Exploring achievement goal theory, ACTFL's 5 Cs, and the L2 classroom: What goals do students set?

Abstract

This study used achievement goal theory (AGT) in the Spanish second language (L2) classroom to determine what students' self‐selected goals are and how those goals relate to the ACTFL World‐Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (National Standards Collaborative Board, 2015). AGT is built on the concept of goal orientation, which is the natural tendency toward achievement‐seeking behavior. The four goal orientations are mastery approach, mastery avoidance, performance approach, and performance avoidance. The results of this mixed‐methods study show that the majority of students have mastery approach goals, but all four goal orientations were present across the sample population (N = 165). Results also indicate that 67.1% of students said that a top goal was communication and speaking, and 41.8% of students stated that grammar was a main goal. The findings that Communication (67.1%) and Cultures (2%) were the only two standards of the ACTFL 5 Cs (National Standards Collaborative Board, 2015) that were mentioned in students' goal statements and that Connections, Comparisons, and Communities were not mentioned at all indicate a disparity between what language learning entails and L2 learners' perceptions. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

Second Language Teaching With STEM

“…The teachers' survey findings were consistent with the students' goal area priorities for the Connections standard findings, as both L2 educators and students perceived Connections as a low-priority goal area. Miller's (2019) quantitative research investigating the relationship between Spanish L2 students' selfselected goals and the ACTFL's 5Cs also corroborated previous research. The study showed that Communication and Cultures were the only goal areas that students mention in the surveys, while all were unaware of the remaining three goal areas: Connections, Communities, and Comparisons.…”

“…Three groundbreaking, large-scale empirical studies conducted with college L2 learners have shown that students have not considered the Connections standard of the ACTFL's 5Cs (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages [ACTFL], 2011; Magnan et al, 2014;Miller, 2019) as important for their learning. Magnan et al's (2014) study involving 16,529 students learning 31 L2 languages in 11 post-secondary institutions examined the connection between students' goals and ACTFL Standards, as well as how students prioritize the 5Cs in L2 learning.…”

“…Compared to the other goals, the Connections goal has been the least focused area for educators in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages [ACTFL] (2011). One of Miller's (2019) pedagogical implications specifically pointed out that when educators focus on covering the material in a textbook rather than guiding learners to connect language with other disciplines, those learners will tend to limit their own goals. Therefore, Miller calls for instructional designers, language policymakers, curriculum coordinators, and language educators to make a concerted effort to "explicitly teach students what language learning entails and what it means to be linguistically and interculturally competent" (p. 250).…”

Motivational Mechanisms Underlying Second Language Achievement: A Regulatory Focus Perspective

“…Emotions could be the result of the individual's concerns with approaching positive end‐states versus avoiding negative end‐states (Higgins, 1987). Due to their distinct regulatory foci, such emotional reactions to goal pursuits are likely to influence the specific strategies and behaviors that learners employ in their goal pursuits (e.g., Miller, 2019; Papi, 2010; Teimouri, 2017). Research has shown that promotion individuals, concerned with positive end‐states, use eager strategies to improve their personal relationships, whereas those with a prevention focus employ vigilant strategies (see Klenk et al., 2011).…”

Rural students’ achievement goal orientation choices: A qualitative analysis of the influential individuals and factors

“…Ebrahimi, 2011; Hejazi et al, 2012; Nouri, 2012) and non-Iranian contexts (e.g. Guo & Leung, 2021; Koul et al, 2012; Miller, 2019; Miller et al, 2021; Mouratidis et al, 2018). These studies have been mainly dedicated to the association of goal orientations with educational issues such as academic achievement (e.g.…”