The major purpose of this study was to explore, in a phenomenological tradition, factors that lead some students to persist in foreign language study past the usual 2 years in high school. Factors that have been prevalent in the literature include language aptitude, motivation, grades, intellectual and cultural curiosity, language learning…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of personality-based learning styles and learning among graduate students enrolled in an online doctoral program that utilized the Blackboard[SM] e-learning system. Two measures of learning--course grades and perceived learning--were used. According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator[R],…

In this article knowledge productivity, a process that creates conceptual artifacts, is used as a way to investigate the outcomes of collaborative and enquiry-oriented activity by teaching professionals. It is an outcome of the motivation to learn (self-regulation) in that it studies the issues from different professional perspectives (reflection…

This article explores the pattern of formal study activities over a period of 11 years for a group of adult learners. It is based on a two-phase study of students who enrolled in 1999 on courses run by the Faculty of Continuing Education at Birkbeck, University of London. Taking a longitudinal perspective, conducted retrospectively for 1994-1999,…

The purpose of this manual, which accompanies a video program, is to provide general background information for foreign language teachers who are, or soon will be, teaching in total, partial, or two-way immersion classrooms. Part of a series of video programs, this manual highlights current theories, issues, and questions about second language…

This study describes the use of VaxNotes, an electronic conferencing software, in a 16-week graduate distance learning course at a large Midwestern university. The seminar was taught at two campuses, by two instructors, connected by video and audio distance learning technologies. Discussions held outside class were conducted initially by…

Why do some adolescents cheat and others do not? To answer this question, the relationship between motivational factors and self-reported cheating beliefs and behaviors was examined in a sample of early adolescents. It was hypothesized that cheating and beliefs in the acceptability of cheating would be more likely to occur when students perceived…

Recent studies have documented a decline in academic performance and motivation as students move from elementary to middle level schools. This paper expands these studies in three ways: (1) by examining the classroom-level differences among middle school students' motivation to see if motivational constructs vary by classroom; (2) by exploring the…

A study in Finland investigated the relationship of two general aspects of student motivation for second language learning (preference for challenge and curiosity) and motivation specific to the learning situation. Subjects were 292 sixth-graders and 301 eighth-graders, who performed two open and two closed English vocabulary tasks in two…

The English and Spanish scripts of a dialogue between two Hispanic Americans are presented. The brief drama was recorded on videotape, available separately, for use in instructional television. The story illustrates the frustration and anxiety some Hispanics feel while striving for a better life in the United States. A confrontation occurs between…

This paper describes how a Wayne State University (Michigan) multimedia design team is applying Keller's ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) Model of Motivational Design to the entire process of design, development, and evaluation of multimedia courseware. The ARCS Model has been applied to the prototype module and is being…

In educational and training environments, teachers assign their students independent research tasks that require locating, gathering, synthesizing, and summarizing information from one or more information resources containing large, and sometimes overwhelming, amounts of information. This study explored the information location and use activities,…

Views of former adult literacy students about their learning experience were ascertained in a study. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 68 former students from 2 adult literacy programs in the Inner West of Sydney (Australia). A literature review focused on the following topics: characteristics of adult basic education (ABE) students;…

Self-directed learning is more appropriate than teacher-directed learning for adult students in colleges and universities. In a self-directed learning environment, students collaborate with the teacher in determining the skills to be learned in the course and form teams needed to carry out work to learn the skills. One learner-oriented model is…

Motivation towards English learning in Japanese schools today is analyzed according to John Condry and James Chambers' process-of-learning paradigm. The four stages of learning (initial engagement, process, disengagement, and re-engagement) are shown to emit different processes of learning in students based on whether learning is intrinsically or…