ERIC Number: ED362007
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1993-Aug-3
Pages: 16
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Motivation, Test Results, Gender Differences, and Foreign Languages: How Do They Connect?
Zammit, Susan A.
The testing of 32,000 students in Australia and New Zealand participating in The Australian Language Certificates (ALC) provided the opportunity to examine students' attitude and learning preferences when studying a language other than English. The ALC offered the opportunity to learn seven languages in a Languages Other Than English (LOTE) program: Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, and Modern Greek. The research investigated the attitudes of beginning students and the association of attitude scores with test scores. The effects on the attitude score of gender, year level at school and language spoken at home were also explored. A teachers' questionnaire examined the priorities given to classroom practices. Comparisons between students' preferences and classroom practice are presented. Results indicated that males had a less positive attitude to language than females. Findings for year level were inconsistent. Students who spoke a language other than English at home had a more positive attitude than those who did not. The relationship between attitude and achievement score was not as strong as expected. Important differences existed between students' preference and teachers' teaching priorities. Student and teacher questionnaires are appended. (Contains 23 references.) (Author)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Australian Council for Educational Research, Hawthorn.
Identifiers - Location: Australia; New Zealand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A