Motivation / Identity / Agency Research Paper (25 mins)
How Different Sequences of Engagement in Cooperative Learning Affect Students' Motivation
This study investigated the effects of different sequential arrangements of informal and formal cooperative learning (CL) on students' motivation, basic psychological needs, and perception of the value of CL in university classrooms. Students in two university EFL classes engaged in both types of CL in a different order. At the end of the study, they were asked to reflect on their CL experiences. Written student comments were collected and analyzed using KH-coder, a text mining system. Results showed that students who participated in formal, then informal CL, seemed to focus more on their lack of English language competence and were less intrinsically motivated than students in the other class. Students who engaged in informal, then formal CL, appeared to build feelings of peer compassion and have higher intrinsic motivation. Findings suggest that teachers should attend to the sequence of engagement when conducting informal and formal CL in university EFL classrooms.
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Tomoko Hashimoto is an Associate Professor at Felicia College of Childhood Education in Tokyo, Japan. She is interested in motivation in language learning for learners of all ages and values linking theory to practice. Her presentation is part of her doctoral dissertation in which she examined how the different sequential arrangements of informal and formal cooperative learning affect EFL university students' motivation and basic psychological needs. She has also taught Japanese elementary school teachers how to instruct English to young learners.
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David McLoughlin is an Associate Professor in the School of Global Japanese Studies at Meiji University in Tokyo, Japan. He holds an Ed.D in TEFL from the University of Exeter, UK. His main area of research is motivation in second language learning, covering topics such as the role of interest in sustaining self-regulated motivation and learning, and the attribution theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Other research interests include language learner autonomy and the role of affect in self-regulated learning.