Papers by Mairin Hennebry-Leung (née Hennebry)
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
This chapter begins by critically considering the notion of student voice, and by problematizing ... more This chapter begins by critically considering the notion of student voice, and by problematizing the limited role this notion has played in language motivation research to date. The chapter explores qualitative focus group data to draw the learner's voice into the field of language learning motivation. In so doing, it provides a valuable perspective in a field that has been largely dominated by quantitative psychometric surveys of motivation. Data from 72 children who participated in focus groups across different medium of instruction settings is thematically presented and discussed, exploring the extent to which features of learners' macro, meso, and micro contexts emerge as motivational influences in their accounts. Given the central role attributed to learner agency in language education, including the learner voice in a discussion of their motivations is of particular significance.
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
This chapter will begin by outlining a framework for teacher cognition before reviewing evidence ... more This chapter will begin by outlining a framework for teacher cognition before reviewing evidence on the relationship between teachers' beliefs, knowledge, and practices, critically examining factors that act to enable or constrain coherence between these three. Framed by this discussion, the chapter will go on to explore qualitative data from the SCOLAR study, gathered through stimulated recall interviews with teachers and exploring their cognitions related to motivational language teaching. Also drawing on observation data, it will explore the relationships between beliefs and practices as follows: 1) language teachers' understanding of language learning motivation and motivational teaching; 2) their attribution of responsibility for language learning motivation; and 3) the nexus between their cognitions and practices. The relationships between beliefs and practices will also be interpreted with reference to mediating factors at different levels, such as those pertaining to the teacher (e.g., prior training) and those associated with the classroom environment, the school environment (e.g., medium of instruction), and the sociocultural environment. In this way the chapter will illustrate the complex interplay between teacher cognition and practices as mediated by contextual conditions.
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
This chapter will begin by considering the emergence of the complexity paradigm and ecological pe... more This chapter will begin by considering the emergence of the complexity paradigm and ecological perspectives that have become popular in the field of language education, and by critically considering the potency of these perspectives for a richer understanding of language education in general and language learning motivation in particular. Through the course of this discussion the chapter will examine empirical studies that have adopted these perspectives, highlighting the kinds of insights that these approaches are able to yield. The chapter will then move on to consider the work of the Douglas Fir Group, setting this up as the overall conceptual framework guiding the rest of the book. It will be discussed as a metatheory for understanding the theories that already exist in the field, thus operating as a means of bringing together extensive interdisciplinary knowledge to form a holistic and integrated perspective on language education. The discussion will critically examine the usefulness of the framework for operationalizing the complex interplay between learners' psychology, the interactions they participate in, the institutions within which interactions take place and which mediate learners' access to diverse interaction contexts, and the macro context within which institutions function and that mediate access and opportunity at every level. In proposing an integrated view of language education, the chapter will also consider how the framework can act as a metatheory bringing together the existing theories of motivation that were discussed in the previous chapter.
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
The chapter outlines key arguments for considering the role of personality in language learning m... more The chapter outlines key arguments for considering the role of personality in language learning motivation. It considers conceptualizations of personality and reviews research on the role of personality in langauge learning. The chapter then turns to a consideration of the SCOLAR study, examining data from the motivational survey and data gathered through the Five-Factor Personality Inventory to explore the relationship between personality and language learning motivation. Cook (1991) asserts that there are three reasons why we might be interested in personality: for furthering scientific understanding; second, in order to understand people; and third, in order to change people (p. 3). We interpret 'changing people' as bringing forth the fullness of learners' individuality in ways that support positive educational outcomes. Understanding the interaction between personality and language learning motivation serves this goal. It is likely that personality plays a major role in the process of foreign language learning (Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015) and in explaining individual differences in language learning, not least since it has been seen to account for 13% of the variance in language proficiency (Ghapanchi et al., 2011).
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
This chapter sets out the background and rationale for the study and provides an overview of the ... more This chapter sets out the background and rationale for the study and provides an overview of the study design and the methods used. Chapter four provided important background for the study, setting out the linguistic landscape and the particulareities associated with learning ENglisha nd learning English in Hong Kong. With this backdrop, this chapter outlines the rationale for the research study that is the focus of this volume and details the methods that were adopted to examine teacher and student aspects of language learning motivation, critically considering these methods in the context of wider methodological trends in the field.
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
This chapter will begin by outlining the discussion in the field of motivation around the notion ... more This chapter will begin by outlining the discussion in the field of motivation around the notion of cultural influences on the structures and manifestations of motivation. Since most conceptualizations of motivation, whether language learning motivation or otherwise, concern a notion of the self and others, the chapter will provide an overview of theory and research that proposes cultural differences in these construals, in relation to independent and interdependent societies. Next the chapter considers key features of the instructional setting that may be seen to interact with language learning motivation, before identifying the medium of instruction. Different models of content-based instruction will be reviewed, outlining what they entail, how they differ and how they are seen to interact with language learning motivation.The discussion will help advance the notion that accounting for sociocultural context, as distinct from assuming inherent cultural differences, may be a more fruitful direction in future theorizing and research about language learning motivation. Within this consideration, the case of Hong Kong will be examined through the lens of the SCOLAR study.
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
Language learning motivation has attracted considerable attention among SLA researchers, not leas... more Language learning motivation has attracted considerable attention among SLA researchers, not least because it has the capacity to predict up to 33% of the variation in language learning (Al-Hoorie, 2018). Since the 1950s this attention has sparked rapid and substantial developments in theoretical conceptualizations of language learning motivation, which have reflected broader shifts in the ways in which we understand language teaching and learning. A detailed overview of these developments is provided by Dörnyei and Ushioda (2011) and Dörnyei (2019a), tracing the social psychological beginnings of language learning motivation research through the cognitive-situated period, a process-oriented period, the socio-dynamic perspectives, and more recent endeavors to generate understandings informed by complex dynamic systems approaches. This trajectory traces a growing concern with accounting for the multi-dimensional interplay of factors that shape and direct motivation, recognizing motivation not as a static learner trait, but rather as emergent from an organic, dynamic interplay of factors that are deeply rooted in embedded layers of context. While the shifts in LL motivation research have seen a range of theoretical models and constructs proposed, in this chapter we consider in particular two related theoretical models that have been particularly influential in shaping understandings of language learning motivation, and which underpin the SCOLAR study. Gardner's theory of language learning motivation Language learning motivation research and theory traces its beginnings to the work of the Canadian psychologist Robert Gardner, along with his colleagues Wallace Lambert, Paul Tremblay, and Richard Clément. Gardner set out to identify learner characteristics that could explain differences in language learning interest and success, with a specific focus on language ability (measured with the Modern Language Aptitude Test) and motivation as possible determinants of L2 achievement. His work paved the way for a range of empirical and theoretical perspectives with important implications for methodologies, data analysis, and for the interpretation of relationships between statistical methods and psychological constructs. Lambert's (1955) work in particular highlighted a progressive series of barriers that learners must push through in the process of becoming bilingual. The most challenging of these is the cultural barrier, requiring a degree of identification with the language community. Along with Lambert, Gardner argued that the centrality of this cultural
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
We conceive motivational teaching strategies as instructional interventions applied by language t... more We conceive motivational teaching strategies as instructional interventions applied by language teachers to promote and enhance student motivation. This chapter considers research on the nature of motivational language teaching. It examines existing frameworks for motivational language teaching practice, identifying their theoretical underpinnings. Existing studies focusing on the relationship between teacher practice and learner motivation in language learning are predominantly descriptive in nature, and many rely on self-report. These studies are critically discussed before turning to the data gathered from the SCOLAR study. Examination of the SCOLAR data begins with a descriptive account of the teachers' practices across the Hong Kong schools, before considering the extent to which motivational practices differ according to instructional setting. The chapter then examines the nature of the relationship between teachers' motivational practice and learners' motivation, drawing implications for research and practice.
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
Language Learning Motivation in a Multilingual Chinese Context
Rooted in data gathered from a large-scale study in Hong Kong, this chapter examines English lang... more Rooted in data gathered from a large-scale study in Hong Kong, this chapter examines English language teachers’ cognitions on motivating learners in a multilingual context. In so doing it offers unique affordances to critically examine the mediating role of sociocultural context in language teacher education policy and practice. The chapter draws on observation and interview data from English language teachers across English, Chinese and mixed medium instruction secondary schools to explore their cognitions on language learning motivation and examine the role of sociocultural context in shaping their practices and beliefs. The data points to an ad hoc approach to motivating students that is reactive and not proactive, responding not to the multilingual needs of learners, but to immediate classroom events. The chapter suggests that while much is known about the nature of motivation, this knowledge has yet to be integrated into language teacher education curricula. The chapter argues ...
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2018
Models of education delivering content teaching through learners' second language have rapidly in... more Models of education delivering content teaching through learners' second language have rapidly increased in recent decades and are thought to offer a 'naturally' motivating context for learners to use and learn the medium of instruction (MoI). However, the relationship between MoI and language learning motivation (LLM) specifically is under-explored. In light of calls for contextually responsive theorizations of LLM, this study examines interactions between English language learning motivation (ELLM) and micro (MoI classrooms) and macro (schools) contexts in Hong Kong. ELLM measures were administered to Hong Kong secondary school learners of English (N = 3854), aged 11-14, studying in English, Chinese and Mixed mode of instruction schools. ANOVA results indicate higher levels of ELLM among EMI students on most measures and effects of MoI on three LLM constructs. The results support the relevance of a required orientation in explaining participants' ELLM and challenge the applicability of the ideal L2 self, which may be attributable to context rather than cultural difference. Implications are discussed for existing understandings of the MoI-LLM relationship, as well as discussions around culturally relevant theorizations of LLM. 1. Background Recent decades have witnessed increased spread of educational models delivering content teaching through learners' second language (del Pilar and Mayo, 2015). Variations include the Canadian immersion programs, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in parts of Europe and bilingual programs in the United States. For the purposes of this paper, we term these models 'Content-Based Instruction' (CBI). Such programmes have been promoted in the belief that content instruction through the target language medium creates a naturally motivating context for language learning and language use, facilitating both their learning of 'subject knowledge and competencies as well as skills and competencies in the foreign language' (Georgiou 2012: 495; Pérez Cañado 2017). The specific relationship between medium of instruction (MoI) and language learning motivation (LLM), crucial in sustaining learners' efforts towards successful learning of language and content, is a relatively under-explored but important area. This paper seeks to provide an empirical contribution towards addressing this gap, by disseminating concrete results obtained from a specific sample of a clearly identified milieu of schools and students, from which sample, data has been gathered through established methodologies in the field of LLM, at a specific moment in time. Rooted in the basic tenets of the discipline and the many previous studies examining general motivation, from previous generations of applied linguists and educationalists to whom it is indebted, this study specifically focuses on ELLM in the MoI context, examining empirical data drawing implications for future research and practice. Focusing on the MoI and ELLM relationship echoes calls for LLM theorization to better account for context in order to generate insights into the process of motivated language learning, a key predictor of language learning success (Bernaus and Gardner 2008; Du and Jackson, 2018; Liu and Thompson, 2018). It also draws attention to the role of cultural processes in learners' motivated language learning (Ushioda 2009), where previous research has highlighted cultural variations in motivation suggests between for instance 'independent cultures', such as the United States, (Deci and Ryan 2002; Ginsburg and Bronstein 1993) and 'interdependent societies', such
European Educational Research Journal, 2011
Recent enlargement of the European Union (EU) has created debate as to the suitability of current... more Recent enlargement of the European Union (EU) has created debate as to the suitability of current structures and policies for effectively engaging citizens and developing social cohesion. Education and specifically modern foreign language (MFL) teaching are argued by the literature to play a key role in equipping young people to interact and communicate effectively in the ever-changing European context and to exercise their rights as European citizens. However, much of the empirical research to date has focused on adult understandings of European citizenship. Furthermore, very few studies consider whether current MFL teaching is addressing issues of European citizenship or offer a comparison of provision between one member state and another. This study presents questionnaire data from four European countries to investigate young people's current understanding and awareness of European citizenship and the perceived contribution of their language learning experience to this awaren...
Citizenship Studies
ABSTRACT The 2014 Scottish Referendum gauged public opinion on the possibility of Scotland leavin... more ABSTRACT The 2014 Scottish Referendum gauged public opinion on the possibility of Scotland leaving the United Kingdom, raising significant questions about the legitimacy of claims to citizenship in the event of independence. Through a mixed methods survey, this study explored the ways in which citizenship emerged in popular discourse in the lead up to the Scottish referendum. Findings point to an emphasis in public discourse on a commitment to and participation in society, instead of the more traditional citizenship markers of ancestry, birthplace or residency. Data indicates a view of citizenship encompassing status and practice, while identity was framed in terms of more static notions of birthplace and ancestry. The salience of social participation was noticeably greater in respondents’ assessment of others’ potential Scottish citizenship than their own. Specifically, the study highlights the salience of relational aspects of citizenship in popular discourse, with an emphasis on social citizenship in preference to legal citizenship. The study constitutes a significant contribution to ongoing discussions about ‘participatory citizenship’ in the field of Citizenship studies, by providing much needed empirical data on social conceptualizations of citizenship.
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Papers by Mairin Hennebry-Leung (née Hennebry)
chapter examines English language teachers’ cognitions on motivating learners in a multilingual context. In so doing it offers unique affordances to critically examine the mediating role of sociocultural context in language teacher education policy and practice. The chapter draws on observation and interview data from English language teachers across English, Chinese and mixed medium instruction secondary schools to explore their cognitions on language learning motivation and examine the role of
sociocultural context in shaping their practices and beliefs. The data points to an ad hoc approach to motivating students that is reactive and not proactive, responding not to the multilingual needs of learners, but to immediate classroom events. The chapter suggests that while much is known about the nature of motivation, this knowledge has yet to be integrated into language teacher education curricula. The chapter argues the need for teacher education to incorporate an explicit focus on motivational teaching practice, equipping teachers with the tools to develop socioculturally responsive pedagogical frameworks that are sensitive to the needs of their learners as multilingual citizens rather than language learners.