The perceptions and uses of second language motivational strategies at a Hong Kong Community College

Abstract

In the last two decades, numerous studies have been conducted worldwide to examine the frequency of use and perceived importance of second language (L2) motivational strategies. The majority of these studies target universities and secondary schools, while community colleges and other sub-degree tertiary institutions have received meagre attention. Parameters other than frequency and importance have scarcely been researched. There has also been a dearth of efforts to qualitatively investigate factors that facilitate or impede English teachers’ use of L2 motivational strategies, or students’ feedback on the adopted strategies. To address these research gaps, this study examines, at a Hong Kong community college, what second language (L2) motivational strategies are used by tertiary English teachers, what considerations affect their use of strategies, and how sub-degree students perceive and evaluate those strategies. This comprehensive study on the perceptions and uses of L2 motivational strategies is warranted by Hong Kong sub-degree students’ characteristic L2 difficulties and L2 motivational needs, as well as the unique status of community colleges in Hong Kong. Community college English teachers’ understanding of L2 motivation is explored in detail because understanding exerts some influence on strategy use (Cowie & Sakui, 2011). The study employed a combination of questionnaires, reflective journals, interviews, and observations to obtain data from 27 teachers and 284 students during one semester. Dörnyei’s (2001) comprehensive framework of L2 motivational strategies, which has been frequently referred to in earlier studies, was adopted as the basis of the quantitative enquiries. An important novelty of this study is the inclusion of perceived feasibility in teacher questionnaires, coupled with correlational analysis of feasibility and other variables. The study found that the teacher participants’ understanding of L2 motivation, shaped mainly by their previous L2 learning and teaching experiences, was somewhat simplistic. This could be due to their limited knowledge about L2 motivation research. All the examined L2 motivational strategies were underused with reference to perceived importance, which was often explained by the teacher participants with reference to concerns over feasibility. The correlation between strategy feasibility and frequency is more robust than that between importance and frequency. Factors pertinent to teachers and individual English courses, rather than those pertinent to students or the community college, appear to have exerted the greatest impact on the teacher participants’ strategy use. The student participants generally considered the adopted strategies effective, yet they expressed concerns about boredom, inappropriate materials, and the limitations of interest and usefulness as primary motives. In light of the findings, the study proposes a five-level model of the significant factors which account for English teachers’ use of L2 motivational strategies at Hong Kong community colleges. The study also provides insights for researchers, community colleges, and English teachers to facilitate more purposeful and reflective strategy use.