Impact of motivation on pronunciation english language essay

Introduction

Every time there was a war in Europe there were waves of refugees who fled across to Britain and this is the reason why English is difficult to spell (Rathinashikamani n. d.). One of the most difficult problems facing non-native speakers of English is pronunciation. It is usually the largest obstacle to overcome when trying to achieve fluency. Many non-native speakers have studied grammar for many years but are unable to speak like native speakers due to their inability to pronounce the words correctly. Pronunciation is the first and the most important thing native speakers notice, so achieving good pronunciation should be the main goal in English language learning process. Native speakers understand non-native speakers more, if they make grammatical mistakes rather than pronunciation mistakes. (Rathinashikamani n. d.).

Importance of pronunciation instruction

Pronunciation refers to the ability to use the correct stress, rhythm and intonation of the word in a spoken language, your personality is not shaped by the quality of your voice but also by the way you pronounce words which is a habit built up through repetition. (” The free,” n. d.)Pronunciation is not an intrinsic component of the dictionary. Learners often refer to dictionaries for correct pronunciation but they discover that the word may have several pronunciations . Actually, although there is no standard for correct pronunciation other than the usage of educated speakers of English. (Merrien-Webster, n. d.)Pronunciation is important because : 1. The way you speak is one of the first things that people notice about you2. If you don’t speak clearly people won’t understand your message. 3. If you don’t know how different words are pronounced you cannot improveyour understanding and listening. (” The free,” n. d.)There are many factors which enhance and impede the acquisition of pronunciation in English. (Celce-Murcia & Good Win, 1991; cited in Sharkey, 2003)McDonald, Yule and Powers (1994) stated that development of L2 pronunciation is the most important goal for many learners, so instructors must place a great value on pronunciation because poor pronunciation impedes good communication with native speakers of English. If syntax, grammar and vocabulary are correct effective communication cannot take place without proper pronunciation. (R. Sharkey, 2003)Factors affecting the learning of pronunciation, (Ahmadi, 2011) : 1. accent2. stress, intonation, rhythm3. motivation and exposure4. attitude5. instruction6. age7. personality8. mother tongue influenceFactors that influence the pronunciation acquisition, (R. Sharkey, 2003) : 1. age2. role of the native language3. motivation4. identity

Definitions of motivation

The word motivation is derived from the word motive, which means need, desires, wants or drives within an individual. It is the process of stimulating people to action to accomplish the goals. Brown (1981) defines motivation as ” commonly thought of as an inner drive, impulse emotion, or desire that moves one toward a particular action.’ Motivation refers to the choices people make as to what experiences or goals they will approach or avoid, and the degrees of effort they will exert in the respect (Keller, 1983; cited in Salehi, 2008). Motivation is a combination of effort and desire to obtain goals (Gardner, 1983; cited in Williams & Burden, 1997). Motivation provides ”the driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning process”. (Routledge Encyclopedia, 2000; cited in Kumaravadivelu, 2006). Dorney claims that motivation is a key to learning (1998; cited in Brown, 2000). Brown believes that success in any task is due to the fact that the person is motivated, and in second language learning a learner can be successful with the proper motivation (2000). In Wikipedia motivation is defined as the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed behaviors. It can be considered a driving force; a psychological drive that compels or reinforces an action toward a desired goal. For example, hunger is a motivation that elicits a desire to eat. Motivation has been shown to have roots in physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social areas. Motivation may be rooted in a basic impulse to optimize well-being, minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure. It can also originate from specific physical needs such as sleeping,… (n. d.). Motivation results from the interactions among conscious and unconscious factors such as the intensity of desire or need, incentive or reward, value of the goal and expectation of others or the individual of himself. Reiss (2010) suggests that ”From values come motivates, and from motivates we can infer values”. It is widely believed that motivation performs two functions. The first is often referred to as the energetic activation component of the motivation construct. The second is directed at a specific behavior and makes reference to the orientation directional component. Sources of motivation in EFL classes (Madrid, 1992) : 1. Classroom methodology: activities, tasks,… 2. The EFL teacher’s qualities3. Parents and family background4. English as a school subject itself5. The desire to integrate into English-speaking communities6. The instrumental importance of English in societyThe less-motivated learners are shy in their behavior in class. The learners who are not motivated towards learning the FL are characterized by making little effort to study, and by not being open to outside influences. Both attitude and motivation in the behavior of learners in the classroom are very important. Those learners who are integratively motivated towards the language participate more frequently in class and achieve higher marks (Madrid, 1992). In this paper four types of motivation are chosen to be talked about: 1. Intrinsic motivation2. Extrinsic motivation3. Instrumental motivation4. Integrative motivation

1. Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation refers to the fact of doing an activity for itself and the satisfaction derived from participation (Deci, 1975; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Cited in Salehi, 2008). There is no apparent reward. Intrinsic motivation is innate and energizer of human behavior. ”Intrinsically motivated activities are ends in themselves rather than mean to an end” (Kumaravadivelu, 2006). In Wikipedia intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure. Intrinsic motivation is in an activity rather than working towards an external reward. Intrinsic motivation has been studied since the early 1970s. Students who are intrinsically motivated are more engaged in the task willingly as well as work to improve their skills, which will increase their capabilities. Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they: 1. attribute their educational results to factors under their own control, also known as autonomy2. believe they have the skill that will allow them to be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i. e. the results are not determined by luck), 3. are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good grades. Steven Reiss claims that another way of defining intrinsic motivation is the means-end definition, which says intrinsic motivation is doing what we want.(n. d.)According to Williams and Burden intrinsic motivation is doing something with interest and enjoyment and the reason for performing the activity lies within the activity (1997).

2. Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation is related to a wide variety of behaviors which are engaged in as a means to an end and not for their own sake (Deci, 1975 ; cited in Salehi, 2008). Extrinsic motivation is doing something to get something else. For example, children playing baseball are intrinsically motivated by the joy of playing, while a professional baseball player is extrinsically motivated, by money and championships (Reiss, 2012). According to Wikipedia extrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an activity in order to attain an outcome. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the individual. Common extrinsic motivations are rewards like money and grades, and threat of punishment. Competition is in general extrinsic because it encourages the performer to win and beat others, not simply to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity. The concept of motivation can be instilled in children at a very young age, by promoting and evoking interest in a certain book or novel. The idea is to have a discussion pertaining the book with young individuals, as well as to reward them. An extrinsically motivated person will work on a task even when they have little interest in it because of the anticipated satisfaction they will get from reward. Extrinsic motivation does not mean, however, that a person will not get any pleasure from working on or completing a task. It just means that the pleasure they anticipate from some external reward will continue to be a motivator even when the task to be done holds little or no interest. An extrinsically motivated student, for example, may dislike an assignment, may find it boring, or may have no interest in the subject, but the possibility of a good grade will be enough to keep the student motivated in order for him or her to put forth the effort to do well on a task.

Comparison between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Steven Reiss (n. d.) said these definitions confuses means and ends. A child playing baseball may be satisfying his need for physical exercise, while the professional player is satisfying his parental instinct by providing a good income for his family. For children and professionals, baseball is a means to two different ends. Reiss also criticized many of the studies which proponents say prove the existence of intrinsic motivation, and how it can be undermined by extrinsic rewards. For example, many studies have shown how people who enjoy doing a specific activity – such as children who enjoy drawing – do that activity less after they are offered rewards. But when the results show the subjects continue the activity even after the rewards are offered, the researchers have argued that this just shows the subjects expect to get a reward and no longer are intrinsically motivated. Also, researchers have assumed that rewards simply make people less interested in the intrinsic joys of an activity. But Reiss said many of these studies haven’t considered the possibility that the negative effect of rewards has nothing to do with intrinsic or extrinsic motivations. Instead, rewards may cause some people to pursue an activity less because of the negative feelings they cause, such as performance anxiety. Avoiding an activity because of performance anxiety related to a reward is not the same as avoiding it simply because the reward undermines intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are opposite ends of a continuum (Harter, n. d. ; cited in Williams and Burden, 1997). Maslow (1970) claimed that intrinsic motivation is superior to extrinsic (cited in Brown, 2000). They are taking many diverse human needs and motivations, putting them into just two categories, and then saying one type of motivation is better than another, But there is no real evidence that intrinsic motivation even exists, said Reiss.”The extrinsic-intrinsic distinction is similar to the instrumental-integrative distinction, but it is not identical and both instrumental and integrative motivation are properly seen as subtypes of extrinsic motivation, since both are concerned with goals or outcomes. We can easily imagine a situation in which a learner wants to master a language in order to interact with native speakers of that language but nevertheless does not actually enjoy studying the language, an activity for which he or she has only an extrinsic, goal-oriented motivation. We can equally imagine learners with instrumental motivation, for example, to satisfy a language requirement, who do enjoy studying and learning the language , as well as learners with no clear reasons for studying a language who find language learning interesting”.(Schmidt et al., 1996, p. 6)

3. Integrative motivations

Learners who are integratively motivated want to learn the language because they want to get to know the people who speak that language. They are also interested in the culture associated with that language. Integrative orientation is a collection of reasons that reflect common or conceptually similar goals, which shows the individual is learning that language because of a interest in coming, or at least willingness to come, closer psychologically with individuals who speak that language , integrativeness involves emotional identification with another cultural group, the socio-educational model shows that it will be reflected in an integrative orientation toward learning the second language, an acceptable attitude toward the language community, and an openness to other groups in general. In other words, the variable of Integrativeness is a complex of attitudes involving more than just the other language community (Gardner, n. d.). Gardner’s model of the ways in which motivation for foreign language learningoperates in educational settings has been summarized in terms of five hypotheses (Gardner, n. d.) :• The integrative motive hypothesis: Integrative motivation is positivelyassociated with second language achievement.• The cultural belief hypothesis: Cultural beliefs influence the development ofthe integrative motive and the degree to which integrativeness andachievement are related.• The active learner hypothesis: Integratively motivated learners are successfulbecause they are active learners.• The causality hypothesis: Integrative motivation is a cause; second languageachievement, the effect.• The two process hypothesis: Aptitude and integrative motivation areindependent factors in second language learning. Integrative motivation refers to learning L2 to integrate with members of L2 socioculturally (Kumaravadivelu, 2006). The integrative motivation described learners who want to integrate into the culture of L2 and become involved in social interchange in that group (Brown, 2000).

4. Instrumental motivation

It refers to learners’ desire to learn the language to accomplish some non-interpersonal purpose like passing an exam or to advance a career (Ghanea et al., 2011). The instrumental motivation refers to acquiring a language to attain instrumental goals (Brown, 2000).

The impact of motivation on pronunciation

Along with age at the acquisition of a foreign language, the learner’s motivation for learning the language determine whether the learner will develop native-like pronunciation. Research has found that having a personal or professional goal for learning English can influence the need and desire for native-like pronunciation (Bernaus, Masgoret, Gardner, & Reyes, 2004; Gatbonton et al., 2005; Marinova-Todd et al., 2000; Masgoret & Gardner, 2003; cited in Ahmadi, 2011). According to Marinova- Todd et al., (2000) adults can become highly proficient, even native-like speakers of second languages, especially if motivated to do so. Moyer (2007) found that experience with and positive orientation to the language appears to be important factors in developing native-like pronunciation. In a study of learners of Spanish, Shively (2008) found that accuracy in the production of Spanish is significantly related to age at first exposure to the language, amount of formal instruction in Spanish, residence in a Spanish-speaking country, amount of contact with Spanish, and focus on pronunciation in class. Therefore, in addition to focusing on pronunciation and accent in class, teachers should encourage learners to speak English outside the classroom and provide them with assignments that structure those interactions in order to motivating the learners.(Ahmadi, 2011)Improving pronunciation, most often, involves change for the NNS. The reasonsfor changing or not changing speech patterns are complicated by many factors including age, the learner’s first language, their sense of identity, and their motivation (Miller, 2000; cited in Sharkey, 2003). Such factors cannot be controlled by instructor and some factors like age and first language even beyond the control of the learner. Motivation and concern forgood pronunciation, can be controlled by the learner and affects thepotential change in speech. It is affected by how much responsibility the learner takes in the acquisition process, how much the learner practices outside of theclassroom, and how ready the learner is to expend time and energy (Miller, 2000; cited in Sharkey, 2003). If thelearner’s motivation to improve is strong and if the investment of time and effort is noticeable, there will be improvement (Celce-Murcia & Goodwin, 1991; cited in Sharkey, 2003). Motivation is a key factor in adult’s improving pronunciation (Marques, 1997; Cited in Sharkey, 2003). Themotivation results from the various reasons for learner’s improvement. Brod (1995; cited in Sharkey, 2003)Some of these reasons:• Learners simply want to improve themselves.• Learners have a desire to be effective in United States society.• Learners need to speak to their children’s teachers in an intelligible way.• Learners hope to improve their employability.• Learners want to function better with everyday language such as shopping andconversing on the telephone. Lukmani (1972) and Schuman (1975) mention the reasons learners give as motivating them to acquire proper pronunciation of a new language as integrative and instrumental. Both researchers indicate that integrative motivation usually results in greater success. It seems to be more powerful and more likely to sustain a long-term effort of language learning. Instrumental motivation, on the other hand, is more directed and is a matter ofimmediate concern. The learner has little interest in the people who speak the target language but want to acquire acceptable pronunciation for specific, functional reasons. Brown (1994) mentioned a branch of ELT known as English for specific purposes. The motivation for ESP learners is heavily instrumental. Griffiths (2008) stated that since accent is a strong marker of cultural identity, it is intuitive to think that learners with internal and integrative motivation would achieve better pronunciation than others. Kusy (2012) in his report provides support to suggest that language learning motivation relies heavily on social-psychological reasons for language learning as well as utilitarian reasons. He investigated integrativeness and instrumentality in language learning. Altough students may possess one or both of these motivational types on their road toward English proficiency, It is recommended that teachers use pronunciation teaching strategies that have the potential to help English in order to motivate students to continue on their journey of language learning. Most language educators probably believe that integrative motivation will cause better acquisition although there is some evidence that instrumental motivation can be just as strong. (Gardner and MacIntyre 1991; cited in Major, 2001)Pajores (2002) Stated that self-regulated level of pronunciation skill, motivates students. This level of skill is acquired when learners can adapt their performance to changing personal conditions and outcomes. Wen (2005) investigates the phonological ability of exceptional second language learners of English and their levels of motivation. As the conclusion he stated that there was no significant correlation between the scores on pronunciation and motivation. Coates (1986) found no correlation between external motivation and pronunciation. An study examined a relationship between the following variables: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, integrative and instrumental orientation toward pronunciation, and accent in English-speaking learners of Japanese. Data collection occurred in two steps: First, English-speaking participants completed three questionnaires designed to measure their motivation and attitudes toward pronunciation; they then provided speech samples in Japanese. Native speakers of Japanese rated these speech samples on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 indicating a strong foreign accent, and 5 indicating a native accent. Scores on the questionnaires were then correlated with the accent ratings. None of the English-speaking participants were judged as native or near-native speakers of Japanese. However, results demonstrated a significant positive correlation between ratings of accent and two variables: Intrinsic Motivation and pronunciation. The statistical analysis also revealed a positive correlation between integrative and instrumental orientation and extrinsic motivation. These results highlight the role of motivation and attitudes toward pronunciation in the present context of late learners of Japanese (Collin & Shannon, n. d.)

Conclusion

In this paper the impact of four types of motivation on pronunciation was studied. Most of the investigations in this area proved the fact that there is a correlation between motivation and pronunciation and motivation is one of the effective factors on acquisition of pronunciation. Comparing intrinsic, extrinsic, integrative, instrumental motivation, the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation was not as important as the significant role played by integrative and instrumental motivation in the reviewed literature.