Abstract
This mixed methods study with an Explanatory Design is an exploration of students’ language learning motivation as it relates to their attrition from a language immersion program. A total of 131 students who had graduated from five public elementary immersion schools responded to surveys, and 33 of those students were interviewed. Data analysis procedures included a theme analysis of the interview data, a statistical analysis of the survey data, and an integrated consideration of the qualitative and quantitative findings. It was found that mixed methods research can be uniquely revealing about social psychological constructs such as motivation, it can offer new perspectives where previous studies were contradictory, and it can accommodate multiple theoretical frameworks.
|
Anfara, V.A., Jr. , Brown, K.M. , & Mangione, T.L. (2002). Qualitative analysis on stage: Making the research process more public. Educational Researcher, 31, 28-38. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Arnett, K. , & Fortune, T. ( 2004). Strategies for helping underperforming immersion learners succeed [Electronic version]. The ACIE Newsletter, 7, 1-8. Retrieved from http://www.carla.umn.edu/immersion/acie/vol7/bridge-7(3).pdf Google Scholar | |
|
Barritt, L. , Beekman, T. , Bleeker, H. , & Mulderij, K. ( 1983). Analyzing phenomenological descriptions. Phenomenology & Pedagogy, 2, 1-17. Retrieved from http://www.phenomenologyonline.com/articles/barrit1.html Google Scholar | |
|
Bartley, D.E. ( 1970). The importance of the attitude factor in language dropout: A preliminary investigation of group and sex differences. Foreign Language Annals, 3, 383-393. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Bruck, M. ( 1978). Switching out of French immersion. Interchange , 9, 86-94. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Bruck, M. ( 1985). Predictors of transfer out of early French immersion programs. Applied Psycholinguistics, 6, 39-61. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Busch, M. ( 1993). Using Likert scales in L2 research. TESOL Quarterly, 27, 733-736. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Cadez, R.V. ( 2006). Student attrition in specialized high school programs: An examination of three French immersion centres (Unpublished masters thesis) . University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge , Alberta, Canada. Google Scholar | |
|
Campbell, G.R. ( 1992). Transferring from French immersion: A case study of students who leave the French immersion program upon completion of grade 6 (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Google Scholar | |
|
Center for Applied Linguistics. (2006). Directory of foreign language immersion programs in U.S. schools: Summary of data in this directory. Retrieved from http://www.cal.org/resources/immersion/ Google Scholar | |
|
Clément, R. , Smythe, P.C. , & Gardner, R.C. ( 1978). Persistence in second-language study: Motivational considerations . Canadian Modern Language Review, 34, 688-690. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Cohen, L. , Manion, L. , & Morrison, K. ( 2000). Research methods in education (5th ed.). London, England: RoutledgeFalmer . Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Covington, M.V. ( 1984). The motive for self-worth. In R. Ames & C. Ames (Eds.), Research on motivation in education (Vol. I, pp. 77-113). New York, NY: Academic Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Creswell, J.W. , & Plano Clark, V.L. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Daniels, E. , & Arapostathis, M. (2005). What do they really want? Student voices and motivation research. Urban Education, 40, 34-59. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Dörnyei, Z. ( 2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Google Scholar | |
|
Dörnyei, Z. ( 2009). The L2 Motivational Self System. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity, and the L2 self (pp. 9-42). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Dowson, M. , & McInerney, D.M. (2003). What do students say about their motivational goals? Towards a more complex and dynamic perspective on student motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 28, 91-113. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Fortune, T.W. , & Tedick, D.J. ( 2008). One-way, two-way, and indigenous immersion: A call for cross-fertilization. In T. W. Fortune & D. J. Tedick (Eds.), Pathways to multilingualism: Evolving perspectives on immersion education (pp. 3-21). Buffalo, NY: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar | |
|
Foster, R. ( 1998). Profile of a group of ‘‘successful’’ bilingual senior high school students. Bilingual Research Journal, 22, 201-214. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
García, P.A. , Lorenz, E.B. , & Robison, R.E. ( 1995). Reflections on implementing middle school immersion programs: Issues, strategies, and research. In R. Donato & R. M. Terry (Eds.), Foreign language learning: The journey of a lifetime (pp. 37-75). Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook. Google Scholar | |
|
Gardner, R.C. ( 1985a). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. Baltimore, MD: Edward Arnold. Google Scholar | |
|
Gardner, R.C. ( 1985b). The Attitude/Motivation Test Battery: Technical Report . University of Western Ontario. Retrieved from http://publish.uwo.ca/~gardner/docs/AMTBmanual.pdf Google Scholar | |
|
Gardner, R.C. ( 2001a). Integrative motivation and second language acquisition . In Z. Dörnyei & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition (Vol. 23, pp. 1-19). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii, Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center. Google Scholar | |
|
Gardner, R.C. ( 2001b). Language learning motivation: The student, the teacher, and the researcher. Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education , 6, 1-18. Google Scholar | |
|
Gardner, R.C. ( 2005, May 30). Integrative motivation and second language acquisition . Paper presented at the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics/Canadian Linguistics Association, London, Ontario, Canada. Google Scholar | |
|
Gardner, R.C. , & Smythe, P.C. ( 1975). Motivation and second-language acquisition. Canadian Modern Language Review, 31, 218-233. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Genesee, F. ( 2008). Dual language in the global village. In T. W. Fortune & D. J. Tedick (Eds.), Pathways to multilingualism: Evolving perspectives on immersion education (pp. 22-48). Buffalo, NY: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar | |
|
Greene, J.C. , Caracelli, V.J. , & Graham, W.F. ( 1989). Toward a conceptual framework for mixed-method evaluation designs. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 11, 255-274. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Halsall, N.D. ( 1994). Attrition/retention of students in French immersion with particular emphasis on secondary school. Canadian Modern Language Review, 50, 312-345. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Hayden, H.M.R. ( 1988). French immersion drop-outs: Perspectives of parents, students, and teachers. Reading-Canada-Lecture, 6, 222-235. Google Scholar | |
|
Johnson, R.B. , Onwuegbuzie, A.J. , & Turner, L.A. ( 2007). Toward a definition of mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(2), 112-133. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
|
Lamb, M. ( 2009). Situating the L2 self: Two Indonesian school learners of English. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 229-247). Buffalo, NY: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar | |
|
Lewis, C. , & Shapson, S. ( 1989). Secondary French immersion: A study of students who leave the program. Canadian Modern Language Review, 45, 539-548. Google Scholar | ISI | |
|
MacFarlane, A. , & Wesche, M.B. ( 1995). Immersion outcomes: Beyond language proficiency. Canadian Modern Language Review, 51, 250-272. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
MacIntyre, P.D. , MacKinnon, S.P. , & Clément, R. (2009). The baby, the bathwater, and the future of language learning motivation research. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 43-65). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Mannavarayan, J.-M. ( 2002). The French immersion debate: French for all or all for French? Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Detselig Enterprises. Google Scholar | |
|
McInerney, D.M. ( 1998, April). Multidimensional aspects of motivation in cross-cultural settings and ways of researching this. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA. Google Scholar | |
|
Miles, M.B. , & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Montone, C.L. , & Loeb, M.I. ( 2000). Implementing two-way immersion programs in secondary schools. Berkeley, CA: Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED439616) Google Scholar | |
|
Morton, L.L. , Lemieux, C. , Diffey, N. , & Awender, M.A. ( 1999). Determinants of withdrawal from the bilingual career track when entering high school. Guidance and Counseling, 14, 14-20. Google Scholar | |
|
Norton, B. ( 2000). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change. New York, NY: Pearson Education. Google Scholar | |
|
Ramage, K. ( 1990). Motivational factors and persistence in foreign language study. Language Learning, 40, 189-219. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Rubin, H.J. , & Rubin, I.S. ( 2005). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Teddlie, C. , & Tashakkori, A. (2003). Major issues and controversies in the use of mixed methods in the social and behavioral sciences. In A. Tashakkori & C. Teddlie (Eds.), Handbook of mixed methods in social and behavioral research (pp. 3-50). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Google Scholar | |
|
Teddlie, C. , & Tashakkori, A. (2006). A general typology of research designs featuring mixed methods. Research in the Schools, 13, 12-28. Google Scholar | |
|
Turner, J. ( 1993). Another researcher comments . . . TESOL Quarterly, 27, 736-739. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Ushioda, E. ( 2001). Language learning at university: Exploring the role of motivational thinking. In Z. Dörnyei & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition (Vol. 23, pp. 93-125). Honolulu: University of Hawaii, Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center. Google Scholar | |
|
Ushioda, E. ( 2009). A person-in-context relationship view of emergent motivation, self and identity. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 215-228). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar | |
|
Van Etten, S. , Pressley, M. , McInerney, D.M. , & Liem, A.D. ( 2008). College seniors’ theory of their academic motivation . Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 812-828. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Yashima, T. ( 2009). International posture and the ideal L2 self in the Japanese EFL context. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 144-163). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar | Crossref |

