The most important components of each phase of the process-oriented model of motivation among Hungarian university students

Several aspects can contribute to the differences between each individual foreign language learner. The motivational level of learners can be one of these aspects. In the present essay, I will focus on the motivational profiles of students from Hungary, using Dörnyei’s process-oriented model, and examining the specific factors which Hungarian university students find the most important in each phase of the process oriented model. To support my claims, I will use some studies mostly carried out by Hungarian scholars.

Dörnyei (2001) introduced the process-oriented model of motivation, in which he distinguishes three phases which make up the process of motivation. The first phase is “choice motivation”, where learners set their goals. The next stage is the “executive motivation”, the function of which is to maintain motivation with the necessary tasks. The final component of Dörnyei’s process-oriented model is the “motivational retrospection”, where students can react to their own performances. Dörnyei and Skehan (2003) define the process-oriented model in the following way:

They define it as the dynamically changing cumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates, and evaluates the cognitive and motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized, operationalized, and (successfully or unsuccessfully) acted out. (p. 29–30)

Some Hungarian university researchers wanted to investigate the most important factors of the language learning motivation of Hungarian university students; thus, they made researches in which they used Dörnyei’s process-oriented model. When Csizér, Kormos, Menyhárt and Török (2008) examined the motivational levels of university students at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) with the help of the process-oriented model focusing on the choice motivation, they found that the most important language learning goals among university students was to attain a near-native level of proficiency in English. About 75% of the research participants wanted to speak English at the highest possible level. The researchers went further in their research and they also wanted to know the reasons for students’ learning decisions and motivation. Students’ reasons were simple. Learners know that English is a world-language and it is a useful language because it has several advantages. Almost all of the students attach a great importance to the international role of English; therefore, they want to acquire English as perfectly as possible.

Secondly, Csizér et al. (2008) made further questionnaires for these Hungarian university students in order to gain information about their executive motivation which helps them to maintain their motivation, which was set up by their choice motivation, through putting it into action. The researchers focused on what students do in order to improve their language skills; consequently, they wanted to seek specific tasks and activities which students find important in improving their language learning skills. In this case, the answers were surprising because nearly half of the participants were not able to mention any important strategy which could help them improve their English. Those who answered this question listed rather passive activities. Among these answers the most important factors turned out to be the ones which require visual and audial skills, for instance, watching different television programmes in English or listening to some music which has English lyrics. Surprisingly, only 20 percent of the participants make an effort to learn new words from the foreign language input which means that, for these students, expanding their vocabulary efficiently and actively is just secondary. Moreover, according to the findings of Csizér et al. (2008), making native English speaking friends was completely unimportant for these university students because it was not mentioned by any of them.

In my opinion, the results of the executive motivation and, in several cases, the lack of answers can be attributed to the fact that university students expect the university itself to improve their skills so it can be said that this is the students’ most important source for their executive motivation. However, they also feel that they do not get the necessary tasks for improving and even for maintaining their skills. Unfortunately, sometimes teachers also confess that it is hard to maintain students’ motivational level at university. That is why Gardner (1968) emphasised parents’ role in maintaining motivation. He believes that not only students and their teachers’ attitudes, but also parents’ attitude toward the foreign language can be determining. Those learners who get the proper, supportive atmosphere at home are more likely to be better at maintaining their motivation and later they gain more success.

Finally, when it comes to the motivational retrospection, which is the last component of Dörnyei’s model, Csizér et al. (2008) found that students believe that that the most important factors are the external incentives, for example, good marks for papers or good exam results. Acknowledgement and applause by teachers were also mentioned by the participants; consequently, this turned out to be the second most important factor in students’ motivational retrospection. These can easily lead to students’ success in language learning. However, on the other hand, beside success, failures were also mentioned by the participants. Those students, who mentioned failing an exam, become later unmotivated.

In conclusion, motivation in foreign language learning is a complex expression. In order to analyse it, several studies are needed. For finding the most important factors in the phases of Dörnyei’s process-oriented model, I have chosen Hungarian study results. Because I found the executive phase problematic among Hungarian university students, in further studies, it would be beneficial to investigate how students can achieve to maintain their motivation actively. (901 words)

References

Csizér, K., Kormos, J., Menyhárt, A., & Török, D. (2008). 'Great expectations': The motivational profile of Hungarian English language students. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 7, 65–82.

Dörnyei, Z. (2001). New themes and approaches in L2 motivation research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 21, 43–59.

Dörnyei, Z., & Skehan, P. (2003). Individual differences in second language learning. In C. J. Doughty & M. H. Long (Eds.), The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (pp. 589–630). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Gardner, R. C. (1968). Attitudes and motivation: Their role in second-language acquisition. TESOL Quarterly, 2, 141–150.