandtwograde9EPstudentswereparticipatedintheinterviews.
4.2InstrumentsTwoinstrumentsusedinthisstudywere
themodifiedBALLIofThai translatedversion(Horwitz, 1987 and Vibulphol, 2004) and an interviewprotocol.ThemodifiedBALLIwasusedto evaluate overall beliefs of the learners, consistingof39Likert-scaleitems.Anin-depthstudywasconductedviainterviews.Thelistsofthequestionswerepreparedbasedonthefivecategories of BALLI and the questions weresupervisedbytwoexperts.
quantitativeandqualitative.Thequestionnaireswere distributed to grade 9 EP students at Suankularbwittalai Rangsit School after the lettersof consentand thepermission touse
BALLIquestionnairesforeducationweresigned.Thecompletedquestionnaireswerecollectedand interpreted systematically. Frequency interms of percentages of the results for eachindividual itemonBALLIwas computed. Thepercentage of the responses was used to describetheparticipants’beliefsaboutlanguagelearning.Theanalysiswasdonetodeterminetheoveralltrendsforeachcategoryofbeliefsincludedinthequestionnaire. Intheanalysis,the five rating scaleswere consolidated intothree groups and interpreted as follows: Responses “1” and “2”were combined andanalyzedunderthecategoryof“Disagreement”indicating that the respondents disagreewiththestatement.Response“3”wasanalyzedas“Neutral”whichmeans that the respondentsneitheragreenordisagreewiththestatement.The qualitative part elaborating the findingsgained from the BALLI via semi structure interviews.
5. Results Theresultsfromthestudyarepresented
toanswertheresearchquestions:1.What are the general beliefs about
Englishasforeignlanguagelearningofgrade9EP students at Suankularbwittayalai RangsitSchool?
Thedatafromthesurveysuggestedthatgrade 9 EP students’ reported beliefs aboutlanguagelearning,ingeneral,sharedthesametendencyinmostBALLIitemsascanbeseeninTable1.
67วารสารวชาการศลปศาสตรประยกตกรกฎาคม - ธนวาคม 2557
Mostrespondentsbelievedthatstudentshadtopossessspecialabilityinlearningaforeign language.Manyofthembelievedthattheyweregifted,whereas the remainingwasuncertain iftheyhadsuchspecialabilities.Theyalsobelieved
thatlearningaforeignlanguageismoreeffectiveinyoung learners than inadults.Gendersandleft-brainversusright-braindidnotaffectlearners’beliefs.Most studentspositivelybelieved thateveryonecanlearnaforeignlanguage.
Regardingthebeliefsaboutthenatureoflanguage learning,most students valued the importanceofcultureinlearningaforeignlan-guage.Theyalsobelievedthatthebestwaytolearnaforeignlanguagewastolearninacoun-trywherethenativelanguageisspoken.AsEPrequiredgradingevaluation, theseEPstudentsrelied onmemorization and strongly believedthatforms(i.e.grammar,vocabulary,andtransla-tions)wereimportantinlearningaforeignlan-
guage.Differences in alphabet systemdidnotaffect their EFL learning. Furthermore, readingwaseasierformostofthemthanspeaking,listen-ing,andwriting.
Intermofbeliefsaboutdifficultyoflan-guage learning,most students believed thatEnglishissomewhatadifficultlanguagetolearn;theywereoptimisticthatanyonecouldmasterspeakingEnglishinoneortwoyearsbyone-hourofpracticeeveryday.
Regarding beliefs about learning andcommunication strategies,most EP studentsbelievedthathavingexcellentpronunciationwas
important,yet,itwasacceptabletoguesswordstheydidnotknow.StudentsbelievedthattakingrisksormakingmistakessometimeswasusefulwhentheylearnedusingEnglish.Inotherwords,moststudentsenjoyedpracticingandtheybe-lievedthatpracticingalotarethekeystosuccess,especially, viamultimedia.Thefinal subsetofBALLI, beliefs aboutmotivations and expecta-tions; most students were highlymotivatedlearners.Theybelievedthattheycouldlearnto
(2004)assertedthatpeople’sgoalcanpower-fully influencehowthey react toa task.Theyendorsepositivebeliefthatknowingalanguagewillbeveryusefultogetagoodjobandwillbeable to find a lot of opportunities touse thelanguage.Thesebeliefswillleadtogreatmotiva-tiontolearnandtousethelanguage.AnotherpositivebeliefthatmanyoftheseEPstudentsendorseisrisk-taking.AccordingtoBrown(2001),risk-taking isoneof thevariablesof individualdifferencesandisdefinedasaneagernesstotrysomethingnewanddifferentwithoutputtingtheprimaryfocusonsuccessorfailureregardlessofembarrassmentinlearning.Also,risk-takingisthewillingnesstoventureintotheunknown.Learningistherewardofrisk-taking.Manyofthemendorsetheconcept that it is acceptable to guess themeaningtheyarenotsureof.Theybelievetheycaneventually learn to speakwell. Thus, risk-takingisacrucialinteractiveprocesstolearnalanguageinasESL/EFLclassroom.Holmes(1992)assertedthatwhenlearningaforeignlanguage,studentscanbemotivatedbythepeoplewhospeakthelanguageorthecontextinwhichthelanguageisspoken.Consequently,themoretheylearnaforeignlanguage,themoretheyarecon-fident to use that foreign language at certainlevels as they are risk-takers. This implies thatmanystudentsvaluepracticingisthekey.Herearesomeexcerptsfromtheinterview.
France:“IbelievethatlearningEnglishisimportant. Asmy second language, English isbecomingwidelyspokenaroundtheglobe.Weneed to learnandget ready todealwith thechangingtrend.”
Namo:”I feelthatsomeforeignersthinkthat Thai people can’t speak English and aresomehowilliterate.Iwanttolearntobeabletoatleastcommunicatewiththem.”
However,asforthetimerequirementtopracticeitvariesfromindividualtoindividual.Asdescribed earlier,most students agreed thatspending time on their revisions and exampreparations is helpful for them to copewithformalevaluationswhichrelyonforms.
3.What are the negative beliefs aboutlanguagelearningthathinderthesegrade9EPstudentsinlearningEnglishasaforeignlanguage?
AscanbeseenfromTable1items17-21,the negative beliefs that hinder learners areanxiety, imbalance of form and function, andoverwhelmingof class assignments.Many stu-dents encountered the problems of anxietiesduetoself-adjustmenttothenewenvironments,assignments,tests,deadlinesandnatureoftheclassinEPcurriculum,suchasspeakingEnglishtonativeteachers,havingpresentationsinEnglish,andspeakinginfrontoftheentireclass.Alloftheseactivitiesproduceanxietiesandfrustrations
whichledtodrawbacksandpoorclassparticipa-tioninthefirsttwosemesters.However,thosewhocandefineoneself’spotentialandsolvetheproblemsproperlyareabletogainbenefitsfromtheirlearningandenjoytheirlearningpro-cess. These following excerpts support thesefindings.
DuetothetraditionalAsianlearningstyle,theconceptthatlearningaforeignlanguageismostly amatter of learning a lot of grammarrules,whichcandecreaselearners’motivation.ThismightexplainwhyEPstudentsknowalotaboutthelanguage,butmighthavealotofdif-ficultyinputtingthistheoreticalknowledgeintopractice.Fortheconceptthatoneshouldspeakthelanguagewithanexcellentaccent,thismightput a lot of burden to them as they are EP students, theymight feel frustrated if they cannot be what other people expect them tobe.
Learners’ beliefs on speaking with anexcellentaccentmightalsopreventthemfromparticipatingintheclassdiscussionandanswer-ingthequestions.Moreover,ifthelearnerspaytoomuchattentiontootherpeople’sopinions,orfearnegativeevaluation,theymightbecau-tious and scared of taking risks. Finally, class
assignmentsandtheanticipationoftheforthcom-ing exam are likely to decreasemotivation ofmoststudentsduetoitsdirectingtheirattentiontowardtheconsequenceofbeinggradedratherthantheinherentinterestofthesubject(Harack-iewicz,Manderlink,&Sanson,1994).
6. Conclusion and DiscussionsItcanbeconcludedthat,firstly,grade9
EPstudentsatSuankularbwittayalaiRangsitSchoolholdsimilarbeliefstothoseofEFLLearners.Thefindingsfromthesurveyphaseandthequalitativephaserevealedthatgrade9EPstudentsasEFLstudentsatSuankularbwittayalaiRangsitSchoolpossess some beliefs about language learning;somearesimilartowhilesomearedifferentfrompreviousstudies.Thesegrade9EPstudentsseemtoperceive theconcept that learninga foreignlanguageisveryimportantandbelievethattheywilllearntospeakEnglishwell.Incontrast,somedifferentbeliefsexistintheirfrequenciescountsbetween‘form’and‘function’oflanguagelearn-ingasmorethanhalfofthemregardgrammar,vocabularyandtranslationasimportantelementsoflanguagelearning.Thismightduetothefactthat the Thai education system, especially, athigherlevelsrequireEnglishasoneofthecoresubjectsontheuniversityentranceexaminations.TheyalsovaluedthatlearningaforeignlanguagecouldprovidethemwithbetterjobopportunityintheupcomingAEC (AsianEconomicCommu-nity).Oneoftheimportantfindingsofthepresentstudyistheevidencethatlearners’beliefsaboutmotivation and family supports for examples,psychological supportwhen they encounteredlearningdifficulties,orfinancialsupportforextraactivities,canpromotelearners’positiveattitudes,awarenessandstrongbeliefsinthevalueoflearn-ingaforeignlanguage.Motivationhasagreateffecton language learning; therefore, beliefs aboutmotivationandexpectationsplayimportantroleinlearningEnglishfortheseEPstudents.
Second, beliefs about language learning
71วารสารวชาการศลปศาสตรประยกตกรกฎาคม - ธนวาคม 2557
couldbeinfluencedbylearningexperienceamonglearnersinEPcontexts.Thefindingssuggestthatthemajorityofthesestudentsendorsedthecon-cept that customs and cultures are importantelementsforusingthelanguageappropriatelyinparticularcontexts.Similarly,morethanhalfofthembelieved that language immersion couldleadtomoreopportunitiestopracticetheirEng-lishoutsidetheclassrooms.However,thisdoesnotmeanlearningEnglishinanEnglish-speakingcountryisalwaysthebestwayapproach.Othercountrieswherethemothertonguelanguage(i.e.,Thai)isnotspokensuchasinKorea,SingaporeorIndiacouldbecompatibleaslongaslearnersarepromptedtospeakaforeignlanguagetofitintothenewenvironment.EarlyinEPsemester,thesestudentswerenotfullyassertive;overtimetheylearned“Do’s”and“Don’ts”inclasswhichenablethem to determinewhich class behaviors aredesirable,andwhichcanaffecttheirevaluationsandgrades.ThaiEPstudentswhoareshyandnotassertivelikemanyAsianstudentsgraduallylearnforeignEnglish teachers’expectations. This canshapetheirbeliefsaboutlanguagelearningalongwithculturalcontext.
Third, beliefs about the use of Englishcouldbeinfluencedbypracticeexperience.Theresults suggested thatmost participants havestrongbeliefsthatcorrectpronunciationisimpor-tantbutpracticingspeakingskill shouldnotbepausedwhentheyarenotsurewhattosay.Theybelievedthat,eveniftheycouldbewrong,theyshouldtrytoguessortakerisks.Thisbeliefshowsthat participants acknowledge fluency over ac-curacy.Thusstudentswhoagreedthatlearningaforeignlanguageismostlyamatteroflearningalotofgrammarrulestendedtobelessproficientthanthosewhodisagreed.Theserealisticbeliefsreflect participants’ awareness that learning aforeign languagehasbecomea key factor thathelpsthemcopewiththerequirementsofglo-balization.ParticipantshavecometoappreciatethataccuracyinEnglishlinguisticabilitiesisneces-
sary for determining the nature of their futurecareers,aswellastheirsocialstatusinworldwidecommunities.Studentswhounderestimatedthedifficultyoflearningaforeignlanguagewerelessproficientthanthosewithamorerealisticview.Asmostoftheparticipantswereconsideredas‘highmotivated’learners,theyenjoyedpracticingandvaluingtheimportanceofpracticeevenwhentheforeignlanguageclassrequiresthemtocom-municate via amedium inwhich only limitedfacility ispossessed.Theylearnedfromoutsidetheclassroomresources, includingwatchingTVprograms,movies, concerts, podcasts, etc., inEnglishviaYouTube,smartphonesoriPads.Herearesomeexcerptsfromtheinterview.
S:“WhateffortsdoyoumakeforpracticingEnglish?”
N:“Itrytoparticipatemoreinclasscom-pare to my first year here. I think watchingsoundtrackmovieshelpedmealot.Sometimes,IneedThaisubtitlesbutiftherewasn’t,IcanatleastseeEnglishsubtitles.”
Fourth,beliefsaboutthedifficultyofEng-lishandself-efficacycouldaffect learningstyleand influence the use of English outside theclassroom.ThefindingsindicatethatparticipantsperceivedEnglishasasomewhatdifficultlanguage.Studentsmightadoptdifferentlearningstrategiesfrom their teacher, such as rotememorization,guessing,skimming,andscanning.Whenlearning
English,studentswhouselanguagelearningstrat-egiesmore frequently tend to have a betterlanguagelearningachievement(Oxford,1990).Inaddition,learningstrategiesformathematicsandscience are different from learning a language.Apartfrommemorizationasinlearningalanguage,theyalsoapplieddifferentapproachestounder-stand the contents and the processes such ascalculation, anticipation, reasoning and criticalthinking.Asfortheself-efficacy,thetwoinformantsrevealeddifferentbeliefsbasedontheirlearningstylesandlearningstrategiesthatseemedtoworkforthem.StudentswhoexperiencedusingEnglishasamediumofcommunication inanon-Thaispeaking country like Korea reported a betterself-scoreinspeakingthantheotherstudentwhodidnothavesuchanexperience.
Saisuda:“AmongthefourskillsoflearningEnglish, rating from1 to 10, howdo you rateyourself,?startingwithspeaking.”
France:“7”Namo:“4”Saisuda:“Seriously?Howcome?”Namo: “I don’t know. I don’t practice
muchspeakingcomparetootherskills.Ionlyaskquestions but I don’t delivermy talk in longsentence.”
Saisuda:“whataboutlistening?”France:“5”Namo:“7”Saisuda:“reading?”Both:“5”Saisuda:“writing?”France:“5”Namo:“8”Finally, class activities couldmodulate
projectwithpresentationeitherbymodelsorviamultimedia presentation. These following excerptsexplainhowthetwograde9EPstudentspreferredtheirclassactivities.
Saisuda:“Whatkindofclassactivitiesdoyouprefer?”
Namo: “I prefermaking a project like makingbookbasedonthetopicassigned.Itisakindofminiresearch.”
France: “Like in science class, we haddrawingandexperimenttoo.”
Other external events designed to motivateor control learners includedeadline,imposedgoals,andcompetition(Deci,1981).Iftheybelievethatlanguagescanonlybelearnedthrough translation and explanation, theywillexpectthelanguageinstructiontobebasedontranslationandexplanationandwillrejectanyapproachadoptedby the teacherwhichdoesnotcorrespond to thisexpectation. If learnersbelievethatlanguagesarelearnedbymemoriz-ingandreproducing,theywilladoptstrategiestomemorizevocabularyitemsandgrammarrules
73วารสารวชาการศลปศาสตรประยกตกรกฎาคม - ธนวาคม 2557
toreproducethesewheneverrequired. Iftheybelievethatunderstandingthemeaningandthecommunicating is important, they will adoptstrategiestoabsorbthelanguageinitsnaturalcontext.Thetypeoftaskisalsoadeterminingfactorwithrespecttotheformationofattitudesandreactionstowardthetasks.Thestudentswhoengage in such tasks as school examswoulddisplay lower motivation in comparison to studentswho learn thematerial without anyassessment or the test at the end of the curriculum(Sarason&Sarason,1990).
ofimportantimplicationsforfuturepractice.First,taken together, these results suggest that learners’ beliefs are important and shouldbevaluedasessentialelementsforteacher,schooladministrators, and curriculum developers tofacilitateclassinstructions,activitiesthatmatchwith learners’motivations, goals and school curriculum. Second, positive beliefs that influence learner positiveperformance shouldbehighlighted.Aspreviouslymentioned,beliefsabout language learning that focus on form (grammar)andfunction(communication)shouldbecompromisedatanappropriateratioandbeintegratedinclassroominstruction.
A further implication is the effect ofnegativebeliefsthatcausemisconceptionsanddrawbacks should be addressed. To eliminatelearners’anxietiesanddifficultyassociatedwithlanguagelearning,classroominstructioncanbeadjusted to create amore relax atmosphere,relievelearner’stensionandgeneratemoreclassparticipation.Reducinghomeworkandusingmorefrequentbutsmallerquizzescouldalterotherpurposeful activities that satisfyboth teachersandlearners.
Afinalimplicationisself-efficacyinEnglishskills. This should be promoted to gain confidenceandopportunities topracticeboth
insideandoutsidetheclassroom.Externalclassassignments like interview of foreigners and encouraginglearnerstoaccessandacquiretheirindirectlanguageimmersionviamultimediaandsocial networks in English are good ideas for promotingtheawarenessofhowEnglishisusedineverydaylifebeyondclassroomsettings.
giesof two language learners: A caseof study.Learner Strategies in Language Learning. NewJersey,EnglewoodCliffs:Prentice-Hall.
Benson,P.,&Lor,W.(1999).Conceptionsof language and language learning.System, 27:459-472.
Bernat,E.,&Gvozdenko,I.(2005).Beliefsabout language learning: Current knowledge,pedagogical implications and new research directions.TESL-EJ9:1-21.
Brown,H.D.(2001).Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language Pedagogy. NewYork:Longman.
Deci,E.L.etal.(1981).Whentryingtowin:competitionandintrinsicmotivation.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 7,79-83.
Harackiewicz,J.,Manderlink,G.,&Sansone,C.(1984).RewardingPinballWizardry:Theeffectsof evaluation on intrinsic interest. Journal of personality and Social Psychology47:287-300.
Hong, K. (2006).Beliefs about language learning and language learning strategy use in an EFL context: A comparison study of monolingual Korean and bilingual Korean-Chinese university students. DoctorofPhilosophyThesis.UniversityofNorthTexas.
Holmes, J. (1992). An Introduction to Sociolinguistic.London:Longman.
Horwitz, E.K. (1987). Surveying studentbeliefsaboutlanguageteaming.InA.L.WendenandJ.Robin(Eds.),Learner strategies in language learning.London:PrenticeHall,119-132.
situational influences on foreign language learners’ beliefs about language learning: a reviewofBALLIstudies.System27,557-576.
Lamb, M. (2004). It depends on the students themselves: Independence language learning at an Indonesian State school.Language,Culture,andCurriculum,17:229-245.
Masgoret, A.M., & Gardner, R.C. (2003).Attitudes, motivation and second language Learning:Language Learning53,123-163.
Oxford, R. (1990). Language Learning Strategies : What every teacher should know.NewYork:NewburyHousePublishers.
Pajares, F. (1992). Teachers’ beliefs andeducational research: cleaning up a messy Construct.Review of Educational Research. 62:307-332.
Sarason,I.G.,&Sarason,B.R.(1990).TestofAnxiety.Handbook of Social Evaluation Anxiety. New York: Plenum Press: 475-493.
Truitt,S.(1995). Anxiety and beliefs about language learning: A study of Korean university students learning English. DoctorofPhilosophyThesisinHumanitiesandSocialSciences56(06).UMINo.9534977.
Vibulphol, J. (2004). Beliefs About Language Learning And Teaching Approaches of Pre- Service EFL Teachers in Thailand.DoctorofPhilosophyThesis,OklahomaStateUniversity.
Wang,S.(1996).A Study of Chinese English majors’ belies about language learning and their learning strategies. Dissertation Abstract International57(12):5021A(UMINo.9716564).
Wenden,A.(1987).Howtobeasuccessfullanguagelearner:InsightsandprescriptionsfromL2 learners. Learner strategies in language learningLondon:PrenticeHall,103-117.
White, C. (1999). Expectations and emergent beliefs of self-instructed language learners.System2:,443-457.
Yang,D.(1999).vTherelationshipbetweenEFL learners’ beliefs and learning strategy use.System27:515-535.
Asforstudyoutcomeofenvironmentalawarenessbymeansofmultipleregressions,theresultshowedthat the level of environmental awareness of the studentswasmoderate.When classified according to standard, the environmental behavior standard (EBS) that came out with highest average, followed by pollutionandnaturalresourcestandard(PNRS)andenvironmentalorganizationstandard(EOS)respectively.Concerningfactorsaffectingenvironmentalawareness,overallmultipleregressionindicatedthatstudents’age,parents’ age,parents’educational level, environmental activity groups, environmental groupmembership, environmental learning opportunity, and environmental law perception had positive influence while environmentalclassroomteachingandenvironmentalorganizationperceptionofbothprivateandpublichadnegativeinfluence.
Keywords : Awareness,Environmental
ความตระหนกทางดานสงแวดลอมของนสตปรญญาตรThe Environmental Awareness of Undergraduate Students
Theobjectivesofthepresentstudywere1)toinvestigatethemotivationofKasetsartUniversitystudents in learningEnglish in theEnglish throughSongscourse;and2) to study the influenceof the motivation of these students on their learning performance in this ‘English through Songs course’. AquestionnaireandaninterviewwereusedtocollectdataaboutKasetsartUniversitystudents’motivationin learning English in the English through Songs course. The results showed that all of the students possessedhighlevelsofmotivation.MotivationplayedaroleinlearningEnglishintheEnglishthroughSongscourse.Thesongsincreasedthestudents’motivationaswellastheirlearningperformancebecausethe students had fun learning English using English songs. In addition, it seemed that there was a relationshipbetweenthestudents’learningperformanceandtheirmotivation.Thecorrelationcoefficientwas0.612whichindicatedthatmotivationhadsignificantpositivecorrelationwithgrade.Thestudentswhoobtainedhighestgradeshadhighest levelsofmotivation,andasthestudents’gradesdecreased, theirmotivationalsodecreased. However,this relationshipdidnotalwaysholdbecausesomeofthestudentswhohadlowergradesindicatedthattheyhadhighlevelsofmotivation.
thatimpactsforeignlanguagelearning(Spolsky,1998).AccordingtoGardner (1985),motivationcanbedefinedastheextenttowhichtheindi-vidualworksorstrivestolearnthelanguageduetoadesiretodosoandthesatisfactionexperi-encedintheactivity.Manyresearchstudiesrevealthefactthatstudentswithhighmotivationtendtohavehighlearningperformance,incontrast,studentswithlowmotivationtendtohavelowlearningperformance.Anotherpotential factorwhich influencesforeignlanguagelearning isarelaxed and supportive learning atmosphere.GoodandBrophy(1994)suggestthateffectivelearningoccursinarelaxedandsupportiveat-mosphere.Inshort,motivationaswellasare-laxed and supportive learning environmentseemstobesignificantfactorswhichfosterforeignlanguagelearning.
AstudybyNakwanit(1983)indicatedthatan intimate,pleasantand relaxedatmospherecreated a positive learning environment thatcontributedtopositivelanguagelearningperfor-mance. He conducted a study on the use ofaudio-visualaidsintheEnglishclassanditseffect.The findingswere that the students preferredlessons inwhich audio-visual aidswere used.Theyenjoyedand learnedEnglish frommulti-media.Lessonswhichprovidedstudentsaudio-visualmaterialswere a favorablemethod forlearning.
“English through Songs”, an electivecourse,isdevelopedbasedonthesetwotheo-ries.Studentsactivelygetinvolvedintheactivi-ties, interactwith their teacherandpeersandlearnthelanguage,linguisticfeatures,andcul-tures through songs and entertainment videoclips. In order to study in the English throughSongscourse,moststudentshavetoreserveaplaceoneortwosemestersinadvancebecausemanystudentswanttotakeit.Thisshowsthatstudentswhointendtostudyinthiscoursepos-
sesshighmotivationinlearningEnglishbyusingsongsandmoviesasamediumforEnglishlan-guage learning.Motivation and a relaxed andsupportiveatmospherewhicharethetwofun-damentaltheoriesofthiscoursemayeffectivelyaffectstudentslearningabilities.Therearesomestudies that focus onmotivation but none oftheminvestigatemotivationofstudentsintheEnglishthroughSongscourseinrelationtotheirlearningperformance.Thisstudywascarriedouttoexplorehowmotivationanda relaxedandsupportive atmosphere influenced students’learningperformances.
4. Related Literature AccordingtoGardner (1985),motivation
consistsoffourcomponentswhicharegoal,ef-fort,desireandattitude.Thegoalistheultimateobjectiveoflanguagelearning.Itisreflectedintheindividual’sorientationtolanguagelearning.Orientationscanbedividedintotwocategorieswhichareintegrativeandinstrumentalorienta-tions(Gardner,1985).Theintegrativeorientationemphasizesmeetingandconversingwithmoreandvariedpeopleorasameansofbetterun-derstandingapeopleandtheirwayoflifewhilethe instrumental orientation reflects language
Thesecondcomponent,effortoreffortfulbehavior,canbedefinedasthedegreeofefforttheindividualexpendstoachievethegoal(Gard-ner,1985).Effortfulbehaviorcanbeassessedbydeterminingtheamountofefforttheindividualexpendsinordertolearnasecondlanguage.Theassessmenttendstofocusonquestionsdealingwiththeamountofeffortspentonhomework,willingness to take on special assignments, activity directed to improving one’s level ofknowledge,andintentionsaboutusingavailableopportunities to improve one’s knowledge (Gardner, 1985). The third component is thedesire to achieve the goal. This refers to thedegreesor levelsofdesiresorwants that thelearnerhastoachievethegoaloflearningthelanguage. The last component is the attitudetowardtheactivityinvolvedinachievingthegoal.To Gardner, attitude refers to amental and neural state of readiness, organized throughexperience,exertingadirectiveordynamicinflu-enceupontheindividual’sresponsetoallobjectsand situations with which it is related. Thelearner’sattitudetowardthesevariablessuchasthe teacher, the textbook and the classroomactivitieswillaffectthelearner’scoremotivation.Apositiveattitudetowardthelearningsituationwilllikelyproducemoreenjoymentinlanguagelearning,moredesiretolearnthelanguage,andmoreeffortexpendedinlearningthelanguage(Gardner, 1985). Consequently, the learning situationcanfosterpositiveattitudeinlearners.
Asmentionearlier,EnglishthroughSongswasdevelopedbasedonthenotionthatlearn-ing occurs in a relaxed and supportive atmo-sphere(Good&Brophy,1994).Therelaxedandsupportiveatmosphere, fromsongsandmulti-media creates positive learning environmentsthatwouldcontributetothepositivelanguagelearningperformance.Inthiscourse,studentsareablenotonlytostudythelanguageinthecon-
The“EnglishthroughSongs”coursewasanelectiveEnglishcourseofKasesartUniversity.Toassurethatanindividualstudentcouldregis-ter in thissubject,heorshehadto reserveaplace one or two semesters in advance. Thisshowedthat thisgroupofstudents tendedtohavehighmotivationinlearninginthecourse.Inthisclass,studentswerepresentedwithavarietyofEnglishsongsandvideoclips.Theylistenedtothesesongsattentivelyandjoyfullywhiletheyweredoingassignedtasks.ThelyricsofEnglishsongweredistributedforthestudentstostudy.Theteacherusuallydiscussedwiththestudentsthegrammar,structuresandvocabularywhichwereusedinthesongs.Theteachingmethodsincluded lectures, class discussions, individualpresentations, self-study,practice inclasspre-sentationandassignments.
mixture of both quantitative and qualitativemethods.Aquestionnairebasedontheframe-workofGardner(1985)wasusedtocollectdataaboutKasetsartUniversitystudents’motivationinlearningEnglishintheEnglishthroughSongscourse.TheotherinstrumentwasaninterviewprotocolwhichwasusedtogatherdataabouttheKasetsartUniversitystudents’motivationaswellastheinfluenceofmotivationontheirlearn-ingperformances.Thequestionnaireswereana-lyzed and interpreted using SPSS computerprograminordertofindthefrequencies,percent-ages, mean scores and standard deviations.Contentanalysiswasusedtoanalyzethedataobtained from the student interviews. Finally,students’motivationandtheirgradesattheendofthecoursewerecomparedtoevaluatetheirrelationship.Moreover,PearsonProductmoment
thisstudy.Thefirstgroup,whowereassignedtocomplete the questionnaire,was 27 KasetsartUniversity students enrolled in the EnglishthroughSongscourseinthesecondsemesterofacademic year 2008. For the interview, sevenstudents,constituting30percentofthetotalof27students,wereselectedbyusingpurposivesampling technique in accordwith pre-deter-minedcriteriatoobtaintwostudentsfromthelowperformancegroup,threefromtheaverageperformancegroupandtwofromthehighper-formancegroup.
Thestudentquestionnaire,wasadaptedfromGardner’s(1985)torevealthemotivationofKasetsartUniversitystudentsinlearningEnglishintheEnglishthroughSongscourseandtostudythe influence ofmotivation of the KasetsartUniversitystudentsontheirlearningperformancein‘EnglishthroughSongs’.
Theinterviewusedtocollectqualitativedata from the studentswas a semi-structuredinterviewprotocol.Theinterviewprotocolwasutilizedtofurtherinvestigatethestudents’opin-ions on the influence ofmotivation on theirlearningperformancesin‘EnglishthroughSongs’.
Inthisstudy,contentanalysiswasused.Following Leedy (2001), content analysiswasused to analyze the data obtained from thestudent interviews in English through Songs
course.Afterverificationof the interview tran-scriptswascompleted,thedataobtainedfromtheinterviewswerecategorizedintofourmainthemeswhichwerethereasonswhythesepar-ticipantswereinterestedinstudyinginthiscourse,theirmainobjectivesinstudyinginthiscourse,howmuchefforttheyspentindoingin-classandout-off-classactivities,andhowmuchdesiretheyhadinlearninginthiscourse.Then,thecatego-rized data from the interviewwere used toelaboratethedatafromthequestionnaire.
6. Results 6.1What is themotivationof Kasetsart
University students in learning English in theEnglishthroughSongscourse?
Toanswerthefirstresearchquestiononthelevelsofmotivationofstudents,themeanscores of the four components ofmotivationwhichwereattitude,goaleffortanddesirewerecalculated.Thefirsttwocomponentswerecal-culated from a totalmaximum score of fivewhereastherestfromatotalmaximumscoreofthree.Then,theaveragemeanscoresofthefourcomponentswerecalculatedaspercentagesforfurtherinterpretationoftheresults.
AccordingtoGardner (1985),motivationconsistsof fourcomponentswhichareagoal,effort,desireandattitude.Therefore,thescoreof themotivation in studying in the Englishthrough Songs coursewasderived from thesefourcomponentscores.Thescoreofmotivation,attitude,goals,effortanddesirearepresentedinTable1.
AsshowninTable1,theaveragepercent-ageofmotivationwas84.05%whichwashigh.Thehighestscorewhichwas89.80%showedthatthestudentsinthisclasspossessedaveryposi-tiveattitude.Thesecondhighestscore(87%)wasfor the component ‘effort’. The third highestscore(81.00%)wasforthecomponent‘desire’.The score for the last component ‘goal’ was
78.40%;thus,thegoaloflearninghadthelowestaverage percentage. This figure seems to beunusual. Asmentioned earlier, attitude, effortanddesirearethecomponentsthatareneededtoachievethegoal.Thestudentsinthissubjecthadhighlevelsofthesethreecomponents,butthey rated their goal in learning in thecourselowerthanthethreefactors.
AsdepictedinTable2,thestudentshad‘positive’attitudetowardstheEnglishthroughSongscoursewithameanscoreof4.49andaS.D.of0.70.TheyindicatedthattheylikedEng-lishmorebecauseofthiscourse.Theyalsore-vealed that they weremore willing to learnEnglish and to concentratemore on learningEnglish because of the songs andmultimediawhichwereusedasamediumforteachingEng-lish
Apartfromtheevidencefromtheques-tionnaire,theresultsfromtheinterviewrevealedthat most participants demonstrated theirreadinessandexertedtheirdynamicresponseswhilestudying.Fromtherecordoftheinterviews,moststudentslikedthissubjectverymuchbe-causetheylikedtolistentoEnglishmusic,be-causeitwasnottoodifficultforthemtostudyinthiscourse,andbecausethewaythelecturertaughtwasfun.
6.1.3 Goals in studying in the EnglishthroughSongscourse
AsdepictedinTable3,themeanscoreofthestudents’goalsinlearningEnglishintheEnglishthroughSongswas3.92andthestandarddeviationwas0.85.Thismeansthatthisgroupofstudentshadthe‘high’goalinlearninginthiscourse.Themeanscoreofgoalderivedfromtheintegrativeorientationandinstrumentalori-entation’sscoreswhichwere4.09and3.75re-spectively.Thismeansthatthegoalleanedmoretowards the ‘instrumental orientation’ ratherthanthe‘integrativeorientation’.ThestudentsrevealedthattheirmainaiminstudyingEnglishwas for its practical value in getting a job orfurtheringtheireducationmorethanforaper-sonal interest in English-speaking people andculture.
As illustrated in Table 4, students indi-catedthattheymade‘high’effortinlearninginthecoursewiththemeanscoreof2.61andthestandarddeviationat0.52.Itisalsoshowedthatthesestudentsmadevery‘higheffort’incom-pleting their assignments and reviewing theirassignmentaftergettingfeedbackfromteacher.Besidethis,theypointedoutthattheycarefullypreparedtheirpresentationssothattheywouldbeabletogiveitverywell.Theseconclusionsarebasedontheaveragemeanscoresinitemsnumber2,3and5withmeanscoresof2.78,2.89and2.78respectively.However,studentsindi-catedthattheydidnotdomuchvolunteeringto answerquestions in the classroom, for themeanscorewas2.26.
1.00–1.49=low,1.50–2.49=moderateand2.50–3.00=high The results derived from the interviewsupported the results from the questionnaire.MostoftheparticipantsinthisgroupmadeahighlevelofeffortintheEnglishthroughSongscourse.Theymadetheireffort instudyingthissubject
As illustratedinTable5,studentsratedtheir ‘desire’ at amean score of 2.43 and astandarddeviationat0.57.Thisshowsthattheparticipants showed “moderate” desire. AsdepictedinTable5,studentsdemonstratedtheirdesire indifferentways, and these canbedi-videdintotwocategories.Thefirstcategorywasdesireswhichweredirectlyrelatedtothestudy.Thesewere their interest in the course, theirdesire to study a subsequent English throughSongscourseandtheirdesiretotranslateEnglishsongs,forwhichthemeanscoreswere2.93,2.59and2.59respectively.Thesedesireswerehigh.
Ontheotherhand,thesecondcategorywasdesireswhichwereindirectlyrelatedtothestudy.Thesedesires,whichweremoderate,werewatchingEnglishmusictelevisionprogramsorlisteningtoEnglishmusicasoftenaspossible,goingtoseeanEnglishmusicalplayifthestu-dentshadtheopportunity,speakingEnglishwithEnglish-speaking families if there were suchfamilies in thestudents’neighborhoods,beinginterestedinjoiningan“EnglishthroughSongs”clubiftherewassuchaclubintheuniversity,andcomposingEnglishsongsasoftenas theycould if they had the opportunity and knewenoughEnglish.Theratingsoftheitemsinthissecondcategoryweremoderate,andthismadethetotallevelofdesiremoderateaswell.
In linewith thefindings givenabove, itwasdiscoveredfromtheinterviewthatthestu-dents in thisgrouphadahigh levelofdesire.Before studying English through Songs,moststudents reallywantedtostudy inthiscoursebecausetheylovedEnglishmusic.Theyhadtocheck several times if theywould be able tostudyinthiscoursesincethereweremanystu-dentswhowanted to do the same thing buttherewasalwaysalimitednumberofseatseachsemester.Thus,theyhadtoreserveaplaceinthecourseinadvance.
Inordertoanswerresearchquestion2,thestudentsweredividedbytheirgradesintosixgroups.Theaveragepercentagesofmotiva-tionineachgroupofstudentsaspresentedintheprevioussectionwerethencomparedwiththeirgrades. Thescores fromthesemeasure-mentswere then calculated and gradeswereassigned.Alettergradewasassignedtoeachofthestudentsonthebasisofthefollowingcrite-ria:100–80forA,79–75forB+,74–70forB,69–65forC+,64–60forC,59–55forD+,54–50forDand49–0forF.Thestudents’gradesarepresentedinthetablebelow:
ItcanbeseeninFigure2thatstudentswhoobtainedAhadhigheffortwithameanscoreof2.82while thosewhogotB+hadslightlyalowerscore.Thescoreofeffortcontinuedde-clining in relation to students’ performance.However,themeanscoreofeffortofthestudentswhoobtainedCandD+slightlyincreased. Asfordesire,studentswhoobtainedAhadhighdesirewithameanscoreof2.78whilethosewhogotB+hadaslightlylowerscore.Thescoreofdesirecontinueddeclininginrelationtostudents’ performance. However, themeanscore of desire of the studentswhoobtained CandD+slightlyincreased.
Amongthefourcomponentsofmotiva-tion,attitudereceivedthehighestaveragescore.For this group of students, attitude played asignificantrole.Thepositiveattitudemayhavearisenfromthestudents’preferencesforlisten-ing,singing,andlearningalanguagefromsongs.Thiscreatearelaxedandsupportiveatmosphereintheclassroom,andasmentionedbyGoodandBrophy(1994),learningoccursinarelaxedandsupportiveatmosphere. Inthe interviews, thestudentsindicatedthattheylikedthecourseverymuch because they liked to listen to Englishmusic.
Figure 2 Relationship of the students’ performance and their effort and desire in learning in the English through Songs course. It can be seen in Figure 2 that students who obtained A had high effort with a mean score of 2.82 while those who got B+ had slightly a lower score. The score of effort continued declining in relation to students’ performance. However, the mean score of effort of the students who obtained C and D+ slightly increased. As for desire, students who obtained A had high desire with a mean score of 2.78 while those who got B+ had a slightly lower score. The score of desire continued declining in relation to students’ performance. However, the mean score of desire of the students who obtained C and D+ slightly increased. 7. Discussions 7.1 The motivation of Kasetsart university students in learning English in the English through Songs course The percentage average score of motivation was 84.05%, which means that this group of students was highly motivated. As explained by Gardner (1985), learners start by having the “desire” to learn a language. Then, they formulate the “goal” for studying by incorporating “effort and attitude” into the “desire” they
already have. This group of students had desire at a ‘moderate’ level. If it had been in accord with the theory of Garner, the levels of goal, effort and attitude should have been moderate as well. However, the results were that the students had positive attitude, high goal and high effort. The reason desire was moderate was that the desires which were indirectly related to the study were moderate, thus reducing the total level of desire moderate. However, the desires which were directly related to the study were high. As a result, the attitude, goal, and effort components were high while desire was moderate. Among the four components of motivation, attitude received the highest average score. For this group of students, attitude played a significant role. The positive attitude may have arisen from the students’ preferences for listening, singing, and learning a language from songs. This create a relaxed and supportive atmosphere in the classroom, and as mentioned by Good and Brophy (1994), learning occurs in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. In the interviews, the students indicated that they liked the course very much because they liked to listen to English music.
becausemagazinesandnewspaperswerekindsofmediaandcreatedapleasantenvironmentinwhich students had fun and enjoyed learningEnglish.SongshadasimilarinfluenceonEnglishlanguagelearninginthepresentstudy,fortheywereanotherkindofmediawhichmadelearningmorepleasant.
With respect togoal, thestudents indi-catedthattheyhadaninstrumentalorientationratherthananintegrativeorientation.StudentsmayhaverealizedthathavinggoodEnglishlan-guage skills would increase their chances ofgettingagoodjoboroffurtheringtheirstudies.TheresultfromthepresentstudyinthisareaissimilartothatofKönig(2006).Theparticipants’instrumental orientationwas also very strong.Theintegrativeorientationseemstotakeasec-ondaryplace.
Furthermore,thepresentstudyrevealedthattheparticipantsmadeahigheffort.Theypointedoutthatthey investedbothtimeandeffortindoingnotonlythetasksrequiredbytheteacherbutalsoactivitiesthattheydidforplea-sure.Theylistenedtosongsandviewedmusicalmoviesinclassattentivelyandtheypaidatten-tiontothesonglyrics.Theyalsodidthesamethings in their leisure time. Improving one’sforeign language ability is not an easy job; it requires countlesshoursofpracticeandgreateffort.Makingmoreeffortmayconsequentlyhelpapersonmakeprogressinlearningthelanguage.TheresultofthepresentstudyoftheeffortofKasetsartUniversitystudentswasquitesimilartothat of Nuchnoi (2005), which revealed thatRangsit University studentsmade high effort,particularly inwritingmultipledraftsofEnglishassignments.
With respect to desire, the students indicatedmoderate levels of desire. As ex-plained by Gardner (1985), learners start byhaving thedesire to learna language. Then,theyformulatethegoalforstudyingbyincor-poratingeffortandattitudeintothedesirethey
alreadyhave. However, theresults fromthisstudy showed that the students had ‘high’levelsofmotivationbut‘moderate’levelsofdesire.Thequestionnaireresultsmayexplainthis.Studentshadlowlevelsofdesiretocom-pose English songs and join English throughSongsclubs.Studentsindicatedthattheyhadveryhighlevelsofdesire,buttheymightnothavetheabilitytocomposesongs,becauseoneneededtohaveaspecialabilitytowritesongs.TheyalsohadlowlevelsofdesiretojoinEnglishthroughSongsclubs.Joiningaclubwasatime-consumingactivity.Mostofthestudentsinthisstudymightnothavewantedtospendtimeonthiskindofactivity.
Thestudentsreportedthatusingsongsasamediumincreasedtheirdesire.ThisfindingwassimilartothatofKönig(2006),whousedmagazinesandnewspapersasmaterialsforthestudentsandfoundthatthisimprovedstudents’desireinlearningEnglishasasecondlanguage.Themagazinesandnewspaperswereusedtoincreasestudents’desirebecausetheywereakindofmediaandcreatedapleasantenviron-mentwhich canhelp studentshave funandenjoy learning English. In the present study,another kind ofmedia, songs, had a similar influenceonEnglishlanguagelearningcreatingarelaxedandsupportiveatmosphereforstudy.
While studies on motivation have approached the issue from a variety of view-points,severalstudieshavefocusedonrevealingrelationships betweenmotivation and otherfactors.Oneofthemostimportantfactorsthathave been under investigation is learners’ performance.Ithasbeenfoundthatmotivationis a determining factor in ultimate language performance.Manystudieshavesuggestedthatstudentswithhighlevelsofmotivationtendtoperformwellinlearningalanguage(Gardner&
Lambert,1972;Brown,1980;Harmer,1985.)Thiswasalsotrueinthisstudybecauseitrevealedthattheparticipantswhoobtainedthehighestgradeshadthehighestlevelsofmotivationandthatmotivationdecreasedasthestudents’gradesdecreased. It can be seen that there is a relationship between students’ learning performancesandtheirlevelsofmotivation.ThemotivationofthestudentswhoobtainedgradesfromAtoCdecreasedastheirgradesdeclined.However,thestudentswhogotD+weremorehighlymotivatedthanthestudentswhogotB,C+andC.
Although the attitudes of the studentswhoobtainedD+werepositiveandtheirgoals,desireandeffortswerehigh,theydidnotperformwell in the course probably because besidesmotivation, learninghasmanyothersignificantcomponentssuchascapability,previousknowl-edge,andlanguage learningaptitude (Spolsky,1998).Highmotivationalonemaynotbeenoughto enable students to achieve high learning performance.
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