THE INFLUENCE OF INSTRUMENTAL AND INTEGRATIVE MOTIVATION ON EFL LEARNERS SCORES

Helena Montserrat Pia Garca Cecilia Portocarrero Molina June 6, 2013

The purpose of this investigation is to show that students with integrative motivation have higher grades than students with instrumental motivation. The participants were 20 students that are currently studying English, 10 teachers and 10 junior students. Data was collected through the application of a questionnaire to form two groups, an integrative motivated group and an instrumental motivated group, and also their midterm exams scores were taken from their school data base. From this result was concluded that students with instrumental motivation achieved better results, although there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups mean scores.

The purpose of this research is to investigate and analyze which motivation plays a more important role in a second language learning process; particularly among Mexican students with integrative motivation and students with instrumental motivation. Indeed, there are multiple reasons why Mexican students want to learn English. Some of the learners get enrolled in English courses because they need the job or to gain more money. The other reason why they do it is to have a better proficiency in the target language. However, studies have shown that motivation certainly is one of the most crucial facts to be considered in a second language acquisition among students. Principally, there are four different types of motivation concerned with second language learning: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, instrumental motivation and integrative motivation. Focusing on instrumental and integrative motivation, Redfield, Figoni and Levin (2009) mentioned that the terms instrumental and integrative motivation were originally developed by Gardner and Lamber in the year 1959. According to Norris Holt (2001), with instrumental motivation, the purpose of language acquisition is more utilitarian either to apply for a job, requesting higher pay based on language ability, among others. On the other hand, integrative motivation describes learners who wish to integrate themselves into the culture of a second language. REVIEW OF LITERATURE In English Language Learning, motivation is describe as a combination of attitudes, goals, and inclinations which inspire an individual to learn the language (Richards & Schmidt, 2002, p. 303). Gardner (p. 10) makes a distinction between two types of motivations, integrative and instrumental. Integrative motivation is characterized by the desire of an individual to integrate and belong to the English speaking population, while instrumental motivation is driven by the individuals need of the language for practical purposes (e.g. to get a better job, higher grades, higher salary).

Recent research has shown that integrativeness is the main factor that influences a the individuals disposition to learn the language, and also their posture over the language and its speaking community (Csizr & Drnyei, 2005). For example, according to Yihong, Yuan, Ying and Yan (2007) when students are very interested in the foreign language and the culture itself they tend to present a change on productivity and performance in the classroom. Hernndez (2006) study on motivation as a predictor of success in foreign language acquisition showed that students with integrative motivation tend to have higher scores in oral proficiency interviews. Another research, carried out by Yashima (2002), suggests that learners who are willing to communicate in English and their postures over the English speaking countries affect their motivation, increasing their proficiency in the foreign language. Join to all this, Oxford and Shearin (1994) suggest that when learners are motivated and make an effort to achieve something that will make them feel proud and confident about themselves and the way they are developing in the language, they are more likely to present higher results. This study investigated whether the type of motivation Mexican students have to learn English as a foreign language would have a direct influence on students scores. It was expected that the group of learners who had integrative motivation to learn the language would have higher scores than the group of students who have instrumental motivation. METHOD The research was conducted in a language school where students with different types of motivation to learn English as a foreign language could be found. Two groups were formed, one groups of 10 students with integrative motivation, and one group with the same number of students but who had instrumental motivation. This is a quantitative study which sought to compare the mean scores of students with integrative motivation and students with instrumental motivation. Therefore, a T-test was employed to get the information desired.

Subjects The participants were 20 Mexican students (female and male), 10 of them were teachers at the school Cervantes Bosque and were studying first level of English after many years of having left school, ergo they were false beginners. The other 10, were pre- intermediate students who had 9 months studying English in a Language School in Guadalajara, called Parlink. These two different groups were selected because the research required two different groups to show their motivation for studying English. The 20 students were divided, to see if the teachers were studying English in order to earn more money and/or to keep their jobs, and to see if the other 10 students had the motivation of studying English because they wanted to learn other language and communicate easily. Material The questionnaire (Appendix 1) was taken from a thesis elaborated by Angelica Sandoval Pineda, a Mexican teacher (Chihuahua) that was published in 2011 called Attitude, Motivation, and English Language Learning in a Mexican College Context. This questionnaire was simplified and adapted in order to get the specific information for the research. It has the purpose to seek whether the students motivation of learning English is because of their jobs (instrumental motivation), or because they want to feel more secure when talking with a native speaker (integrative motivation). Procedures Motivation is a big influence in the students performance when learning a foreign language. This study looks for the relation that the integrative and instrumental motivations might have over the learners scores, starting from the hypothesis that students with integrative motivation achieve better results. Now, to be able to make this comparison it was necessary to find two different groups. In order to find the two groups, questionnaires to get the type of motivation that the learners have were applied to 20 different people from the same language school but who were in different classes and levels.
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Each questionnaire was evaluated in order to form a group of subjects which higher motivation was integrative, and another group which higher motivation was instrumental. Once the two groups were set, their midterm exams scores were taken from the schools data base. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results of the questionnaire that was applied to have the two groups to carry out this study are shown in this section. The data was separated according to the information each set of questions intended to collect. Table 1 shows the mean scores that Group 1 (whose participants were the teachers from the school Cervantes Bosques) and Group 2 (whose participants were the junior students) presented per each question reflecting their level of integrative motivation. On Table 2 displays the mean scores for each question reflecting the level of instrumental motivation Group 1 and Group 2 presented. The results from Table 1 show that Group 1 (whose individuals were the teachers from the school Cervantes Bosques) had lower integrative motivation with scores ranging from 4.9 to 5.6. Then, Group 2 (whose participants were the junior students) resulted to be the one with higher integrative motivation to learn English, with scores that ranged from 5.9 to 6.5.
TABLE 1 Items for integrative orientation Group 1 N=10 5.6 5.2 4.9 5.6 5 5.26 2 N=10 6.5 6.1 5.9 6.3 6.2 6.2

1 Studying English is important because it will allow me to be more at ease with people who speak English. 3 Studying English is important because it will allow me to meet and converse with more and varied people. 5 Studying English is important because it will enable me to better understand and appreciate the English way of life. 7 Studying English is important because I will be able to interact more easily with speakers of English. 9 My motivation to learn English in order to communicate with English speaking people is Mean

In Table 2 is displayed the information that sets Group 1 as the one with higher instrumental motivation to learn a language, with scores ranging from 5.8 to 7. Therefore, Group 2 had the lower instrumental motivation since their scores ranged from 4.2 to 6.2.
TABLE 2 Items for instrumental orientation Group 1 2 N=10 N=10 7 6.2 5.9 4.2 6.3 5.7 5.8 4.6 7 6.4 6.1 5.36

2 Studying English is important because I will need it for my career. 4 Studying English is important because it will make me more educated. 6 Studying English is important because it will be useful in getting a job. 8 Studying English is important because other people will respect me more if I know the language. 10 My motivation to learn English for practical purposes (e.g. to get a job, a better salary, better grades) is Mean

Taking the mean of the two set of questions (integrative orientation and instrumental orientation) for Group 1 and Group 2, it is noticeable that there is only a slight difference of .94 points and 1 point between mean scores for the integrative and instrumental orientation set of questions respectively. Nevertheless, Group 1 still had the students with higher instrumental motivation and Group 2 had the students with higher integrative motivation.
TABLE 3 Students Scores Group 1 Integrative motivation 10 91.9 6.3 Group 2 Instrumental motivation 10 89.9 5.7

Sample size Mean (Students midterm exam score) Standard deviation

Table 3 shows Group 1 and Group 2 midterm exams mean. The former presented a mean of 91.9 points (SD = 6.3) while Group 2 had a mean of 89.9 points (SD = 5.7). A t-test analysis indicated that there was no statistically significant difference between the means of the two groups which yielded a t of 0.4669 at the p < 0.10 level (with df = 18). Consequently, the data does not support the hypothesis that the students with integrative motivation would have higher scores. In fact, it showed that the students with instrumental motivation achieved better results, although the difference between the two groups mean is only of two points. The results of this research seem to reject the hypothesis that students with high levels of integrativeness to learn English would have better results when being tested. The reason why in this particular study the results were not the ones expected could be the fact that both groups scores for integrative and instrumental orientation were very similar and high. It would be interesting to find whether the presence of high levels in both orientations in the individuals provokes better performance and proficiency in the target language.

Reference Csizr, K. & Drnyei, Z. (2005). The Internal Structure of Language Learning Motivation and Its Relationship with Language and Learning Effort. The Modern Language Journal, 89(1), 19-36. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3588549 Gardner, R. C. (2001, Febraury). Integrative motivation: Past, Present and Future. Paper presented at the Distinguished Lecture Series, Temple University, Tokyo. Retrieved from

http://publish.uwo.ca/~gardner/docs/GardnerPublicLecture1.pdf. Hernndez, T. (2006). Integrative Motivation as Predictor of Success in the Intermediate Foreign Language Classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 39(4), 605-617. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from

http://search.proquest.com.wdg.biblio.udg.mx:2048/pqcentral/docview/2160 07833/fulltextPDF/13E7D55948310A07410/1?accountid=28915 Oxford, R. & Shearin, J. (1994) Language Learning Motivation: Expanding the Tehoretical Framework. The Modern Language Journal, 78(1), 12-28. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/329249 Redfield, M. R, Figoni, B. & Levin, D (2009). University Technology Students Integrative and Instrumental Motivation. Osaka Keidai Ronshu, Vol. 59, No. 5. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org. Richards, J.C., & Schmidt R. (2002). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics (3rd ed.). London: Pearson.
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Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language: The Japanese EFL Context. The Modern Language Journal, 86(1), 54-66. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1192769 Yihong, G., Yuan Z., Ying, C. & Yan, Z. (2007). Relationship between English Learning Motivation Types and Self-Identity Changes among Chinese Students. TESOL Quarterly,41(1), 133-155. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40264334

APPENDIX Integrative and Instrumental Orientation Questionnaire English version

We would like to know your opinion about each statement by circling the alternative next to it, which best indicates the extent to which you agree or disagree. Please provide your answer to all of the items. Use this scale as a reference for your answer. Strongly disagree 1 Moderately Slightly disagree disagree 2 3 Neutral 4 Slightly agree 5 Moderately Strongly agree agree 6 7

1 Studying English is important because it will allow me to be more at ease with people who speak English 2 Studying English is important because I will need it for my career. 3 Studying English is important because it will allow me to meet and converse with more and varied people. 4 Studying English is important because it will make me more educated. 5 Studying English is important because it will enable me to better understand and appreciate the English way of life. 6 Studying English is important because it will be useful in getting a job 7 Studying English is important because I will be able to interact more easily with speakers of English 8 Studying English is important because other people will respect mi more if know English

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Rate the following items in terms of how you feel about it. Each item is follows by a sacle that has a label on the left and another on the right, and the numbers 1-7 between the two ends. For each item, please circle any one of the numbers from 1 to 7 that best describes you. 1. My motivation to learn English in order to communicate with English speaking people is Weak 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Strong 2. My motivation to learn English for practical purposes (e.g. to get a job, a better salary, better grades) is Low 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 High

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Integrative and Instrumental Orientation Questionnaire Spanish version

Nos gustara conocer tu opinin acerca de cada uno de los siguientes enunciados. Encierra en un crculo la alternativa que ms se acerque a tu opinin. Por favor no dejes preguntas sin contestar. Utiliza la siguiente escala como referencia.
En total desacuerd o Moderadament e en desacuerdo Ligerament e en desacuerdo Neutra l Ligerament e de acuero Moderadament e en acuerdo En total acuerd o

1 Estudiar ingles es importante porque me permitir sentirme cmodo/a cuando me relacione con personas que hablen ingls 2 Estudiar ingls es importante porque lo necesitar en mi desempeo profesional 3 Siento que estudiar ingls es importante porque me permitir comunicarme con un nmero mayor de personas de diferentes culturas en el mundo. 4 Estudiar ingls es importante porque es indispensable para que uno sea reconocido como una persona con educacin. 5 Estudiar ingls es importante porque me permitir entender y apreciar mejor la cultura angloparlante. 6 Estudiar ingls es importante porque me ser til para obtener un buen empleo. 7 Es importante estudiar ingls porque tendr la oportunidad de interactuar ms fcilmente con gente que habla esa lengua. 8 Estudiar ingls es importante porque la gente me respetar ms si domino esta lengua.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Nos gustara que evaluaras los siguientes enunciados en base a tu apreciacin. A cada enunciado le sigue una escala del 1 al 7. Para cada enunciado, por favor encierra en un crculo el nmero que mejor describa tu manera de pensar. 3. La motivacin que tengo para aprender ingls con el objetivo de comunicarme con gente que hable esta lengua es Baja 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Alta 4. La motivacin que tengo por aprender ingls con propsitos practices (e.g. para obtener un buen empleo, mejor salario, mejores calificaciones) es Baja 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Alta

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