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The Effect Of Languaging On Korean Students' L2 Learning Motivation: A Classroom-Based Mixed Methods Approach, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This paper focuses on the effect of languaging activity on students' L2 learning motivation. Swain (2006, p. 98) defines languaging as "the process of making meaning and shaping knowledge and experience through language." To date, most of languaging research investigated its impact on L2 learners' cognition. I endeavor to extend its original notion to the domain of motivation. Based on Dörnyei's (2009) L2 Motivational Self-System, the effect of languaging on students' L2 selves and their teachers' reflection will be investigated in this paper.

In Spring 2012, three English teachers implemented four different languaging conditions for their students: 1) written languaging …

Elementary School Students' Foreign Language Learning Demotivation: A Mixed Methods Study Of Korean Efl Context, Tae-Young Kim Dr., Hyo--Sun Seo

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This mixed methods study investigates Korean elementary school students’ foreign language learning demotivation and their teachers’ perception of student demotivation. A questionnaire was conducted with 6,301 elementary school students from Grades 3 to 6 to examine their motivational changes. This revealed a decrease in all motivational constructs – instrumental, intrinsic, integrative, parental/academic extrinsic motivations – as the students advanced throughout the school grades. The findings were further analyzed by using interviews and open-ended questionnaires with 17 English teachers. They attributed the students’ demotivation to three elements: 1) the negative impact of the English teacher such as incongruence with students’ needs, …

Sociocultural Dynamics Of Esl Learning (De)Motivation: An Activity Theory Analysis Of Two Adult Korean Immigrants, Tae-Young Kim Dr.

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This study examines the longitudinal trajectories of two Korean ESL immigrants’ L2 learning motivation from an Activity Theory perspective. Two highly skilled immigrants participated in the monthly semi-structured interviews over a period of 10 months. The research questions are as follows: (1) How does the relationship between ESL learners and their perceived social contexts affect and shape the way in which their ESL learning motivation develops? (2) How can the factors affecting the changes in ESL learning motivation be explained from an Activity Theory perspective? The recurring themes in the monthly interview data were coded and aligned to Engeström’s (1999a) …

Reductionism, Activity Theory, And L2 Motivation Research: Toward New Concepts And Definitions, Tae-Young Kim Dr.

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This paper focuses on the theoretical foundation of second language (L2) learning motivation from a Vygotskian Activity Theory (AT) perspective. In general, previous L2 motivation research adopted either psychometric or sociological approaches, which have not fully considered the mediational process between individual learners and their meaningful environments. Since L2 motivation reflects learners’ histories and sociocultural contexts, it is crucial to approach this from an AT perspective. After critiquing current L2 motivation research using Valsiner and van der Veer’s (2000) argument of downward/upward reductionism, I introduce the notion of L2 motivation as social mediation and discuss the applicability of AT to …