TY - JOUR

T1 - Modelling the role of inter-cultural contact in the motivation of learning English as a foreign language.

AU - Csizér, Kata

AU - Kormos, Judit

N1 - This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Applied Linguistics following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Csizer & Kormos Modelling the role of inter-cultural contact in the motivation of learning English as a foreign language Applied Linguistics 2009 30:2 166-185 is available online at: http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/30/2/166

PY - 2009/6

Y1 - 2009/6

N2 - The research reported in this paper explores the effect of direct and indirect cross-cultural contact on Hungarian school children's attitudes and motivated behaviour by means of structural equation modelling. Our data are based on a national representative survey of 1,777 13/14-year-old learners of English and German in Hungary; 237 of the students learning English with the highest level of inter-cultural contact were selected for analysis. Our model indicates that for our participants, motivated behaviour is determined not only by language-related attitudes but also by the views the students hold about the perceived importance of contact with foreigners. The results of our study also reveal that the perceived importance of contact was not related to students’ direct contact experiences with target language speakers but was influenced by the students’ milieu and indirect contact. Among the contact variables, it was only contact through media products that had an important position in our model, whereas direct contact with L2 speakers played an insignificant role in affecting motivated behaviour and attitudes.

AB - The research reported in this paper explores the effect of direct and indirect cross-cultural contact on Hungarian school children's attitudes and motivated behaviour by means of structural equation modelling. Our data are based on a national representative survey of 1,777 13/14-year-old learners of English and German in Hungary; 237 of the students learning English with the highest level of inter-cultural contact were selected for analysis. Our model indicates that for our participants, motivated behaviour is determined not only by language-related attitudes but also by the views the students hold about the perceived importance of contact with foreigners. The results of our study also reveal that the perceived importance of contact was not related to students’ direct contact experiences with target language speakers but was influenced by the students’ milieu and indirect contact. Among the contact variables, it was only contact through media products that had an important position in our model, whereas direct contact with L2 speakers played an insignificant role in affecting motivated behaviour and attitudes.

KW - motivation

KW - language learning

KW - attitudes

KW - inter-cultural contact

U2 - 10.1093/applin/amn025

DO - 10.1093/applin/amn025

M3 - Journal article

VL - 30

SP - 166

EP - 185

JO - Applied Linguistics

JF - Applied Linguistics

SN - 1477-450X

IS - 2

ER -