What is it about?

Persisting in a language program is one of the key factors in the study of motivation that causes success or failure in second language learning. The research on students learning Japanese at universities in Australia found that students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds have some impact on their motivation and their intention to continue or discontinue their study at university.

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Why is it important?

It is a unique comparison of motivational predispositions among learners of Japanese at university in Australia. Continuation of language learning is one of the most important determinants in successful second language learning and is related to the learners' development of sustaining motivation that is closely related to their cultural and linguistic interest in the target language. Persistence in the target language study can be influenced by the students' motivational predispositions which are generated by their expectations for success as well as the cultural and linguistic distance between their mother tongue and the Japanese language.

Perspectives

This is my first original journal article and based on a longitudinal study for 4 months. I hope the findings of this article could contribute to the further development of second language motivation research.

Dr Masanori Matsumoto
Bond University

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Persistence in Japanese language study and learners’ cultural/linguistic backgrounds, Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, January 2009, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.2104/aral0910.
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