Practice makes perfect: how to motivate US college students to learn foreign language?
Start Date
8-11-2017 1:30 PM
End Date
8-11-2017 5:30 PM
Abstract
In 2011, the president of the Modern Language Association of America Russell A. Berman stated “despite the pressures and opportunities of globalization, we are becoming a nation of second-language illiterates”. Many US college students leave foreign language studies after they complete their foreign language requirement credits, and most likely will not return to the classes of foreign language before graduation. In 2013 the report of the Modern Language Association of America revealed an indisputable drop of 6.7% across total enrollments in other than English foreign language classes in institutions of higher education between 2009 and 2013, and therefore it indicated the lack of motivation in learning foreign language among US college students. The purpose of this study is to relate meaningful and interactive drills in Russian language in formal instruction to sustained personal interest of US college students in learning Russian language as a foreign language. The more US college students have meaningful and interactive drills of Russian language in formal instruction settings, the more likely they are to develop sustained personal interest in learning Russian language. The questions of this study are: 1. What are the meaningful and interactive drills in Russian language in formal instruction? 2. How does practice of meaningful and interactive drills in Russian language influence sustained personal interest of US college students in learning Russian as a foreign language in formal instruction settings? By examining the influence of meaningful and interactive drills of Russian language on personal interest of US college students in learning Russian language, we can better understand the practices that could be applied in the field of foreign language instruction. With this understanding, educators can better develop strategies that will stimulate students’ personal interest in learning foreign language, motivate them to continue their studies and therefore make a small step towards becoming a nation of second-language literates.
Practice makes perfect: how to motivate US college students to learn foreign language?
In 2011, the president of the Modern Language Association of America Russell A. Berman stated “despite the pressures and opportunities of globalization, we are becoming a nation of second-language illiterates”. Many US college students leave foreign language studies after they complete their foreign language requirement credits, and most likely will not return to the classes of foreign language before graduation. In 2013 the report of the Modern Language Association of America revealed an indisputable drop of 6.7% across total enrollments in other than English foreign language classes in institutions of higher education between 2009 and 2013, and therefore it indicated the lack of motivation in learning foreign language among US college students. The purpose of this study is to relate meaningful and interactive drills in Russian language in formal instruction to sustained personal interest of US college students in learning Russian language as a foreign language. The more US college students have meaningful and interactive drills of Russian language in formal instruction settings, the more likely they are to develop sustained personal interest in learning Russian language. The questions of this study are: 1. What are the meaningful and interactive drills in Russian language in formal instruction? 2. How does practice of meaningful and interactive drills in Russian language influence sustained personal interest of US college students in learning Russian as a foreign language in formal instruction settings? By examining the influence of meaningful and interactive drills of Russian language on personal interest of US college students in learning Russian language, we can better understand the practices that could be applied in the field of foreign language instruction. With this understanding, educators can better develop strategies that will stimulate students’ personal interest in learning foreign language, motivate them to continue their studies and therefore make a small step towards becoming a nation of second-language literates.
