Options
Teachers’ motivating strategies: a case study of GCE O-Level English language learners in Singapore
Loading...
Type
Thesis
Author
Teo, Suat Hwee
Supervisor
Chew, Phyllis Ghim Lian
Abstract
English is an important language to acquire and master. Motivating English language learners (ELLs) is any English language (EL) teacher’s responsibility. While there have been many studies on the motivation of ELLs in North America and Europe, and increasingly, Asia, there have been a paucity of studies in how EL teachers motivate their learners. There are more studies using quantitative than qualitative methods in teachers motivating ELLs, which are rarer. Similarly scarce, are formal inquiries on EL teachers motivating ELLs in Singapore. Local EL teachers adhere to a prescribed Scheme of Work (SOW) in preparing learners for formal assessments. EL teachers carrying out pedagogical tasks without a motivational thrust are potentially ineffectual for any learner, regardless of EL proficiency. In a globalised era, Singapore’s reliance on human resources hitherto makes supporting the motivating role of EL teachers a practical move.
This study investigated an EL teacher’s efforts in motivating 15 ELLs, sitting for the General Certificate of Education at Ordinary-level English language Examination (GCE O-ELE) in 2009. Data for the EL teacher’s Motivating Strategies (MS) were generated from four main sources: 1) Teacher-learner Dialogue Journals (TLDJ), 2) Teacher’s Reflective Journals (TRJ) 3) Target Setting (TS), and 4) the teacher’s Informational Feedback (IF) to the learners in the TLDJ, written assignments and other forms of group or individual teacher-learner interaction. This research adopts a case study interventionist approach. The practitioner-researcher is the key investigator and the EL teacher of the learner-participants (N=15).
As motivation is a multi-faceted concept, motivating learners is inevitably a complex enterprise. This study adopted a mainly qualitative method with the aim of achieving greater insights into motivating the ELLs, with appropriate, timely, and effective intervention in their language learning. Carried out in three stages, with three phases in each stage, the process model of motivation by Dörnyei and Ottó (1998) was adapted. The data collected from the four main selected sources were triangulated with two additional data sources: 1) Surveys designed to collect demographic and language use data from the students and 2) a post-examination one-to-one semi-structured interview.
Results showed that the relevant data from the TLDJ, the TRJ, TS and IF helped the teacher generate motivating strategies to support and motivate students in their EL learning to a significant extent. The journal interaction provided opportunities for discussing, and addressing specific issues relating to the ELLs’ motivation, necessary skills-enhancement, -development and -proficiency, and consequently, better EL grades. This study also showed that the teacher’s use of relevant data from the TS of personal EL target grades, influenced learners’ EL motivation. TS enhanced learners’ effort expenditure and persistence in learning. Results also indicated that the EL teacher’s IF provided learners the impetus to expend effort in subsequent learning tasks. Additionally, the results suggested implications of the bilingual education policy on ELLs’ EL proficiency. The findings of this study provide motivational insights for EL teachers preparing small ELL groups for important EL examinations. EL teachers can build on the MS targeted at augmenting learner motivation and achievement in English, employing the four selected data sources used in this case study.
This study investigated an EL teacher’s efforts in motivating 15 ELLs, sitting for the General Certificate of Education at Ordinary-level English language Examination (GCE O-ELE) in 2009. Data for the EL teacher’s Motivating Strategies (MS) were generated from four main sources: 1) Teacher-learner Dialogue Journals (TLDJ), 2) Teacher’s Reflective Journals (TRJ) 3) Target Setting (TS), and 4) the teacher’s Informational Feedback (IF) to the learners in the TLDJ, written assignments and other forms of group or individual teacher-learner interaction. This research adopts a case study interventionist approach. The practitioner-researcher is the key investigator and the EL teacher of the learner-participants (N=15).
As motivation is a multi-faceted concept, motivating learners is inevitably a complex enterprise. This study adopted a mainly qualitative method with the aim of achieving greater insights into motivating the ELLs, with appropriate, timely, and effective intervention in their language learning. Carried out in three stages, with three phases in each stage, the process model of motivation by Dörnyei and Ottó (1998) was adapted. The data collected from the four main selected sources were triangulated with two additional data sources: 1) Surveys designed to collect demographic and language use data from the students and 2) a post-examination one-to-one semi-structured interview.
Results showed that the relevant data from the TLDJ, the TRJ, TS and IF helped the teacher generate motivating strategies to support and motivate students in their EL learning to a significant extent. The journal interaction provided opportunities for discussing, and addressing specific issues relating to the ELLs’ motivation, necessary skills-enhancement, -development and -proficiency, and consequently, better EL grades. This study also showed that the teacher’s use of relevant data from the TS of personal EL target grades, influenced learners’ EL motivation. TS enhanced learners’ effort expenditure and persistence in learning. Results also indicated that the EL teacher’s IF provided learners the impetus to expend effort in subsequent learning tasks. Additionally, the results suggested implications of the bilingual education policy on ELLs’ EL proficiency. The findings of this study provide motivational insights for EL teachers preparing small ELL groups for important EL examinations. EL teachers can build on the MS targeted at augmenting learner motivation and achievement in English, employing the four selected data sources used in this case study.
Date Issued
2015
Call Number
PE1066 Teo
Date Submitted
2015