Effects Of Undergraduates' Ideal L2 Self,Expectancy And Value On CET-6 Score

Motivation is an indispensable important factor for English learning achievement.In recent decades,the study of second language motivation has become a research focus in the field of second language acquisition.D(?)rnyei et al(e.g.D(?)rnyei,2005;D(?)rnyei & Ushioda,2011;Boo & D(?)rnyei,2015)classified the study of the second language motivation into three periods: the social psychology paradigm period before the 1990s;the reorganization period from 1990 s to the beginning of the 21 st century;and the Second Language Motivational Self System period since 2005.In the broad classification of the above motivation research stages,despite existing differences among different theories,there is also overlap and inheritance between and among each period.Especially,the Expectancy-value theory and the Second Language Motivational Self System,which are respectively regarded as the important theoretical representations in the second and third stage,both of their theoretical basis are derived from the educational psychological research and ruled the topic of motivation research field on equal terms in succession.Specifically,dated from 1964 in the field of psychology,Atkinson(1964)put forward the classic Expectancy-value Theory,which is the first motivation theory that combined the expectancy with value systematically,and had dominated the motivation research field from1960 s to 1980 s.Then at the end of 1980 s,after refining the construction of Expectancy-value theory and linking it to broader socio-cultural factors,Eccles(1987)proposed the Modern Expectancy-value Model.After entering the 21 th century,the second language motivation research has entered into a new domain.With the increasing English influence in the world,the classic motivation theory was even harder to explain the L2 learning motivation in the context of globalization,for the reason that English had become a language which were widely learned all around the world,and the L2 learners no longer only held the integration motive orientation but tended to achieve “bi-cultural” identity(Lamber,2004).In order to make up for the theoretical shortcomings of classic motivation theory,D(?)rnyei(2005)drew from the concept of “possible selves” from Markus and Nurius(1986)in the field of psychology,and put forward the concept of “ideal L2 self” in the theory of “SecondLanguage Motivational Self System”,which refers to learner's construction of future ideal second language level prospect from the emotional and cognitive point of view.In fact,D(?)rnyei(2015)pointed out that the development of the three-stage L2 motivational theory is not a simple theoretical change or replacement following the linear rule,it is promoted by continuous correction of the old one and the interaction between the old and new theories.Therefore,a comparative study which combines the theoretical concepts of different stages would help us form a more comprehensive understanding of the second language motivation.On the other hand,because the second language motivation is one of the most dynamic learner factors,exploration of the motivational impact on academic performance has always been an important aspect of the study that scholars concern.In view of this,this paper will apply the method of empirical research to select the key concepts from the second and third stage motivational research theory,namely,expectancy,value and ideal L2 self,to explore their influence on CET-6 scores,which represent learners' English learning achievement to a certain extent.Meanwhile,this paper will also investigate the relation between the two different motivational theories to help our teaching staffs to better understand the characteristics of college students' second language learning motivation and provide theoretical basis for the training of second language learning motivation.Research questions are presented as follows:(1)What's the general situation of university students' English learning motivation in terms of ideal L2 self,expectancy and value?(2)Are there any gender and discipline differences in ideal L2 self,expectancy and value?(3)What is the influence of college students' expectancy,value and ideal L2 self on CET-6 scores?In order to answer the above questions,both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed.Three hundred and thirty two undergraduate students in Shandong Agricultural University were selected as the research subjects through random cluster sampling.These participants came from three disciplines,which are the liberal arts,science and engineering.Majors of the three disciplines were respectively Administration Management,Science of Law,Biotechnology,Materials Chemistry,Mechanical andElectrical Engineering and Architecture.All of the participants took part in the CET-6 in June,2016.All the empirical data for this study were collected by The English Learning Motivation Questionnaire delivered by teachers before having their English classes.Then the data was put into computer and analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences(i.e.,SPSS 16.0).Firstly,descriptive statistical analysis was applied to obtain the general situation of participants' ideal L2 self,expectancy and value of English learning.Secondly,independent-samples T test and One-way ANOVA were employed to find whether there are significant differences among different genders and disciplines.Thirdly,Pearson correlation coefficients and regression analysis were utilized to explore the influence of ideal L2 self,expectancy and value on CET-6 score.In addition,after obtaining the results of The English Learning Motivation Questionnaire,twelve participants were interviewed to get more qualitative information for the better understanding of students' motivation.Results of the present study indicated that 1)Students show relatively high level on English learning task value,while their ideal L2 self and expectancy of ability were in the middle level;2)There exist significant gender differences in ideal L2 self,expectancy and value for college students.The average scores of female ideal L2 self,expectancy and value are significantly higher than that of male.3)There is significant disciplinary difference in students' ideal L2 self and expectancy of ability,while no significant difference is found in the subjective value of tasks.4)College students' CET-6 score is positively associated with ideal L2 self,expectancy and value.Meanwhile,ideal L2 self had stronger explanation power than expectancy and value regarding the variance of CET-6 scores.