Gender Differences in Motivated Behavior by Croatian Students of English and German in the Out-of-School Context

Manuela Karlak

Abstract


Motivation is one of the key variables in second language acquisition. Motivation is also an extremely complex phenomenon that is very difficult to precisely measure due to its multidimensionality. Previous research in the Croatian educational context indicates that the intensity of motivation may depend on the target language being learned (e.g. Karlak 2014; Karlak and Mayer 2021; Karlak and Šimić 2016; Karlak and Mayer 2021; Mihaljević Djigunović and Bagarić 2007), but also that differences in the intensity of motivation exist about gender, favoring higher values among female students compared to male students in various dimensions of motivation (e.g. Karlak and Bagarić Medve 2016; Martinović 2018; Martinović and Sorić 2018). Research also shows that female students of English as a foreign language significantly more often engage in various forms of motivated behavior in the out-of-school context, such as watching television in that language, reading, listening to music, and conversing with various individuals in person (e.g. Karlak and Bagarić Medve 2016; Muñoz 2020). The conducted research aimed to determine and compare whether there are gender differences in the Croatian foreign language learning context regarding the frequency of engaging in various forms of motivated behavior in the out-of-school context, and self-assessment of communicative language competence among students studying English or German, since such research is scarce. The results show that gender differences are more numerous in the English language sample. Findings also indicate that female students, compared to male students, more frequently engage in various forms of motivated behavior in the out-of-school context. However, male students assess their level of communicative language competence higher than female students, and this difference is statistically significant among English students in the area of vocabulary.

Keywords


motivation; motivated behavior; out-of-school context; English studies; German studies

Full Text:

PDF

References


Csizér, Kata, Zoltán Dörnyei (2005), “The internal structure of language learning motivation and its relationship with language choice and learning effort”, Modern Language Journal, 89(1), 19-36.

De Wilde, Vanessa, Marc Brysbaert, June Eyckmans (2019), “Learning English through out-of-school exposure. Which levels of language proficiency are attained and which types of input are important?”, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 23(1), 171–185.

Dörnyei, Zoltán (1998), “Motivation in second and foreign language learning”, Language Teaching, 31(3), 117-135.

Dörnyei, Zoltán (2001), Teaching and Researching Motivation, Longman, Harlow

Dörnyei, Zoltán (2005), The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ

Dörnyei, Zoltán, Ema Ushioda (2011), Teaching and Researching Motivation, 2. izdanje, Longman, Harlow

Erk, Mirna (2021), “Diversity in EELL: Matters of Context and Contact”, u: Joanna Rokita-Jaśkow, Agata Wolanin (ur.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education. Second Language Learning and Teaching, 75-98, Springer, Cham

Gardner, Robert C. (1985), Social Psychology and Second Language Learning: The Role of Attitudes and Motivation, Edward Arnold, London

Gardner, Robert C. (2010), Motivation and Second Language Acquisition, Peter Lang, New York

Gonzales, Richard DLC (2010), “Motivational orientation in foreign language learning: The case of Filipino foreign language learners”, TESOL Journal, 3, 3-28.

González-Fernández, Beatriz, Norbert Schmitt (2015), “How much collocation knowledge do L2 learners have? The effects of frequency and amount of exposure”, ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 166(1), 94-126.

Hannibal Jensen, Signe (2017), “Gaming as an English Language Learning Resource among Young Children in Denmark”, CALICO Journal, 34(1), 1-19.

Henry, Alastair, Christina Cliffordson (2013), “Motivation, Gender, and Possible Selves”, Language Learning, 63/2, 1-25.

Kapović, Marko (2022), “Strani jezici u formalnom obrazovanju u Hrvatskoj”, Strani jezici, 51/2, 283-309.

Karlak, Manuela (2014), Odnos strategija učenja, motivacije i komunikacijske jezične kompetencije u stranom jeziku, doktorski rad, Filozofski fakultet u Osijeku

Karlak, Manuela (2018), “Strategije učenja u engleskom i njemačkom kao stranim jezicima i njihova veza s motivacijom i komunikacijskom jezičnom kompetencijom”, u: Diana Stolac, Anastazija Vlastelić (ur.), Jezik i njegovi učinci, Srednja Europa / HDPL, Zagreb, 151-163.

Karlak, Manuela, Vesna Bagarić Medve (2016), “Gender differences in the use of learning strategies, motivation and communicative competence in German and English as foreign languages”, Strani jezici, 45(3/4), 163-183.

Karlak, Manuela, Dajana Šimić (2016), “Razlike u motivaciji za učenje engleskoga i njemačkoga kao stranih jezika u učenika mlađe školske dobi”, Strani jezici, 45(2), 70-87.

Karlak, Manuela, Tena Velki (2015), “Motivacija i strategije učenja kao prediktori komunikacijske jezične kompetencije u stranom jeziku”, Croatian Journal of Education - Hrvatski časopis za odgoj i obrazovanje, 17(3), 635-658.

Kissau, Scott (2007), “Is What’s Good for the Goose Good for the Gender? The Case of Male and Female Encouragement to Study French”, Foreign Language Annals, 40(3), 419-432.

Kissau, Scott, Lan Quach Kolano, Chuang Wang (2010), “Perceptions of Gender Differences in High-School Students’ Motivation to Learn Spanish”, Foreign Language Annals, 43(4), 703-721.

Kuppens, Ann H. (2010), “Incidental foreign language acquisition from media exposure”, Learning, Media and Technology, 35(1), 65–85.

Lindgren, Eva, Carmen Muñoz (2013), “The influence of exposure, parents, and linguistic distance on young European learners’ foreign language comprehension”, International Journal of Multilingualism, 10(1), 105–129.

Martinović, Anna (2018), “The L2 motivational self-system: Differences among learners”, Jezikoslovlje, 19(1), 133-157.

Martinović, Anna, Izabela Sorić (2018), “The L2 motivational self-system, L2 interest, and L2 anxiety: A study of motivation and gender differences in the Croatian context”, ExELL, 6(1), 37-56.

Medved Krajnović, Marta (2010), Od jednojezičnosti do višejezičnosti. Uvod u istraživanja procesa ovladavanja inim jezikom, Leykam International, Zagreb

Mihaljević Djigunović, Jelena (1993), “Effects of gender on some learner-dependent variables in foreign language learning”, Studia Romanica et Anglica Zagrabiensia, 38, 169-180.

Mihaljević Djigunović, Jelena (1998), Uloga afektivnih faktora u učenju stranoga jezika, Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Zagreb

Mihaljević Djigunović, Jelena (2006), “Role of affective factors in the development of productive skills”, u: Marianne Nikolov, József Horváth (ur.), University of Pécs Roundtable 2006: Empirical Studies in English Applied Linguistics, Lingua Franca Csoport, Pécs, 9-23.

Mori, Setsuko, Peter Gobel (2006), “Motivation and gender in the Japanese EFL classroom”, System, 34(2), 194-210.

Muñoz, Carmen (2020), “Boys like games and girls like movies: Age and gender differences in out-of-school contact with English”, Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada, 33(1), 171-201.

Muñoz, Carmen, Teresa Cadierno (2021), “How do differences in exposure affect English language learning? A comparison of teenagers in two learning environments”, Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 11(2), 185-212.

Nyikos, Martha (2008), “Gender and good language learners”, u: Carol Griffiths (ur.), Lessons from Good Language Learners, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 9-23.

Oxford, Rebecca L., Jill Shearin (1996), “Language learning motivation in a new key”, u: Rebecca L. Oxford (ur.), Language Learning Motivation: Pathways to the New Century (Technical Report No. 11), University of Hawai’i, Second Language Teaching and Curriculum Center, Honolulu, 121-144.

Öztürk, Gökhan, Nurdan Gürbüz (2013), “The impact of gender on foreign language speaking anxiety and motivation”, Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 70, 654-665.

Pajares, Frank (2008), “Motivational role of self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulated learning”, u: Dale H. Schunk, Barry J. Zimmerman (ur.), Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning: Theory, Research, and Applications, Erlbaum, New York, NY, 111-139.

Peters, Elke, Ann-Sophie Noreillie, Kris Heylen, Bram Bulté, Piet Desmet (2019), “The Impact of Instruction and Out-of-School Exposure to Foreign Language Input on Learners’ Vocabulary Knowledge in Two Languages”, Language Learning, 69(3), 747-782.

Semaan, Gabi, Kasumi Yamazaki (2015), “The Relationship Between Global Competence and Language Learning Motivation: An Empirical Study in Critical Language Classrooms”, Foreign Language Annals, 48(3), 511-520.

Sundqvist, Pia, Liss Kerstin Sylven (2014), “Language-related computer use: Focus on young L2 English learners in Sweden”, ReCALL, 26(1), 3–20.

Sylvén, Liss Kerstin, Pia Sundqvist (2012), “Gaming as extramural English L2 learning and L2 proficiency among young learners”, ReCALL, 24/3, 302–321.

Verspoor, Marjolijn H., Kees de Bot, Eva van Rein (2011), “English as a foreign language: The role of out-of-school language input” u: Annick de Houwer, Antje Wilton, (ur.), English in Europe today: Sociocultural and educational perspectives, John Benjamins Publishers, Amsterdam, 147–166.

You, Chenjing Julia, Zoltán Dörnyei, Kata Csizér (2016), “Motivation, Vision, and Gender: A Survey of Learners of English in China”, Language Learning, 66(1), 94-123.

Zergollern-Miletić, Lovorka (2007), “Ovladanost vještinom pisanja na engleskome jeziku na kraju osnovnoškolskog i srednjoškolskog obrazovanja kod hrvatskih učenika”, Metodika, 8(14), 190-204.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.51558/2490-3647.2024.9.1.825

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ISSN: 2490-3604 (print) ● ISSN: 2490-3647 (online)

Društvene i humanističke studije - DHS is under the Creative Commons licence.