Teachers’ Cognitions on Motivating Language Learners in Multilingual Hong Kong

Abstract

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 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.

English for specific purposes teachers’ beliefs about their motivational practices and student motivation at a Chinese university

“…While the field of L2 motivation research has made considerable advances in recent decades (Al-Hoorie, 2018;Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011;Lamb, 2017), we know only a little about language teachers' espoused beliefs regarding student motivation and self-reported motivational classroom practices from the few small-scale studies (e.g., Cowie & Sakui, 2012;Harvey, 2013;Hennebry-Leung, 2020;Lee, 2015) available. These studies reveal espoused beliefs based on varying levels of theoretical knowledge regarding research on L2 motivation.…”

“…All of this suggests Dörnyei's (2001) macro-strategies, and yet she is ambivalent about actually using these strategies herself to support learning. She also believes in the importance of rewards, which relates to the Chinese assessment culture (Hennebry-Leung, 2020;Wong, 2014), and in the need for students to apply dedicated effort, which suggests Confucian values (Cheng & Dörnyei, 2007).…”