Good English for What?: Learners’ Motivation as a Factor in Declining Learners’ Performance in English  

Oleh:

Akeredolu-Ale, Bolanle

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education (Full Text) vol. 14 no. 2 (2007), page 231-245.
Fulltext: Vol. 14, No. 2, August 2007, pp. 231–245.pdf (199.37KB)

Isi artikel

Learners’ performance in the acquisition and use of any given language is ordinarily as much the result of the quality of learning opportunities available and the learning environment (the supplyside factor) as the quality and strength of the learners’ motivation and response (the demand-side factor). However, one side sometimes proves more decisive than the other. This paper argues that, during the period 1980–2005, a sharp decline in the motivation of young English-language learners occurred, as a result of certain historical developments discussed in the paper, and that a drop in learners’ motivation is probably the most powerful explanation for the equally sharp decline in learning effectiveness and in young learners’ proficiency in the use of English which occurred during the same period, particularly since about 1990 (the Learner-Motivation/ Performance Thesis). The paper argues that the change which has occurred in societal perception of the function, status and value of English language as a result of the historical developments identified raises some interesting sociolinguistic questions, in particular, regarding the long-term status of English in Nigeria. In this regard, it is argued that while the change may not imply that the death of English as a generic language is imminent in Nigeria, it does suggest that the death of ‘Good English’ (Standard British English) is imminent in the country and that the peculiarities of the local variety of English likely to replace Good English will probably create serious intelligibility problems for Nigeria in its international transactions.

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