Keywords
second language learning
second language learning motivation
How to Cite
Number of views: 822
Number of downloads: 506
Abstract
In recent years increased attention has been given in applied linguistics to the learning processes of various groups of special needs (SN) students, especially to those whose achievement is impeded by dyslexia or other learning difficulties. However, students with sensory impairment, particularly those who are Deaf or severely hard of hearing (HOH), seem to have remained on the periphery of second language acquisition (SLA) research although they constitute a highly interesting group both from a linguistic as well as a cultural point of view. Since the best approach to understanding how this special minority handles foreign language learning is by first exploring their so-called individual differences, a nationwide research project was launched in Hungary to investigate students’ language learning beliefs, motivation, strategy use and motivated learning behavior. As part of that project, the present paper intends to detail how self-related concepts of hearing impaired students at eight different SN schools an be described. In order to gain an in-depth understanding, a mixed-method research design was employed. First, a barrier-free instrument was used to measure learner variables among 105 14-19-year-old Deaf and HOH learners. Then 31 individual interviews were conducted with selected students using maximum variety sampling. The quantitative data indicate that Deaf and HOH (D/HH) learners lack pronounced, well-developed and detailed future ideal L2 selves and corresponding visions to guide their learning. Another important finding is the paramount importance of language learning experience for our D/HH participants. Based on the analysis of the qualitative data, we can conclude that students’ language learning experiences are largely shaped by the choice of language used as the medium of education, the intensity and content of the English classes as well as how far students internalize extrinsic motives.References
Bartha, C. (2005). Language ideologies, discriminatory practices and the deaf community in Hungary. In J. Cohen, K. T. McAlister, K. Rolstad, & J. MacSwan (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism (pp. 210-222). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Csizér, K., & Lukács, G. (2010). The comparative analysis of motivation, attitudes and selves: The case of English and German in Hungary. System, 38, 1-13.
Csizér, K., & Magid, M. (Eds.). (2014). The impact of self-concept on language learning. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Csuhai, S., Henger, K., Mongyi, P., & Perlusz, A. (2009). „Siket gyermekek kétnyelvű oktatásának lehetőségei és korlátai” című kutatás eredményei. Zárótanulmány. [Final summary on the research project entitled “Bilingual education of Deaf children: possibilities and challenges”]. Budapest: Fogyatékos Személyek Esélyegyenlőségéért Közalapítvány. Retrieved from http://www.fszk.hu/mjp/szakmai-anyagok/Siket-gyermekek-ketnyelvu-oktatasanak-lehetosegei-es-korlatai-c-kutatas-eredmenyei_zarotanulmany.pdf
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Dörnyei, Z. (2009). The psychology of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dörnyei, Z., & Kubanyiova, M. (2014).Motivating learners, motivating teachers: Building vision in the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (Eds.). (2009). Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2011). Teaching and researching motivation (2nd ed.). Harlow: Longman.
Dotter, F. (2008). English for Deaf sign language users: Still a challenge. In C. J. Kellett Bidoli & E. Ochse (Eds.), English in international deaf communication (pp. 97-121). Bern: Peter Lang.
Dotter, F. (2011). Sign languages and their communities now and in the future. In C. Bartha & H. Hattyár (Eds.), Multilingualism in Europe: Prospects and practices in East-Central Europe (pp. 1-22). Budapest: MTA Nyelvtudományi Intézet Többnyelvűségi Kutatóközpont. Retrieved from http://www.uniklu.ac.at/zgh/downloads/2011_Dotter_SLCommunities_Budapest.pdf
Galántai, D., & Csizér, K. (2009). A tanár szerepe a diákok idegen nyelvi motivációjának alakításában. [The role of the teacher in shaping L2 learners’ motivation]. Iskolakultúra, 19(9), 71-77.Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.
Grosjean, F. (1992). The bilingual and the bicultural person in the hearing and in the deaf world. Sign Language Studies, 77, 307-320.
Grosjean, F. (2001). The right of the deaf child to grow up bilingual. Sign Language Studies,1(2), 110-114. Retrieved from http://www.francoisgrosjean.ch/English_Anglais.pdf
Harris, M. (2010) Early communication in sign and speech. In M. Marschark & P. E. Spencer (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of deaf studies, language and education Vol. 2. (pp. 316-330). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Holcomb, T., & Peyton, J. K. (1992). ESL literacy for a linguistic minority. The deaf experience. Retrieved from ERIC Digests database http://www.ericdigests.org/1993/deaf.htm (ED353861)
Jokinen, M. (2000). The linguistic human rights of sign language users. In R. Phillipson (Ed.), Rights to language: Equity, power, and education. Celebrating the 60th birthday of Tove Skutnabb-Kangas. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Kontra, E. H. (2013). Language learning against the odds: Retrospective accounts by four Deaf adults. In E. Domagala-Zysk (Ed.), English as a foreign language for deaf and hard-of-hearing persons in Europe - state of the art and future challenges (pp. 93-111). Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL.
Kontra, E. H., & Csizér, K. (2013). An investigation into the relationship of foreign language learning motivation and sign language use among Deaf and hard of hearing Hungarians. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 51(1), 1-22.
Kontra, E. H., Csizér, K., & Piniel, K. (2015). The challenge for Deaf students to learn foreign languages in special needs schools. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 30(2), 141-155. DOI:10.1080/08856257.2014.986905
Kontráné Hegybíró, E. (2010). Nyelvtanulás két kézzel: A jelnyelv szerepe a siketek idegennyelv-tanulásában. [Language learning with two hands: The role of sign language in Deaf language learning]. Budapest: Eötvös Kiadó
Kormos, J. (2013). Assessing research on dyslexic language learners in contexts with English as a foreign language. In D. Martin (Ed.), Researching dyslexia in multilingual settings: diverse perspectives (pp. 74-90). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Kormos, J. (2014, August). Panel discussion at the International Conference on Motivational Dynamics and Second Language Acquisition, Nottingham, UK.
Kormos, J., & Csizér, K. (2008). Age-related differences in the motivation of learning English as a foreign language: attitudes, selves and motivated learning behaviour. Language Learning, 58(2), 327-355.
Kormos, J., & Csizér, K. (2010). A comparison of the foreign language learning motivation of Hungarian dyslexic and non-dyslexic learners. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 20, 232-250.
Ladd, P. (2003). Understanding Deaf culture: In search of Deafhood. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Mercer, S., & Williams, M. (2014). Multiple perspectives on the self in SLA. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Mole, J., McColl, H., & Vale, M. (2008). Deaf and multilingual: A practical guide to teaching and supporting deaf learners in foreign language classes (2nd ed.). Direct Learn Services.
Muzsnai, I. (1999). The recognition of sign language: A threat or a way to a solution? In M. Kontra, R. Phillipson, T. Skutnabb-Kangas, & T. Várady (Eds.), Language: A right and a resource (pp. 279-296). Budapest: CEU Press.
Piniel, K., & Csizér, K. (2013). L2 motivation, anxiety and self-efficacy: The interrelationship of individual variables in the secondary school context. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 3, 523-546.
Piniel, K., Csizér, K., & Kontra, E. (2014). Validation of a questionnaire for measuring individual differences of hearing impaired language learners. In J.Horváth & P. Medgyes (Eds.), Studies in honour of Marianne Nikolov (pp. 274-288). Pécs: Lingua Franca Csoport.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1994). Linguistic human rights: A prerequisite for bilingualism. In I. Ahlgren & K. Hyltenstam (Eds.), Bilingualism in deaf education (pp. 139-159). Hamburg: Signum.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2008). Bilingual education and sign language as the mother tongue of Deaf children. In C. J. Kellett Bidoli & E. Ochse (Eds.), English in international deaf communication (pp. 75-94). Bern: Peter Lang.
Vasák, I. (2005). A világ siket szemmel. [The world in the eyes of deaf people]. Budapest: Fogyatékosok Esélye Közalapítvány.
License
1.1 The Author hereby warrants that he/she is the owner of all the copyright and other intellectual property rights in the Work and that, within the scope of the present Agreement, the paper does not infringe the legal rights of another person. The owner of the copyright work also warrants that he/she is the sole and original creator thereof and that is not bound by any legal constraints in regard to the use or sale of the work.
1.2. The Publisher warrants that is the owner of the PRESSto platform for open access journals, hereinafter referred to as the PRESSto Platform.
2. The Author grants the Publisher non-exclusive and free of charge license to unlimited use worldwide over an unspecified period of time in the following areas of exploitation:
2.1. production of multiple copies of the Work produced according to the specific application of a given technology, including printing, reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means (reprography) and digital technology;
2.2. marketing authorisation, loan or lease of the original or copies thereof;
2.3. public performance, public performance in the broadcast, video screening, media enhancements as well as broadcasting and rebroadcasting, made available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;
2.4. inclusion of the Work into a collective work (i.e. with a number of contributions);
2.5. inclusion of the Work in the electronic version to be offered on an electronic platform, or any other conceivable introduction of the Work in its electronic version to the Internet;
2.6. dissemination of electronic versions of the Work in its electronic version online, in a collective work or independently;
2.7. making the Work in the electronic version available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, in particular by making it accessible via the Internet, Intranet, Extranet;
2.8. making the Work available according to appropriate license pattern Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) as well as another language version of this license or any later version published by Creative Commons.
3. The Author grants the Publisher permission to reproduce a single copy (print or download) and royalty-free use and disposal of rights to compilations of the Work and these compilations.
4. The Author grants the Publisher permission to send metadata files related to the Work, including to commercial and non-commercial journal-indexing databases.
5. The Author represents that, on the basis of the license granted in the present Agreement, the Publisher is entitled and obliged to:
5.1. allow third parties to obtain further licenses (sublicenses) to the Work and to other materials, including derivatives thereof or compilations made, based on or including the Work, whereas the provisions of such sub-licenses will be the same as with the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons sub-license or another language version of this license, or any later version of this license published by Creative Commons;
5.2. make the Work available to the public in such a way that members of the public may access the Work from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, without any technological constraints;
5.3. appropriately inform members of the public to whom the Work is to be made available about sublicenses in such a way as to ensure that all parties are properly informed (appropriate informing messages).
6. Because of the royalty-free provision of services of the Author (resulting from the scope of obligations stipulated in the present Agreement), the Author shall not be entitled to any author’s fee due and payable on the part of the Publisher (no fee or royalty is payable by the Publisher to the Author).
7.1. In the case of third party claims or actions for indemnity against the Publisher owing to any infractions related to any form of infringement of intellectual property rights protection, including copyright infringements, the Author is obliged to take all possible measures necessary to protect against these claims and, when as a result of legal action, the Publisher, or any third party licensed by the Publisher to use the Work, will have to abandon using the Work in its entirety or in part or, following a court ruling in a legal challenge, to pay damages to a third party, whatever the legal basis
7.2. The Author will immediately inform the Publisher about any damage claims related to intellectual property infringements, including the author’s proprietary rights pertaining to a copyrighted work, filed against the Author. of liability, the Author is obliged to redress the damage resulting from claims made by third party, including costs and expenditures incurred in the process.
7.3. To all matters not settled herein provisions of the Polish Civil Code and the Polish Copyright and Related Rights Act shall apply.