Synthesis of Research Findings III

Self-Perception is Still a Major Stumbling Block for Women

“Girls showed a greater tendency than boys to attribute their failures to lack of effort…[and] to lack of ability” (Williams, Burden, Poulet and Maun, pp19-29) Girls traditionally have lower self-esteem than boys and display a tendency to blame themselves for problems rather than blaming external factors. Media plays a large role in shaping stereotypical roles and perceptions for each gender from children’s cartoons to commercial advertisements, and educators place higher expectations on males than females in the academic setting. (Mathis, http://www.tokyoprogressive.org.uk/gale/articles/mathis.html) With the domination of males in key academic areas, the combination of these factors create a “decrease in girls’ perceptions of their own abilites” (Vandrick, http://www.tokyoprogressive.org.uk/gale/articles/vandrick.html)

Motivation is a key factor in academic achievement

“Females may use a wider range of strategies than males, while more motivated learners use a greater array of appropriate strategies then less motivated ones”. (Diaz)   The willingness to learn a language is closely tied to the student’s perception of the practical application of the language. Motivation can be a combination of the following elements:

§         attitudes (i.e., sentiments toward the learning community and the target language)

§         beliefs about self (i.e., expectancies about one's attitudes to succeed, self-efficacy, and anxiety)

§         goals (perceived clarity and relevance of learning goals as reasons for learning)

§         involvement (i.e., extent to which the learner actively and consciously participates in the language learning process)

§         environmental support (i.e., extent of teacher and peer support, and the integration of cultural and outside-of-class support into learning experience)

§         personal attributes (i.e., aptitude, age, sex, and previous language learning experience).

(http://www.kidsource.com/education/motivation.lang.learn.html) It is important that all of these elements are recognized so that appropriate opportunities for transfer (practical application) can be created.

Authentic Activities are Vital in Achievement

Authentic Activities give students real world applications with the language. These activities give students the sense that learning the language is useful and has benefits and makes learning fun. They also produce immediate products and allow for student self assessment. (Brown & Kysilka, pp149-162)   This activity style is excellent for facilitating opportunities for transfer (practical application) and reinforces student motivation to learn the language (see previous section). http://www.kidsource.com/education/motivation.lang.learn.html

I have experienced much success with the incorporation of authentic activities within my class and I highly recommend giving this strategy a chance.