Post on 24-Feb-2016
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KOREAN LANGUAGE STUDIES: MOTIVATION AND ATTRITION
Julie Damron, BYUJustin Forsyth, UBC
INTRODUCTION The attrition rate for Korean language classes
at BYU from beginning (101) through intermediate (202) is high.
WHAT AND WHY? What is the attrition rate among Korean
classes at BYU?
What motivates students to take Korean at the university level?
Why do students drop out?
A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Why do students take a language?
Heritage Significant other Education requirements Interest Sake of learning Career opportunities Increase cultural understanding
LITERATURE REVIEW (CONTINUED) Why do students drop out?
Anxiety/stress Loss of interest Course too difficult or easy Dislike of classroom environment Unavailability of resources Lack of confidence Loss of native speaking friend
METHODOLOGY (PART ONE)Tracked 131 student enrollments from Korean 101 to 202 starting from 2005 to 2010.
Who enrolled in 101?-84 women, 47 men -33 freshman, 32 sophomores, 32 juniors, 29 seniors, 5 masters students
METHODOLOGY (PART TWO)Surveyed 129 students from Brigham Young University who took any Korean 101-202 class (92 responded) Students ranged from beginning to high-
intermediate learners Majors included: economics, management,
biology, business, and undeclared Surveys were sent and returned via email to
students who had taken a Korean language course between 2005 and 2010
METHODOLOGY (CONTINUED) The survey asked 12 questions, with 5 of the
questions utilizing a 5-point Likert scale 54.3% of students had no Korean parents, 28.3%
had one Korean parent, 17. 4% had two Korean parents. None were adopted from Korea.
Student Attrition Rate from Class to Class from 2005-2010
Attrition from 101 - 102
Attrition from 102 - 201
Attrition from 201 - 202
*Overall attrition from 101 – 202
16 Students starting in Fall 2005
57% 72% O% 88%
20 Ss, Fall 2006
50% 40% 17% 75%
20 Ss, Fall 2007
50% 40% 50% 85%
26 Ss, Fall 2008
31% 50% 67% 89%
21 Ss, Fall 2009
58% 45% 20% 81%
28 Ss, Fall 2010
43% 75% 75% 97%
RESULTS Overall attrition rate from first semester to
the beginning of the fourth semester Korean classes averaged 85%
(compared with Spanish, French and German at 12-24% at various institutions)
Why?
MOTIVATION FOR TAKING 101Biggest motivators1st It looked interesting (54 students listed as
high)2nd It’s an important language (40)3rd Future career benefits (39)4th I have Korean heritage (38) Smallest motivators1st I have Korean heritage (46 students listed as
low)2nd It fulfills an academic requirement (42) 3rd I have a Korean friend/significant other (42)
INITIAL MOTIVATORS
It loo
ked i
nteres
ting
It's an
impo
rtant
langu
age
Future
career
bene
fits
I hav
e Kore
an H
eritag
e
I hear
d it w
as int
erestin
g
It fulf
ills an
acad
emic
requir
emen
t
I like
Kore
an po
p cult
ure
I hav
e a K
orean
frien
d / sig
nifica
nt oth
er0
10
20
30
40
50
60
high mid low
Motivating Factor
Num
ber
of S
tude
nt R
espo
nses
INITIAL DESIRED LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY
# of Respondents
% of Total
a. Like a native 12 9.38b. Fluent 28 21.88c. somewhat conversational 34 26.56d. only basic words and phrases 50 39.06e. no expectations about proficiency 4 3.13
REASONS FOR QUITTING KOREAN CLASSESMost influential reasons for quitting1st It didn’t fit my schedule (45 students listed as
high)2nd It was too time consuming (21 students)3rd I wasn’t comfortable moving up (20 students)4th I fulfilled my requirement (19 students)Least influential reasons for quitting1st I no longer had a Korean friend/significant2nd I lost interest in Korean3rd It wasn’t challenging enough
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
high
mid
low
Factor
Num
ber
of S
tude
nt R
espo
nses
WOULD-BE MOTIVATORS
Skill Level
Num
ber
of S
tude
nt
Resp
onde
nts
25
15
20
10
5
0high mid low
PERCEIVED SKILL IN LEARNING LANGUAGES
STRESS LEVELS FOR CLASS ACTIVITIES
CONCLUSIONIn this study, students took Korean for these
reasons: because they heard it was interesting, for future career benefits, and/or because they had Korean heritage.
CONCLUSION (CONTINUED) Student expectations were reasonable Average attrition rate from 1st class to 4th
class of 85% Timing was the biggest issue Anxiety did not appear to be a major factor
CONCLUSION (CONTINUED)If the primary goal is to reduce attrition,
potential effective changes can beEstablishing a language learning labOffering a greater variety of class
timesGiving less time-consuming
assignmentsAddressing anxiety associated with
evaluation
CONCLUSION (CONTINUED)