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Does Gender Matter? Exploring Learner Motivation and Achievement in Beginning Arabic

Does Gender Matter? Exploring Learner Motivation and Achievement in Beginning Arabic. CPT Donna Hess United States Military Academy, West Point. Research Design. First-year Arabic language course 160 hours (5 hours per week) 12 Sections (5 instructors) 168 students

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Does Gender Matter? Exploring Learner Motivation and Achievement in Beginning Arabic

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  1. Does Gender Matter? Exploring Learner Motivation and Achievement in Beginning Arabic CPT Donna Hess United States Military Academy, West Point

  2. Research Design • First-year Arabic language course • 160 hours (5 hours per week) • 12 Sections (5 instructors) • 168 students • Two samples: Primary and Secondary • Primary Sample: 13 female cadets • Rate of Mortality: 1 • Secondary Sample: 13 male cadets • Rate of Mortality: 0

  3. Research Design • Research Questions: • Does gender affect student perception of learning experience and motivation in second language acquisition? • Does gender affect student performance and achievement on end of course exams?

  4. Research Design • Data Gathering Instruments: • Survey Goal: to assess the language learner’s motivation and attitude in response to second language acquisition. • Instructor Observation Goal: to report language potential • TEE/Prochievement Goal: to assess the language learner’s achievement • Administration: • Survey was administered post-term to obtain self-reported data on learner attitudes. • Instructor observations were reported end of term • TEE/Prochievement Exams were administered end of term • Data Gathering Modes: • Observation (teacher) • Self reported survey (student) • Language Testing (student)

  5. Participant Profile: Primary Sample • Number of Participants: 13 • Grade Level: Sophomore • Majors: 13 • Arabic: 4 • Other: 9 • Average GPA: 2.86 • High: 3.946 • Low: 1.770

  6. Participant Profile: Secondary Sample • Number of Participants: 13 • Grade Level: Sophomore • Majors: 16 • Arabic: 4 • Other: 7 • Average GPA: 3.00 • High: 4.126 • Low: 2.128

  7. Data Gathering instruments: Learner Preferences

  8. Data Gathering instruments: Cognitive Learning Strategies Survey

  9. Data Gathering instruments: Participant Observation (teacher)

  10. Data Gathering Instruments:Prochievement Test • Developed and validated by West Point and ACTFL • Geared toward students with lower-level proficiency (ACTFL novice-low to intermediate-mid; ILR 0-2) • Paper-based; machine scored • 40 multiple-choice items • 18 intermediate-level; 22 advanced-level items • 10 vocabulary • 10 grammar • 20 reading proficiency

  11. Data Gathering Instruments:Term End Exam • Listening portion • Includes recognizing numbers, time, days, months, seasons • Short passages • Long passages • Reading portion • Short passages • Long passages • Matching • Fill in the blank

  12. Cognitive Learning Styles • Understanding (40) • Females: 28.875 • Males: 29 • Practicing (40) • Females: 25.877 • Males: 14.77 • Remembering (30) • Females: 20.25 • Males: 22.88 • Resources (30) • Females: 18.875 • Males: 20.55 • Consolidating (20) • Females: 12.75 • Males: 14.77

  13. Learning Style Preferences Vertical Axis represents Likert Scale

  14. Instructor Perceptions of Potential

  15. Learner Achievement:Prochievement Test

  16. Learner Achievement: Term End Exam

  17. Learner AchievementFinal Grade

  18. Results • Final Exam correlation to Survey reflected a coefficient of -.638 for females and -.01 for males. This reflects a strong indirect correlation for the females. • TEE correlation to Survey reflected a coefficient of -.700 for females and .01 for males. Again, this reflects a strong indirect correlation for females.

  19. Discussion • “Does gender affect perception of the learning experience and motivation in second language acquisition?” • “Does gender affect student performance and achievement on end of course exams?”

  20. Conclusions and Further Research • Findings reveal interactions between participants’ gender and motivation affect learner achievement. (USMA Beginning Arabic) • Continue research as participants move into intermediate Arabic to see if relationship remains constant (if so, use to develop instructional strategies).

  21. Questions?

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