Einstein, Albert - Este Es Mi Pueblo

LEARNERS' ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION TO
LEARN ENGLISH: ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN OR AS

AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE?
by
Iren Hovhannisyan
A thesis submitted for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics
at
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics
School of English
July 2014
i
To my husband Mkrtich
and daughters
Nina and Yanna,
for their unconditional love, patience, understanding and support

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ABSTRACT
The aim of the present study is to examine attitudes and motivation to learn English among
Greek learners of the sixth grade of primary school and the third grade of lower secondary
school in relation to variables such as age, gender and language attainment level. What is
more, this study seeks to explore the extent to which Greek learners are aware of the
concept of English as an International Language (EIL) and their attitudes towards and
motivation to learn EIL or at least to incorporate some EIL-related features into their
English language learning.
The data were collected in 27 state schools (13 primary schools and 14 lower
secondary schools) in the eastern and western parts of Thessaloniki, Greece. Both
quantitative and qualitative approaches were adopted with the overall number of 1,142
survey respondents and the total of 31 interviewees. The data elicitation tools employed
were a 71-item attitude/motivation questionnaire, which explored learners‘ attitudes
towards English, towards learning English at school, towards the native speakers of
English and learners‘ motivation to learn English for a plethora of reasons; the Oxford
Quick Placement Test, which measured the respondents‘ language attainment level; and a
concise questionnaire used for the short semi-structured interviews.
The results of the study highlight that age is the most influential variable across
almost all attitude/motivational variables, in which young learners are reported to have
more positive attitudes and a higher level of motivation. With regard to the impact of
proficiency level, more proficient learners have more positive attitudes towards English
and are motivated to learn English for instrumental reasons and for personal enjoyment. In
addition, the results show that gender is not influential, and this finding leads to the
assumption that, with special reference to English, attitudes and motivation seem to have
become gender-neutral. The qualitative data obtained from the short interviews amplified
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and enriched the findings of the study by providing a more insightful and detailed picture
of the learners‘ attitudes and motivation.
In conclusion, suggestions for future research and a number of pedagogical
recommendations are made on how to increase and sustain learners‘ attitudes and
motivation and to raise learners‘ awareness of EIL, based on the findings of the present
study.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My PhD dream would have never become a reality if I was not surrounded by so many
wonderful and caring people, who always inspired and motivated me.
My most profound gratitude and the deepest sense of acknowledgment are owned
to the three members of my supervisory committee:
Dr. Areti-Maria Sougari, my main supervisor and mentor, for helping me develop
academic thinking and become a dedicated researcher, for her constant guidance and
immeasurable support, countless hours that she devoted to the supervision of my research
and finally, for her commitment and fundamental role in my doctoral work;
Professor Angeliki Psaltou-Joycey, the second member of my supervisory
committee, for offering her scholarly and insightful comments and contributing immensely
to my doctoral work; and
and Dr. Nicos Sifakis, the third member of my supervisory committee, for
providing me with invaluable guidance and opening up new horizons for thoughtful
consideration and research.
I would also like to thank:
 All the headmasters and the teachers who admitted me into their schools and
classrooms as well as all the students who participated in this research.
 Athina Vrettou, Aleka Anastasiadou and Roxani Faltzi for their support and
compassion.
 Dr. Carol Everhard, for helping me to improve my academic English and her kind
advice.
 Robert Chatel and Kathleen Hart for their willingness to take up the arduous job of
proofreading.
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 Dr. Konstantinos Tzanas for his advice on the statistical part of the thesis.
 The State Scholarship Foundation (IKY), for funding my PhD studies.
 The Research Committee, for granting me the Excellence Research Scholarship.
 The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU), for granting me the International
Student Scholarship.
 The Pedagogical Institute, for granting permission to carry my research in state
primary and secondary schools;
 Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents for their love, patience,
understanding and support.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi
LIST OF TABLES xii
LIST OF FIGURES xiv
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Rationale for Carrying Out the Present Research 1
1.2 Research Questions 4
1.3 Layout of the Thesis 5
1.4 Concluding Remarks 7
CHAPTER 2
L2 ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING 8
2.1 Introduction 8
2.2 The Notion of Attitudes 8
2.2.1 The Nature of Language Attitudes 11
2.2.2 The Relationship between Attitude and Motivation 13
2.3 Defining Motivation 15
2.4 Language Learning Motivation 17
2.5 Gardner's Socio-Educational Model of L2 Motivation 18
2.5.1 The Integrative Motive 20
2.5.2 The Socio-Educational Model 21
2.5.3 The Attitude Motivation Test Battery 23
2.5.4 An Extended L2 Motivation Model Proposed by Gardner and 24
Tremblay (1994)
2.5.5 Integrative Motivation, Integrative motive and Motivational 26
Orientations
2.6 Alternative Theoretical Approaches to L2 Motivation 28
2.6.1 L2 Motivation and Attribution Theory 30
2.6.2 Goal Theories 30
2.6.3 Motivational Orientations and Self-Determination Theory 31
2.6.4 Neurobiological Approach to L2 Motivation 33
2.6.5 Situated Approach to L2 Motivation Research 33
2.6.6 Process-Oriented Approach to L2 Motivation Research 37
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CHAPTER 3
GLOBALISATION AND L2 ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION: RECENT
40
TRENDS, NEW PERSPECTIVES
3.1 Introduction 40
3.2 The Concepts of Self and Identity in L2 Motivation Research 40
Second Language vs. Foreign Language Contexts: Integrative Motivation 41
3.3
Reinterpreted
3.4 English, Globalisation, and L2 Motivation 46
3.5 Dörnyei's ―L2 Motivational Self System‖ 50
3.5.1 Integrativeness/Instrumentality and the L2 Ideal Self 51
3.6 L2 Learning and Identity 54
3.7 Factors affecting L2 Attitudes and Motivation 57
3.7.1 Gender-related Differences in L2 Attitudes and Motivation 58
3.7.2 Age-related Differences in L2 Attitudes and Motivation 62
3.7.3 Language Proficiency Level-related L2 Attitudes and Motivation 66
3.8 Studies Focusing on L2 Attitudes and Motivation in the Greek Context 71
CHAPTER 4
ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN OR AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE? THE
78
EMERGENCE OF A NEW PARADIGM
4.1 Introduction 78
4.2 EFL and the Rise of EIL 78
4.3 English and Globalisation 81
4.4 English as an International Language– International English: Defining the Main 83
Terminology
4.5 Development of English into an International Language 87
4.5.1 The Current Status of English and Spheres of its Dominance 93
4.6 English Reconceptualised: The Ownership of English and Intelligibility 97
4.7 English Reconceptualised: Terminology Issues 100
4.7.1 English in Europe 103
4.8 EIL: Attitudes and Identity 106
4.8.1 Teacher-focused Studies on EIL-related Attitudes 108
4.8.2 Learner-focused Studies on EIL-related Attitudes 113
4.9 EIL and English Language Teaching 117
4.10 Studies Focusing on English as an International Language in the Greek Context 126
CHAPTER 5
THE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 128
5.1 Introduction 128
5.2 ELT within the Greek Educational Context 128
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5.2.1 ELT in the Greek National Curriculum 129

5.2.1.1 Teaching Materials and Course Books Employed within the 133
Framework
5.2.2 Recent Reforms in FL Teaching in the Greek Educational System 136
5.2.3 ELT in the Private Educational Sector 138
5.3 Research Design 140
5.3.1 Population and Sampling 142
5.3.2 Data Collection 145
5.3.3 Instrumentation 147
5.3.3.1 The Questionnaire 147
5.3.3.2 The Oxford Quick Placement Test 155
5.3.3.3 Short Semi-structured Interviews 156
5.4 Research Questions 157
5.5 Methods of Statistical Analysis 158
CHAPTER 6
THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY 161
6.2 The Respondents‘ Profile 161
6.2.1 First EFL Experience 162
6.2.2 The Age of EFL Onset 163
6.2.3 Current Attendance at a Private FLC 163
6.2.4 Private EFL Lessons 164
6.2.5 Second Foreign Language 164
6.2.6 Language of Communication at Home 165
6.2.7 Parents’ Knowledge of English 166
6.2.8 Self-perceived Language Competence 166
6.2.9 Self-perceived Language Learning Effectiveness 167
6.2.10 Results of the Quick Placement Test 167
6.3 Attitudes towards English 168
6.3.1 Instrumental Attitudes towards English 170
6.3.2 ICT-related Attitudes towards English 171
6.3.3 Personal Enjoyment-related Attitudes towards English 172
6.4 Attitudes towards Learning English 174
6.4.1 School-related Attitudes towards Learning English 176
6.4.2 General Attitudes towards Learning English 177
6.4.3 Parental Encouragement to Learn English 179
6.5 Students‘ Motivation to Learn English 180
6.5.1 Motivation to Learn English for International Travel and 182
Communication
6.5.2 Instrumental Motivation to Learn English 184
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6.5.3 Cultural Interest in Students’ Motivation to Learn English 185

6.5.4 External Pressure in Students’ Motivation to Learn English 187
6.5.5 Per-item Analyses of Motivational Subscale in Terms of Age, Gender 189
and Proficiency Level
6.6 Students‘ Attitudes towards the NSs of English and NS Countries (UK and USA) 194
6.6.1 USA-related Attitudes 195
6.6.2 UK-related Attitudes 196
6.7 Students‘ Attitudes towards their Accent, Pronunciation and Grammar 197
6.8 Learners‘ Preference for Learning Materials for Reading, Listening, Speaking 200
and Writing Activities
6.9 The Results of the Interviews 206
CHAPTER 7
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 221
7.2 The Impact of Age on Students‘ Attitudes and Motivation 222
7.3 The Impact of Gender on Students‘ Attitudes and Motivation 225
7.4 The Impact of Proficiency Level on Students‘ Attitudes and Motivation 230
7.5 Attitude/Motivational Variables 231
7.6 Outlining the Profile of Greek EFL Students Aged 12 and 15 239
CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSION, PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR 244
FURTHER RESEARCH
8.2 Suggestions for Increasing Students‘ Attitudes and Motivation and Raising EIL- 244
awareness
8.2.1 Improving the Learning Conditions (equipment, materials, resources, 244
syllabus, etc.)
8.2.2 Applying a Differentiated Teaching Method in the Classroom 245
8.2.3 Focus on the Integrity of FL Instruction in Primary school and Lower 247
Secondary School
8.2.4 Raising the Students’ Awareness on Issues Related to EIL 248
8.3 Main Conclusions 249
8.4 Drawbacks and Problems Encountered 252
8.5 Suggestions for Further Research 254
REFERENCES 258
APPENDIX I 293
x
APPENDIX II 305
APPENDIX III 316
APPENDIX IV 319
xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

EFL English as a Foreign Language
EIL English as an International Language
ELF English as a Lingua Franca
ELT English Language Teaching
EM Extrinsic Motivation
ENL English as Native Language
ESL English as a Second Language
FL Foreign Language
FLC Foreign Language Centre
FLL Foreign Language Learning
IL International Language
IM Intrinsic Motivation
L1 Native/Mother tongue
L2 Second Language
LFC Lingua Franca Core
LSS Lower Secondary School
NNS Non-native Speaker
NS Native Speaker
PS Primary school
QPT Quick Placement Test
SDT Self-Determination Theory
SLA Second Language Acquisition
WE World English
WES(S)E World Standard Spoken English
WTC Willingness to Communicate
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1 Top ten languages used in the web (Appendix) 316
Table 5.1 Proficiency levels defined by the Ministry for each grade 132
Table 5.2 Cronbach‘s alpha statistic (reliability analysis) for the four scales 153
Table 6.1 The number of respondents according to age and gender 161
Table 6.2 Distribution of the respondents according to the place of EFL 162
onset
Table 6.3 The age of EFL onset 163
Table 6.4 Current attendance at a private FLC in terms of age 164
Table 6.5 Second foreign language studied 165
Table 6.6 QPT results in terms of age 168
Table 6.7 Factor analysis: Attitudes towards English 169
Table 6.8 Instrumental attitudes in terms of gender and age 170
Table 6.9 The effect of proficiency level on instrumental attitudes towards 171
English
Table 6.10 ICT-related attitudes in terms of gender and age 171
Table 6.11 The effect of proficiency level on ICT-related attitudes towards 172
English
Table 6.12 Personal enjoyment-related attitudes in terms of gender and age 173
Table 6.13 The effect of proficiency level on personal enjoyment-related 174
attitudes
Table 6.14 Factor Analysis: Attitudes towards learning English 175
Table 6.15 School-related attitudes in terms of gender and age 176
Table 6.16 The effect of proficiency level on the students‘ school-related 177
attitudes towards learning English
Table 6.17 General attitudes in terms of gender and age 178
Table 6.18 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable general 179
attitudes towards learning English
Table 6.19 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable 180
parental encouragement
Table 6.20 Factor analysis: Motivation to learn English 181
Table 6.21 International travel and communication in terms of gender and 183
age
international travel and communication
Table 6.23 Instrumental motivation in terms of gender and age 184
instrumental motivation
Table 6.25 Cultural interest in terms of gender and age 186
Table 6.26 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable cultural 316
interest (Appendix III)
Table 6.27 The impact of the dependent variable external pressure on 187
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students‘ attitudes and motivation in terms of gender and age

Table 6.28 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable external 188
pressure
Table 6.29 The effect of the independent variable gender on the items within 189
the motivational subset
Table 6.30 The effect of the independent variable age on the items within 192
Table 6.31 The effect of the language proficiency level on the items within 193
Table 6.32 Factors analysis: Attitudes towards the NSs/Ns countries 194
Table 6.33 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable USA- 196
related attitudes
Table 6.34 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable UK- 197
related attitudes
Table 6.35 Students‘ attitudes towards their accent in terms of age 198
Table 6.35a Learners‘ attitudes towards their accent and grammar in terms of 316
age (Appendix III)
Table 6.36 Learners‘ attitudes towards their accent and grammar in terms of 198
gender
Table 6.36a Learners‘ attitudes towards their accent and grammar in terms of 317
gender (Appendix III)
Table 6.36b Learners‘ attitudes towards their accent and grammar in terms of 318
proficiency level (Appendix III)
Table 6.37 Students‘ attitudes towards their accent and grammar in terms of 199
proficiency level
Table 6.38 Students‘ preferences for the listening activities in terms of age 200
Table 6.39 Students‘ preferences for listening activities in terms of 201
proficiency level
Table 6.40 Students‘ preferences for reading activities in terms of age 202
Table 6.41 Students‘ preferences for reading activities in terms of 202
proficiency level
Table 6.42 Students‘ preferences for writing activities in terms of age 203
Table 6.43 Students‘ preferences for writing activities in terms of 204
proficiency level
Table 6.44 Students‘ preferences for speaking activities in terms of age 204
Table 6.45 Students‘ preferences for speaking activities in terms of gender 205
Table 6.46 Students‘ preferences for speaking activities in terms of 205
proficiency level
Table 6.47 Profiles of the interviewees 206
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Gardner‘s conceptualisation of the integrative motive 20

Figure 2.2 Gardner‘s Socio-Educational model of second language acquisition 22
Figure 2.3 Tremblay and Gardner‘s (1995) model of L2 motivation 25
Figure 4.1 Model of EIL (Modiano, 1999b) 86
Figure 4.2 Kachru‘s concentric circles 89
Figure 4.3 Yano‘s three dimensional proficiency-based model of EIL 92
Figure 4.4 The changing demography of Internet users by first language 94
Figure 6.1 A profile plot for the effects of age and gender on the dependent 170
variable instrumental attitudes
variable ICT-related attitudes
variable personal enjoyment
variable school-related attitudes
variable general attitudes
variable parental encouragement
variable international travel and communication
variable instrumental motivation
Figure 6.9 A profile plot of the effects of age and gender on the dependent 186
variable cultural interest
variable external pressure
variable USA-related attitudes
variable UK-related attitudes
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale for Carrying Out the Present Study
Research on L2 attitudes and motivation was initiated about five decades ago in Canada by
Gardner and Lambert (Gardner & Lambert, 1972), and since then L2 attitudes and
motivation have been one of the most commonly researched facets of L2 learning and
acquisition. Such immense interest and profound enquiry might be explained by the fact
that L2 attitudes and motivation together with language aptitude constitute the most
influential individual difference variables which predict success or failure in L2 learning
and acquisition.
Throughout history, language learning attitudes and motivation have been examined
from different theoretical perspectives (which will be thoroughly covered in Chapters 2
and 3); nevertheless, the scope of these numerous studies, in different contexts and
applying a multitude of different approaches, has always been the quest to understand what
incites learners to initiate and sustain the arduous and painstaking process of language
learning.
Even though research on L2 attitudes and motivation has never dimmed, the
development of English into a language of international communication (EIL) has brought
another dimension to the research agenda with special reference to such issues as language
ownership, the Native Speaker (NS) vs. Non-native Speaker (NNS) dichotomy, self and
identity, attitudes towards EIL and motivation to learn it.
The present study has been influenced by these recent trends in research, and,
therefore, pursues a dual goal: on the one hand, the aim of this study is to examine, along
general lines, attitudinal/motivational patterns among Greek English as a Foreign
Language (EFL) learners within two cohorts: the learners of the sixth grade of state
2
primary school (PS) and the learners of the third grade of state lower secondary school
(LSS). In this respect, the effects of the most influential variables of age, gender and
language proficiency level on attitude/motivation factors will be examined. In relation to
the variable of age, this study will look into age-related differences in L2 attitudes and
motivation and whether young learners are more motivated and have more positive
attitudes (Burstall, 1975; Julkunen & Borzova, 1997; Kormos & Csizér, 2008; Masgoret et
al., 2001; Nikolov, 1999; Tragant, 2006; Muñoz & Tragant, 2001); as related to the
variable of gender, we will try to explore whether in this particular sample, females will
prove to be more motivated and to have more positive attitudes as generally stated in
relevant literature (Burstall, 1975; Carr & Pauwels, 2006; Clark & Trafford, 1995;
MacIntyre et al., 2002; Dörnyei et al., 2006; Powell & Batters, 1985); and finally, in
relation to the variable of language proficiency level, we will examine the extent to which
the respondents‘ English language proficiency level affects their attitudes and motivation,
since it is generally believed that more proficient learners have more positive attitudes and
are more motivated and, more specifically, manifest different attitudinal/motivational
patterns (Dörnyei, 1990; Lambert & Gardner, 1959; Lambert, Gardner, Barik & Tunstall,
1963; Lukmani, 1972; Spolsky, 1969).
On the other hand, the present study has undertaken a very intricate and, somehow,
ambitious task implicitly to reveal the extent to which Greek EFL learners (the population
under investigation) are aware of the concept of EIL, to explore Greek EFL learners‘
attitudes towards EIL and motivation to learn EIL or at least, their willingness to
incorporate EIL-related issues into their English language learning (ELL).
The involvement of young learners (12-year-old learners) in the study gives yet
another breadth and depth to this study as, to our knowledge, very few studies have
undertaken to investigate the interrelation of such multidimensional and complicated

3
issues such as attitudes and motivation in relation to EIL with particular reference to young
learners since the existing studies have more often focused on college/university students
and adults (Coetzee Van Rooy, 2006; Dörnyei, 2005; Masgoret & Gardner, 2003;
McClelland, 2000; Yashima, 2000) thus leaving the field of young learners‘ attitudes and
motivation and EIL considerably under-researched and open to investigation.
The present study, as contextualised within the Greek socio-educational milieu,
therefore, will not only shed light on young Greek learners‘ general attitudes towards
English and motivational orientations to learn it, examine the effect of the three
independent variables of age, gender and proficiency level on their attitudes and
motivation, but also attempt to examine, in an implicit way, how EIL is perceived by
young Greek learners of English and to what extent they are willing to incorporate EIL
into their ELL.
In this study, young Greek learners of English have been selected as the population
proper in order to first of all enrich and expand the research on the Greek EFL context with
regard to attitudes and motivation and, second, to make the learners‘ voices heard as well
because in Greece many studies have been conducted focusing on teachers‘ beliefs,
attitudes and motivation in relation to EIL (Sifakis & Sougari, 2003a/b; 2005a/b; 2010;
Sougari & Sifakis, 2007a/b; etc.) thus leaving blank the investigation of the above issues
from the learners‘ perspective. Of course, with regard to young learners‘ motivation,
proficiency level, strategy use and beliefs about teaching and learning in the Greek
context, a mention should be made of the studies of Psaltou-Joycey and Sougari (2010)
and Vrettou (2011), which provide extensive, valuable contributions, but they focus
mainly upon strategy use. These were the considerations that inspired us to turn the focus
of this study to young learners of English in the Greek EFL context.

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Therefore, it is clear that the need to conduct such a study is justified by the dearth of
studies on the issues involved in the Greek EFL context and, on a larger scale, the few
studies worldwide that investigate the interrelation of learners‘ attitudes and motivation to
learn English and the role of English as an international language in general and among
Primary school learners in particular.
1.2 Research Questions
As stated above, this study pursues two goals: first, the effects of the three independent
variables of age, gender and proficiency level on two distinct groups of learners (PS and
LSS learners) will be examined; and, second, an attempt will be made to untangle the
learners‘ attitudes towards EIL and their desire to incorporate EIL-related issues into their
language learning. Therefore, in the pursuit to explore the above mentioned issues, the
following research questions have been posited:
 Research Question 1. For the whole sample, do differences in age affect the learners’
attitudes and motivation to learn English?
 Research Question 2. For the whole sample, do differences in learners’ levels of
language attainment affect the learners’ attitudes and motivation to learn English?
 Research Question 3. For the whole sample, are there significant gender differences in
learners’ attitudes and motivation to learn English?
 Research question 4. For the whole sample, is English perceived as a foreign or as an
international language by Greek learners?
Consequently, the research findings will provide comprehensive answers to the
above posited questions, by not only making its tiny contribution to the huge body of
5
research on the above mentioned issues, but also serving as informative and supportive
material for policy makers and teachers on learners‘ attitudes and motivation in the Greek
educational context, and more specifically, in Greek state schools.
1.3 Layout of the Thesis
The thesis consists of eight chapters:
Chapter one is the introduction to the scope, aim and content of the present thesis. It
presents the rationale for carrying out the study by establishing the theoretical setting of
the study, stating the main problems and referring to similar studies conducted in different
settings. Eventually, the need for such a study in the Greek educational context is
substantiated by highlighting the scarcity of related studies in the Greek context,
especially, with reference to the interrelation of L2 attitudes and motivation and EIL, thus
proposing that the results of the present study might render quite interesting and
informative findings which can serve as a reference point for local educators and policy
makers.
Chapter two provides the theoretical underpinning of the thesis by discussing the
nature of language attitudes and motivation and presenting the main theories on L2
attitudes and motivation. A reference is made to Gardner‘s Socio-Educational Model as the
most well-developed and empirically tested model, which was researched in Canada as
well as outside its borders. What is more, a brief overview of different theories and
approaches on L2 attitudes and motivation is made. These theories and approaches, which
very often reflect the mainstream theories in psychology, were proposed in response to the
calls for a ―motivational renaissance‖ and revision of the Socio-Educational Model. A
short overview of the most prominent theories and approaches is made in a chronological
order.
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Chapter three discusses the interrelation of L2 attitudes/motivation and globalisation,
the emergence of such issues as self, identity and language ownership that come into play,
and, in a way, impose the necessity to re-conceptualise the notions of L2 attitudes and
motivation regarding English and to revise the existing theories. This chapter is also an
overview of studies examining the effects of age, gender and proficiency level, which are
considered to be the most influential variables regarding L2 attitudes and motivation. In
addition, a brief account of studies focused on L2 attitudes and motivation in the Greek
context is presented.
This chapter is particularly important for the present study since it discusses the most
recent trends and approaches in motivational theories related to the overwhelming
phenomenon of globalisation and the development of English into an international
language, thus providing a link between L2 attitudes and motivation and a quite novel
concept of EIL, which is, as a result, discussed in the next chapter.
Chapter four therefore presents and discusses EIL in terms of its development,
current state, challenges and future perspectives. Such topics as attitudes towards EIL, EIL
and L2 pedagogy, language ownership, self, identity and EIL and the definition of the
native speaker in the light of the recent developments and globalisation are particularly
highlighted as the cornerstones of EIL.
Chapter five provides the context of the study, the role of EFL in the Greek
educational milieu, both in private and public sectors, and presents the methodology of the
research by analytically introducing the sampling methods, the sample, data collection
procedure, the instrumentation and the methods of statistical analysis.
Chapter six presents the results of the research in terms of the quantitative and the
qualitative analyses of the findings. The quantitative analysis involves the statistical
treatment of subsections and items regarding attitudes towards English, learning English,
7
the native speakers of English and motivation to learn English and the effects of the three
independent variables of age, gender and proficiency level on the factors produced within
the attitude/motivational scales. The qualitative data were derived from the short semi-
structured interviews conducted with 31 participants selected from both cohorts and
analysed in relation to the three independent variables.
Chapter seven discusses the results of the research with reference to the research
questions. The findings are interpreted and compared with the findings of similar studies in
different contexts discussed in chapters two, three and four.
Finally, chapter eight presents the synopsis of the whole thesis, summarises the most
important findings, and highlights those issues that need further consideration and
investigation. In addition, this chapter discusses and presents all the obstacles and
difficulties encountered during the research, the contribution that this research might make
to the field of L2 attitudes and motivation in the Greek EFL context as well as the vision
and the perspectives. It ultimately considers some pedagogical implications and suggests
possible means of increasing young learners‘ positive attitudes and motivation as well
raising their awareness of EIL-related issues.
1.4 Concluding Remarks
This chapter presented the aim, scope and rationale for carrying out the present research.
The theoretical background of the study was outlined and the theoretical framework where
the current research is situated was made clear. In addition, the research questions were
posited and substantiated. Lastly, the outline and the organisation of the thesis were
provided.
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CHAPTER 2
L2 ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION IN
FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING
2.1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a solid theoretical background for the research by
presenting the most influential theories in the field of language attitudes and motivation in
second/foreign language acquisition. After a brief introduction to the notion of attitudes
and motivation with special emphasis on attitudes and motivation in L2 learning, the
prevalent attitude/motivational theories in the field will be presented and discussed. More
specifically, Gardner‘s (1985a) Motivational Theory and the Socio-Educational model of
L2 Motivation are referred to as the theoretical background for the present research.
2.2 The Notion of Attitude
Attitude is a hypothetical construct used to explain direction and persistence of human
behaviour. Derived from the Latin word ―aptitude‖ and the Italian ―atto‖ (Latin actus), its
root meaning appears to be ―aptitude for action,‖ i.e. having a tendency towards certain
actions, which is embodied in Allport‘s (1935) classic definition. He defines attitude as ―a
mental or neural state of readiness, organised through experience, exerting a directive or
dynamic influence upon the individual‘s response to all objects and situations with which
it is related.‖ He added that ―an attitude characteristically evokes behaviour that is
acquisitive or avertive, favourable or unfavourable, affirmative or negative toward the
objects with which it is related‖ (Allport 1935, p. 8).
Many definitions of attitude have been proposed over the years, and each reflects a
particular theoretical position. What is more, definitions of attitude are surrounded by
semantic disagreements and differences about the specificity and generality of the term.
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Thurstone (1946, p. 39), for example, defines attitude as ―the degree of positive or
negative affect associated with some psychological object.‖ The same approach is shared
by Ajzen (1988, p. 4), who defines attitude as ―a disposition to respond favourably or
unfavourably to an object, person, institution or event.‖ Still others emphasise the
behavioural dimension of attitude, such as Gergen (1974, p. 620), who defines attitude as
―the disposition to behave in particular ways toward specific objects.‖
Krech, Crutchfield and Ballachey hold that attitude is an ―enduring system of
positive or negative evaluations, emotional feelings, and pro or con action tendencies with
respect to social objects.‖ A reference to social objects apparently reflects their view of the
typical object of an attitude rather than a conviction about what sort of object an attitude
must have, for they hold that ―the object of an attitude may be anything that exists for an
individual.‖ (1962, p. 139). In their attempt to explain the notion of attitude (1962, p. 140),
they describe the cognitive component as consisting of beliefs about an object, the most
important among these being evaluative beliefs.
Newcomb, Turner and Converse (1965, p. 140) maintain that from a cognitive point
of view, ―attitudes represent an organisation of valenced cognitions‖ where ―valenced‖
means ―accompanied by positive or negative associations,‖ and, that from a motivational
point of view, an attitude represents a state of readiness for motive arousal. Sherif and
Sherif (1967, p. 190) regard attitudes as ―a set of evaluative categories which an individual
has formed (or learned) during his interactions with persons and objects in his social
world.‖
All of the above conceptions of attitude are ―multidimensional‖; they represent
attitude as having more than one kind of constituent. By contrast, Fishbein (1967, pp. 478-
9) put forward a simplistic conception viewing attitude as a relatively simple
unidimensional concept, referring to ―the amount of affect for or against a psychological

10
object.‖ Rather than viewing beliefs and behavioural intentions as part of attitudes, he
prefers to define them independently and to view them as phenomena that are related to
attitudes.
Bem (1968, p. 197) also offers a unidimensional view: ―An attitude is an individual‘s
self-description of his affinities for and aversions to some identifiable aspect of his
environment.‖ In this perspective, language attitude can be constructed through inspection
of one‘s own actions.
However, neither Fishbein (1967) nor Bem (1968) acknowledges his own concept to
be widely held. Fishbeing (1967, p. 478) goes so far as to say that ―attitude is currently
defined as a concept containing an affective, a cognitive, and a conative component‖; Bem
holds that his definition is not one of those found in the social-psychological literature on
attitudes. Bem‘s reason for proposing the definition he does is, roughly speaking, its
simplicity and methodological usefulness. Fishbein (1967, p. 479) also seems to favour his
definition, not as capturing the ―conceptual meaning‖ of ―attitude,‖ but mainly on what he
calls the ―pragmatic‖ ground that, on the usual multidimensional concept, a person‘s
attitude ―may fall at three very different positions on three different dimensions.‖
Attitude is traditionally seen to be composite of three components: cognition, affect,
and readiness for action, where the cognitive component is responsible for beliefs and
thoughts, the affective component is responsible for the feelings towards the attitude
object, and the readiness for action component is a behavioural intention or plan of action
under defined circumstances. This three-component model of attitude is viewed in a
hierarchical form (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) with cognition, affect and action as the
foundation.
From the educational research perspective, attitude is considered both as input and
output. For example, a favourable attitude to language learning may be a vital input in
11
language achievement. Therefore, attitude is a predisposing factor, affecting the outcomes
of language learning. On the other hand, attitude can also be an outcome in itself. For
example, after a language-learning course, the teacher may hope for a favourable attitude
towards the language learnt. For instance, in Gardner‘s (1988) Socio-Educational model
(see 2.5), attitude appears in the model as an outcome alongside bilingual proficiency.
After presenting the range of definitions and conceptualisations of attitude, it would
be useful to delineate a definition that would serve the rationale of this research. We would
rather view attitude in its multidimensional capacity as an enduring system of positive or
negative evaluations, emotions and pro or con action tendencies (Krech, Crutchfield &
Ballachey, 1962). It would be rather simplistic to view attitude as a unidimensional
construct because attitude by its nature is a complex construct.
In the following section, language attitudes will be defined and discussed as being
relevant to the present research.
2.2.1 The Nature of Language Attitudes
As the present research investigates language attitudes, it is more important to discuss the
nature of language attitudes which, together with motivation, usually determine success or
failure in language learning. It should be pointed out that when speaking about the general
construct, ―attitude‖ has been addressed in the singular, so as to present the nature of the
concept. Nevertheless, when speaking about ―language attitudes‖, a plural form will be
used because ―language attitudes‖ as an umbrella term is usually made reference to in
plural form to show a group of certain attitudes, either negative or positive, towards a
particular language. Therefore, in this section an attempt will be made to provide the most
sophisticated definitions of the term and explain what the term ―language attitudes‖ entails.
―Language attitudes‖ is an umbrella term, under which a variety of specific attitudes
resides (Baker, 1992, p. 29). For example, research has focused on:
12
 Attitudes to language variation, dialect and speech style
 Attitudes to learning a new language
 Attitudes to a specific minority language (e.g. Irish)
 Attitudes to language groups, communities and minorities
 Attitudes to language lessons, materials, teachers, etc.
 Attitudes of parents to language learning
 Attitudes to language preference, etc.
In the research tradition, the study of attitudes to a specific language has a long
history. The interest of research on attitudes to a specific language is based on the reasons
for favourability and unfavourability towards those languages. However, the more typical
scope of research on attitudes to a specific language is on gender, age or background
differences between groups of individuals. Attitudes towards the speakers of the language
and their culture are researched in SL and FL contexts (e.g. Csizér & Dörnyei, 2005;
Dörnyei & Clément, 2001; Gardner 1985a, 2001; Gardner et al., 1976).
Two components of language attitudes have been distinguished: instrumental and
integrative. Instrumental attitude to a language is mostly self-oriented and individualistic
and would seem to have conceptual overlap with the need for achievement (McClelland,
1987). Instrumental attitudes to learning a second language or preserving a minority
language might be for vocational reasons, status, achievement, personal success, self
enhancement, self-actualisation or basic security or survival.
On the other hand, an integrative attitude to a language is generally of social,
intergroup and interpersonal character. Such an attitude is conceptually associated with the
need for affiliation. It has been defined by Gardner and Lambert (1972, p. 14) as ―a desire
to be like representative members of the other language community.‖

13
However, the categorisation of attitudes into instrumental and integrative is not
without controversy (Au, 1988; Oller, 1981). One line of criticism concerns the
measurement of the two orientations, and the second line of criticism concerns the varying
use made of integrative and instrumental intentions. Sometimes they are kept distinct and
sometimes aggregated (Baker, 1992). One explanation to this discrepancy is that the
distinction between integrative and instrumental attitudes is conceptual rather than
empirical.
With regard to attitudes towards the learning situation, Stern (1983) distinguishes
three types of attitudes: a) attitudes towards the target language (TL) community; b)
attitudes towards learning the language concerned; and c) attitudes towards languages and
language learning in general. These attitudes are influenced by such factors as the
language learning milieu, the individual learner‘s characteristics as well as the target
language itself. In the present research, learners‘ attitudes towards all the above-mentioned
issues have been addressed (see Chapter 6).
2.2.2 The Relationship between Attitude and Motivation
The use of the terms ―attitude‖ and ―motivation‖ has varied in the fields of second
language acquisition and bilingualism. Ellis (1985) discusses the definition and the use of
the terms of ―attitude‖ and ―motivation‖ by Brown (1981), Gardner (1985a) and Schumann
(1978) and concludes that there is no general agreement about what precisely ―motivation‖
or ―attitude‖ consists of nor the relationship between the two. In the field of SLA research,
the terms ―attitude‖ and ―motivation‖ more often appear together without discussion of the
extent of difference.
Gardner and Lambert (1972) distinguish between ―attitude‖ and ―motivation‖
defining ―attitude‖ as the persistence shown by the learner in striving for a goal, and
14
―motivation‖ as an overall goal or an orientation. Therefore, they maintain that one should
not expect a relationship between the two. Nevertheless, Gardner (1985a) suggests that
attitudes are related to motivation as they serve as a supportive base of the learners‘
motivational orientation.
Shaw & Wright (1967) maintain that both attitudes and motivation refer to latent
dispositions affecting the directionality of behaviour but not to external behaviour itself.
Newcomb (1950) suggests a two-fold difference between attitude and motive. First,
motives have an existing drive state, while attitudes do not, although attitudes may produce
drives. Second, attitude is object-specific, motive is goal-specific. However, it is not of
great importance whether these are mere semantic discriminations or real distinctions; the
more important difference seems to lie in the terms representing two different
psychological traditions (Baker, 1992).
Language attitudes are seen as a cornerstone construct for language motivation.
Nonetheless, motivation and attitudes are also viewed as separate constructs. ―Motivation‖
is defined as an internal mechanism pushing a person to initiate an activity and to reach the
final goal, whereas ―attitudes‖ are viewed as a person‘s disposal to react favourably or
unfavourably to an object, person or event. At this point, we would rather agree with
Newcomb (1950) that attitude is object-specific, motive is goal-specific.
The above discussion indicates that, although attitudes and motivation are quite
distinct psychological constructs and could be treated separately, in the present research,
these two concepts are viewed to be interrelated, where attitudes are perceived as a
person‘s inner dispositions (favourable or unfavourable) to an object (e.g. language
learning, the English language, native speakers, etc.), and motivation is viewed as a
person‘s inner drive to start an activity and to reach the final goal (e.g. to learn English)
(Gardner, 1985a). Therefore, in our perception, attitudes and motivation are two links in a
15
chain, where attitudes perform as inner dispositions which stimulate a person‘s motivation
(i.e. inner thrive) to initiate and sustain an activity (e.g. language learning).
2.3 Defining Motivation
A major difficulty in the field of research on motivation has been the lack of consensus on
its definition. There have been numerous definitions, paradigms and theories of
motivation, and such an abundance of interpretations and definitions can be explained by
the multifaceted and complex nature of the concept.
In an attempt to resolve the terminological confusion, 102 statements defining or
criticizing the concept were compiled by Kleinginna and Kleinginna (1981) from a variety
of sources. The definitions were classified into nine categories, on the basis of the
phenomena or theoretical issues emphasised. Two categories of definitions emphasised
internal mechanisms (phenomenological and physiological); three emphasised functional
processes (energizing, directing, and vector); two restricted the scope of motivation
(temporal-restrictive and process-restrictive) and two emphasised the comprehensive
nature of motivation (broad-balanced and all-inclusive).
A simple definition is, therefore, not possible. Moreover, the American
Psychological Association proposed to replace the word ―motivation‖ as a search term in
the main psychological database because it had too much meaning and therefore was not
very useful (Dörnyei, 2001). Nonetheless, one definition posited by Keller (1983) can be
used to give the general flavour of what motivation is: ―Motivation refers to the choices
people make as to what experiences or goals they will approach or avoid and the degree of
effort they will exert in this respect‖ (p. 389).
Heckhausen (1991, p. 9) defines motivation as ―a global concept for a variety of
processes and effects whose common core is the realisation that an organism selects a
particular behaviour because of expected consequences, and then implements it with some
16
measure of energy, along a particular path.‖ Williams and Burden (1997) describe the
process of motivated behaviour by distinguishing three stages of motivation: (1) reason for
action, (2) deciding to act, and (3) sustaining the effort. They define the construct as ―a
state of cognitive and emotional arousal, which leads to a conscious decision to act, and
which gives rise to a period of sustained intellectual and/or physical effort in order to attain
a previously set goal (or goals)‖ (Williams & Burden, 1997, p. 120).
Dörnyei and Otto (1998) provide a more comprehensive and extended definition of
motivation by holding that: ―motivation can be defined as the dynamically changing
cumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates, and
evaluates the cognitive and motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are
selected, prioritised, operationalised and (successfully or unsuccessfully) acted out‖
(Dörnyei & Otto, 1998, p. 26).
Pintrich and Schunk (2002, p. 5) view motivation as the process whereby goal-
directed activity is instigated and sustained. This definition is in line with a broader
definition proposed by Dörnyei (1998, p. 118), in which motivation is viewed as: ―[A]
process whereby a certain amount of instigation force arises, initiates action, and persists
as long as no other force comes into play to weaken it and thereby terminate action, or
until the planned outcome has been reached.‖
Dörnyei (2001), however, maintains that the only thing about motivation that most
researchers would agree on is that motivation concerns the direction and magnitude of
human behaviour, that is:
 The choice of a particular action
 The persistence with it
 The effort expended on it.
He further holds that motivation is responsible for:

17
 Why people decide to do something
 How long they are going to sustain the activity
 How hard they are going to pursue it.
The above torrent of different approaches and definitions of motivation shows the
lack of consensus, and it would be more appropriate to agree with McDonough (1981, p.
143), who argued that motivation had been used as ―a general cover term – a dustbin – to
include a number of possibly distinct concepts, each of which might have different origins
and different effects and require different classroom treatment.‖
In sum, it could be stated that alongside its conceptual and terminological
complexity, motivation remains the stimulus that instigates and directs human action and
behaviour. To serve the purpose of this study and to present our conceptualisation of
motivation, the definition proposed by Dörnyei & Otto (1998, p. 26), in which they view
motivation as: ―…the dynamically changing cumulative arousal in a person that initiates,
directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates, and evaluates the cognitive and motor processes
whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritised, operationalised and
(successfully or unsuccessfully) acted out‖ has been adopted.
2.4 Language Learning Motivation
Motivation is perhaps one of the most researched areas in SLA. Motivation belongs to the
affective domain of SLA and, together with language aptitude; they form the two key
learner characteristics that determine the rate and the success of L2 learning. Language
learning motivation provides the primary impetus to embark upon learning and, later, the
driving force to sustain the long learning process. Motivation to learn a foreign language
involves all those affects and cognitions that initiate language learning, determine
language choice, and energise the language learning process (Dörnyei, 1998).
18
L2 motivation is a complex and multifaceted construct, consisting of different
motives, which are associated with distinct features of the L2 (e.g. attitudes towards the
L2), the language learner (e.g. self-confidence or need for achievement), and the learning
situation (e.g. the appraisal of the L2 course or the teacher). Dörnyei (1998) asserts that the
complexity of the L2 motivation construct is due to the complex nature of language itself
as it is at the same time a communication code, an integral part of the individual‘s identity,
and the most important channel of social organisation.
Because of such complexity, a single theory or model cannot provide for a
reasonable and sophisticated interpretation of the construct, and, consequently, many
theories and conceptualisations of L2 motivation have been advanced and researched.
More specifically, it is generally accepted that research on L2 motivation has two distinct
traditions: North-American-initiated and conducted in Canada by Gardner and associates
(Gardner & Lambert, 1972; Gardner, 1985a) for about four decades now, and it is natural
that it explores motivation in SL contexts (see 2.5). The second research tradition explores
motivation mainly in FL contexts and brings into light new conceptualisations of L2
motivation (Dörnyei, 2005; Julkunen, 2001; Oxford & Shearin, 1994;Yashima, 2000), the
most influential of which will be discussed in the sections that follow (see 2.7 and Chapter
3).
2.5 Gardner‘s Socio-Educational Model of L2 Motivation
Research on motivation in second/foreign language learning was initiated in Canada by the
two Canadian psychologists, Robert C. Gardner and Wallace E. Lambert (1972) about four
decades ago. They commenced the research on the premise that L2 achievement is not
only connected to the individual learners‘ linguistic aptitude or general intelligence, but
also to the learner‘s motivation and curiosity in learning the target language and culture.
19
According to Gardner and Lambert (1972), motivation involves four aspects: a goal,
effortful behaviour, a desire to attain the goal and favourable attitudes toward the activity
in question. They further argue that the goal, although a factor involved in motivation,
which provides a stimulus that gives rise to motivation, is not a measurable motivational
component. Individual differences in motivation lie in the three components: desire, effort
and favourable attitudes. The goal is reflected in the individual‘s orientation to language
study. Therefore, according to Gardner (1985a), motivation proper comprises three
components:
 Motivational intensity
 Desire to learn a language
 Attitudes towards learning a language.
Gardner (1985a) holds that ―motivation‖ is a kind of central mental ―engine‖ or
―energy centre‖ that subsumes effort, want/will (cognition) and task enjoyment (affect).
Gardner (1985a) further holds that these three components belong together because a truly
motivated individual possesses all three.
Gardner‘s motivation theory has four distinct areas:
 the construct of the integrative motive
 the Socio-Educational model
 the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery
 an extended L2 motivation construct developed together with Tremblay. (Tremblay &
Gardner, 1995)
20
2.5.1 The Integrative Motive
The most researched and empirically supported facet of Gardner‘s motivation theory has
been the integrative motive. Gardner (1985a, pp. 82-83) defines it as a ―motivation to learn
a second language because of positive feelings toward the community that speaks that
language.‖
The integrative motive is a construct composed of three components (see Figure 2.1
for a schematic representation):
1. Integrativeness, which comprises integrative orientation, interest in foreign
languages, and attitudes towards the L2 community.
2. Attitudes towards the learning situation, which subsumes attitudes towards the
language teacher and the L2 course.
3. Motivation, which is composed of desire, effort and attitude towards learning.
Figure 2.1 Gardner’s conceptualisation of the integrative motive

21
2.5.2 The Socio-Educational Model
The most outstanding and well-supported model ever proposed is Gardner's Socio-
Educational model (Gardner, 1988) (see Figure 2.2 for a schematic representation of the
model). The model had been revised several times, but the idea always stressed is that
languages are unlike any other subject at school, and that they involve acquisition of skills
or behaviour patterns that are characteristic of another cultural community.
This model differentiates among four aspects of the L2 acquisition process:
 antecedent factors either biological or experimental (e.g. gender, age or learning
history)
 individual-difference (learner) variables (intelligence, language aptitude, language
learning strategies, language attitudes, motivation and anxiety)
 language acquisition contexts
 learning outcomes.
The proponents of the SE model (Gardner & MacIntyre, 1992) claim that individual-
difference variables, influenced by antecedent factors, interact with both formal and
informal language acquisition contexts and influence both linguistic and non-linguistic
outcomes (i.e. students‘ reactions to the learning experience).
Gardner and MacIntyre (1992, p. 9) argue that this model shows the importance of
what takes place in the learning contexts: ―Teachers, instructional aids, curricula, and the
like clearly have an effect on what is learned and how students react to the experience.‖
The model also predicts that students‘ degree of success (i.e. linguistic outcomes) affects
their feelings (i.e. non-linguistic outcomes) and that both types of outcomes will have an
influence on individual-difference variables including language attitudes and motivation.

22
Figure 2.2 Gardner’s Socio-Educational model of second language acquisition

(reprinted from Gardner, 1985, p. 147)
―Motivation‖ in this model is defined as the extent to which the individual works or
strives to learn the language because of a desire to learn the language and the satisfaction
experienced in this activity. A ―motivated learner‖ is defined as one who is: (i) eager to
learn the language, (ii) willing to expend effort on the learning activity, and (iii) willing to
sustain the learning activity (Gardner, 1985a, p. 10). Motivation plays a significant role in
this model as it mediates any relation between language attitudes and language
achievement. Moreover, it has a causal relationship with language anxiety as well as
playing a direct role in the informal learning context, showing the voluntary nature of the
motivated learners‘ participation in informal L2 learning contexts.

23
2.5.3 The Attitude/Motivation Test Battery
The Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) was developed to measure the relationship
between attitudinal and motivational constituents of the model and L2 proficiency
(Gardner, 1985b). Its development follows more than 20 years of research, much of which
has been directed at the investigation of English-speaking students learning French as a
second language. As a consequence, the items comprising the battery are concerned
primarily with French.
The AMTB is grouped into five major clusters: (1) integrativeness, (2) motivation,
(3) attitudes toward the learning situation, (4) language anxiety, and (5) other attributes.
Each component comprises a number of indices or scales, which provide measurements for
the component in question. To be more specific, integrativeness is measured by: Attitudes
toward French Canadians (10 Likert scale items); Interest in Foreign Languages (10 Likert
scale items); Integrative Orientation (4 Likert scale items).
Motivation is measured by: Attitudes toward Learning French (10 Likert scale
items), Desire to Learn French (10 multiple choice items) and Motivational Intensity (10
multiple choice items).
Attitudes toward the learning situation elicits students‘ reactions to formal
instruction and is assessed by Attitudes toward the French Teacher (25 semantic
differential items) and Attitudes toward the French Course (25 semantic differential items).
Language anxiety, which refers to feelings of anxiety a student experiences in the
foreign language classroom, is assessed by French Class Anxiety (5 Likert scale items).
Other attributes is a category that includes measuring items, which do not fit into
any of the other categories such as Instrumental Orientation (4 Likert scale items), Parental
Encouragement (10 Likert scale items) and Orientation index (1 multiple choice item).
24
Though the AMTB was originally developed and tested in the Canadian context with
English-Canadian learners of French, it was later translated and was widely applied in
other contexts (e.g. to study the learning of English by French-speaking students in Canada
(Clément, Gardner & Smythe, 1977) and senior high school students in the Philippines
(Gardner & Lambert, 1972).
Although Dörnyei (1994a) argues that the AMTB does not show a clear
correspondence with the three constituents of the motivation component, i.e. ―desire‖,
―intensity‖ and ―attitudes‖ but represents a mixture of behavioural measures; this lack of a
clear content structure on a practical level does not render the AMTB invalid because
actual research usually makes use of aggregates of the measuring items.
2.5.4 An Extended L2 Motivation Model Proposed by Gardner and Tremblay (1994)
In response to the critique of Gardner‘s SE model for being restrictive and providing a
narrow perspective on motivation (Crookes & Schmidt, 1991; Dörnyei, 1994a, b; Oxford
& Shearin, 1994) and the calls for the ―adoption of a wider vision of motivation‖
(Tremblay & Gardner, 1995, p. 505), Tremblay and Gardner extended Gardner‘s Socio-
Educational model by incorporating elements from expectancy-value and goal theories, an
account of which will follow in 2.6.1 and 2.6.2 (see Figure 2.3 for schematic
representation).
25
Figure 2.3 Tremblay and Gardner’s (1995) model of L2 motivation
The proposed model suggests that a number of variables mediate the relationship
between Language Attitudes and Motivational Behaviour. Three such mediators are:
 Goal Salience (the specificity of the learner‘s goals and the frequency of goal-
setting strategies used)
 Valence (includes the scales of ―desire to learn the L2‖ and ―attitudes towards
learning the L2‖ thus denoting an L2-learning-related value component (Dörnyei,
2001)
 Self-Efficacy (anxiety and performance expectancy)
Dörnyei (2001) holds that this model is a synthesis of Gardner‘s previous, socially-
grounded construct and recent cognitive motivational theories, and it successfully
demonstrates that additional variables can be incorporated into Gardner‘s SE Model
without damaging its integrity.
Gardner‘s (1985a) L2 Motivation Theory and Socio-Educational model have served
as a theoretical background for numerous studies on L2 attitudes and motivation in SL
contexts and outside them and the modified versions of AMTB have been translated,
26
adapted and used as a very effective tool for measuring attitudes and motivation. Gardner‘s
(1985a) L2 Motivation Theory and Socio-Educational Model will provide a reference
point and a solid theoretical underpinning for this research. What is more, many items
from the AMTB, especially those related to attitudes towards the language and towards
learning the language, have been adapted and used in the questionnaire (see 5.3.3.1). On a
conceptual basis, L2 attitudes and motivation in this research are viewed within the
framework of integrative vs. instrumental dichotomy, though it should be pointed out that,
eventually, in the case of integrative motivation in its Gardnerian sense, the concept is
questioned and re-conceptualised, a point which will be presented and discussed in detail
in chapter 3 (see 3.3).
2.5.5 Integrative Motivation, Integrative Motive and Motivational Orientations
Due to the fact that throughout the thesis the terms integrative motive,
integrative/instrumental motivational orientations and integrative motivation appear and
there seems to be a general confusion between the three, it was found appropriate to clarify
this issue before proceeding to further discussion of attitude/motivation theories,
approaches and conceptualisations in order to avoid misconceptions in the future use of the
terms.
Gardner (1985a) makes a clear distinction between motivation and orientations in
which motivation is a construct composed of three elements: desire, effort and favourable
attitudes toward learning, whereas orientation (which is Gardner‘s term for ―goal‖) is a
reason that reflects some ultimate goal in second language learning, thus functioning as a
motivational antecedent. The most common misinterpretation of Gardner‘s theory lies in
the fact that it is viewed as merely consisting of a dichotomy of integrative and
instrumental motivation. Meanwhile, in Gardner‘s theory, motivation does not contain any
27
integrative or instrumental motivation. The integrative/instrumental dichotomy exists at
the orientation level, which is not a part of core motivation and merely functions as
motivational antecedent to arouse motivation and to direct it towards a certain goal or a set
of goals. With regard to the integrative motive, it is considered a key element in Gardner‘s
theory, which is a composite of three components – Motivation, Integrativeness and
Attitudes towards learning situation.
Consequently, it becomes clear that misconception and terminological confusion is
caused because there are three components at three different levels in the model that carry
the term ―integrative‖ (Dörnyei, 1994a).
With regard to motivational orientations, Lambert and Gardner (1959) classify the
various reasons for studying a second language into two distinct categories and identify
them as orientations. They focus on two types of orientations: integrative and
instrumental. Integrative orientation refers to a desire to learn, understand, interact and
even integrate with members of the TLC. Instrumental orientation, on the other hand,
reflects practical concerns: professional and social promotion or desire to study in the
country where the target language is spoken.
Therefore, it could be assumed that in many cases when we speak about different
reasons for learning a language, we deal with motivational orientations.
Oller, Hudson and Liu (1977) argue that there is an ambiguity in the classification of
reasons into integrative and instrumental orientations, and they refer to the fact that
different researchers have classified the same reasons into different categories. ―Travel
abroad‖ in one case is classified into instrumental (Lukmani, 1972) and in another case
into integrative (Burstall, 1975).
In response to such calls, research has expanded this two-factor theory, and a range
of orientations relevant to FLL has been identified. Previous studies (Clément &
28
Kruidenier 1983; Clément, Dörnyei and Noels 1994; Dörnyei 1990; McClelland, 2000;
Yashima, 2000) show that L2 learning goals and reasons may vary depending on the
milieu in which the data were gathered, and such orientations in FL contexts as travel,
friendship, knowledge, xenophilic, sociocultural and English media could be identified. In
some FLL cases, orientations have been grouped into broader categories, showing
relationships of differing strengths between such integratively-biased orientations as
interest in foreign languages, cultures, and people, desire to broaden one’s view and avoid
provincialism; desire for new stimuli and challenges, and desire to integrate into a new
community (Dörnyei, 1990), and those reflecting instrumental needs, such as instrumental
knowledge and English media (Clément et al. 1994). These clusters are identified as
integrative and instrumental motivational subsystems (Dörnyei 1994a).
The next section will briefly present alternative theoretical approaches to L2
attitudes and motivation, which emerged to expand Gardner‘s Motivational Theory and
also to encompass elements from mainstream motivational psychology.
2.6 Alternative Theoretical Approaches to L2 Attitudes and Motivation
As presented above, Gardner‘s (1985a) Socio-Educational model has been delineated as
the theoretical base of the study; nevertheless, it was considered essential to present and
discuss briefly the most distinctive alternative theoretical approaches to L2 attitudes and
motivation. The alternative approaches and theories were called to expand the Gardnerian
theory by providing new and wider perspectives and embracing those aspects which
emerged in the course of time.
The beginning of the 1990s can be characterised as the period of educational shift
and motivational renaissance. There was a strong call for expansion of motivation theories
as many researchers maintained that the dominant L2 motivation theory proposed by

29
Gardner (1985a) was restrictive and provided a narrow perspective on motivation (Crookes
& Schmidt, 1991; Dörnyei, 1994a; Dörnyei, 1994b; Oxford & Shearin, 1994). Gardner‘s
(1985a) Motivational Theory was deeply grounded in social psychology, but, with the
cognitive revolution in psychological research, some cognitive motivational theories were
advanced in mainstream psychology and consequently in L2 motivation research. Crooks
and Schmidt (1991) suggested reopening the research agenda by including need-
achievement concepts, expectancy-value ideas and attribution/self-efficacy constructs in an
enlarged theory of L2 motivation.
Crooks and Schmidt (1991) suggest that motivation has both internal and external
motivators. According to them, the structure of motivation includes four internal attitudinal
factors: (i) interest in L2 based on existing attitudes, experience and background
knowledge; (ii) relevance, which involves the perception that personal needs
(achievement, affiliation, power) are met by learning the L2; (iii) expectancy of success or
failure; and (iv) outcomes i.e. the extrinsic or intrinsic rewards felt by the learner.
On the other hand, external or behavioural characteristics include the fact that the
learner: (i) decides to choose, pay attention to, and engage in L2 learning; (ii) persists in it
over an extended period of time and returns to it after interruptions; and (iii) maintains a
high activity level.
Likewise, Dörnyei (1994b) suggests reopening the research agenda and
reconceptualising the existing theories since he believes that the earlier paradigms do not
encompass many components of L2 learning motivation such as: (i) intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation, (ii) goal-setting, (iii) cognitive components (Attribution Theory, learned
helplessness, self-efficacy), (iv) self-confidence, (v) need for achievement, and (vi) course-
specific and group-specific motivational components.

30
In the subsections that follow, an account of the most salient theories will be
presented.
2.6.1 L2 Motivation and Attribution Theory
Attribution Theory became dominant in research on L2 motivation in the 1980s (Dörnyei,
1990; Julkunen, 1989; Skehan, 1989), and it was called as such to raise the cognitive
element of L2 learning attitudes and motivation. The main premise of the theory is that it
links individuals‘ past experiences with their future achievement efforts with causal
attributions as the mediating link. Weiner (1992) holds that the subjective reasons to
which we attribute our past success or failure shape our motivational dispositions. In other
words, according to the supporters of this theory, we attribute our success or failure in
language learning to our past experiences and formed attitudes. Attributional processes in
language studies play an important motivational role, and this is reflected in recent
qualitative studies by Williams and Burden (1999), Williams, Burden and Al-Baharna
(2001) and Ushioda (1998).
2.6.2 Goal Theories
Goals have always been within the scope of interest of L2 motivation research (for
example, Clément & Kruidenier, 1983; McClelland, 2000). Tremblay and Gardner (1995)
proposed a motivation construct central to which is ―goal salience‖ conceptualised as
being composite of ―specificity‖ of the learner‘s goals and ―frequency‖ of goal-setting
strategies.
During the last two decades, two goal-theories have become particularly influential
a) Goal-setting Theory (Locke & Latham, 1994), which asserts that human action is caused
by purpose, and for action to take place, goals have to be set and pursued by choice and b)
31
Goal Orientation Theory, which was specifically developed to explain children‘s learning
and performance in school settings. Central to this theory are two contrasting goal
achievement orientations that students can adopt towards their learning: mastery
orientation goals (learning goals), which are more related to intrinsic motivation and
performance orientation (ego-involvement goals), related more to the external needs or
rewards. Ames (1992) argues that mastery goals are superior to performance goals in that
they are associated with a preference for challenging work, an intrinsic interest in learning
activities, and positive attitudes towards learning.
2.6.3 Motivational Orientations and Self-Determination Theory
Self-Determination Theory (SDT) has been successfully applied to the L2 motivation field.
According to the proponents of this theory, there are two basic types of motivation:
intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic Motivation (IM) generally refers to motivation to engage
in an enjoyable and satisfying activity. Vallerand et al. (1993) proposed three types of IM:
IM Knowledge, a motivation for exploring new ideas and developing knowledge; IM
Accomplishment, motivation to master a task or achieve a goal; and IM Stimulation,
sensations stimulated by the performance of the activity.
Extrinsic Motivation (EM) refers to motivation to achieve some instrumental end,
such as earning a reward or avoiding a punishment. In the domain of education, four types
of EM are distinguished (Noels, 2001): (i) external regulation – activities that are
determined by external sources such as tangible benefits or costs (e.g. if a student is
externally regulated, he/she learns L2 because of a possibility of obtaining a reward, a
course requirement or in order not to lose a job); (ii) introjected regulation – reasons for
performing certain activities because of some kind of pressure that individuals have
incorporated into their selves (e.g. a person may want to learn L2, because he/she feels
32
embarrassed or for the desire to show off); (iii) identified regulation – individuals make
efforts and invest energy into an activity because they chose to do so for some personal
reasons or because they understand the importance and the benefit of performing the
activity (e.g. learners want to attain a goal not because of some externally imposed
requirement but because they realise its importance for achieving a valued goal); (iv)
integrated regulation (the most self-determined and internalised type of the extrinsic
orientations, it occurs when identified regulations are fully assimilated to the self).
However, unlike intrinsic motivation, the activity is not performed because of enjoyment
but because it is viewed as an aspect of self-concept (Ryan & Deci, 2002).
Brown (1994) emphasised the importance of intrinsic motivation in the L2
classroom. According to Brown (1994, pp. 39-41), elementary and secondary schools are
burdened with extrinsically motivated behaviour. In his view, schools often teach learners
to focus exclusively on material or monetary rewards rather than developing an
internalised thirst for knowledge and experience and instilling an appreciation for
creativity, exploration and learning.
Noels (2001) and her associates have conducted empirical investigations of intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation in the field of L2 motivation (Noels, 2001; Noels, Pelletier,
Clément, & Vallerand, 2003). The main objective of those investigations was the
development of a valid and reliable instrument to assess the different subtypes of intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation. They also explored the link between these motivational subtypes
and various orientations to language learning that had been identified by Clément and
Kruidenier (1983), including travel, friendship, knowledge, and instrumental orientations.
It was established that instrumental orientation corresponded closely to external extrinsic
regulation, whereas the other three orientations corresponded to more self-determined and
intrinsic types of motivation.

33
Another aspect of SDT that has been researched in the field of L2 acquisition is
learner autonomy in L2 classrooms. Some studies in this field (Ehrman & Dörnyei, 1998;
Ushioda, 1998) show that L2 motivation and learner autonomy are interconnected. To
emphasise this point, Ushioda (1996, p. 2) maintains that autonomous language learners
are by definition motivated learners.
2.6.4 Neurobiological Approach to L2 Motivation
In the 1990s Schumann (1998) ―revolutionised‖ the L2 motivation field by introducing
neurobiological investigations of the cerebral mechanisms involved in SLA (Schumann,
2001). The main constituent of his theory is stimulus appraisal, which occurs in the brain
along five dimensions: novelty, pleasantness, goal need significance, coping potential and
self and social image.
More recently, Schumann (2001) has broadened his theory by introducing the
concept of learning as a form of ―mental foraging‖. He maintains that learning and
foraging share the same neural mechanisms because both processes involve translating an
incentive motive or goal into a motor activity. Schumann further argues that the two
processes are guided by dopamine, which serves to (i) give stimuli that are predictive of
reward, (ii) focus attention on those stimuli, and (iii) maintain goal-directed behaviour. In
both cases an incentive motive or goal is generated, and then transformed into a motor and
cognitive activity to achieve the goal.
2.6.5 Situated Approach to L2 Motivation Research
As discussed in section 2.5, Gardner‘s approach was situated in a socio-cultural dimension
of L2 motivation and provided a macro perspective, thus focusing on the examination of
motivational patterns of entire learning communities as well as on intercultural

34
communication and affiliation (Dörnyei, 2003). This approach has been attested to be
appropriate for studying socio-cultural issues such as multiculturalism, language
globalisation, language contact and power relations among different linguistic groups.
Nevertheless, this approach was found to be inadequate for providing an analysis of
instructed SLA in language classrooms. The acknowledgement of this fact led to a new
line of research in the 1990s especially in non-Canadian, i.e. foreign language (FL),
contexts (Dörnyei, 1994a; 1998; 2001; Julkunen 2001).
As a consequence of the ―educational shift‖ and ―motivational renaissance‖ (Crooks
& Schmidt, 1991), Gardner and Tremblay (1994) focused their attention on a more situated
approach to L2 motivation, investigating the classroom environment and the contextual
framework of the action. The research agenda included such aspects as course-specific,
teacher-specific and group-specific motivational components. In other words, this
approach provided a micro perspective to L2 motivation. McGroarty (2001) explains that
this contextualisation of L2 motivation did not happen in isolation but coincided with a
parallel situated shift in psychology that highlighted the role of the social context in any
learning activity. Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and Task Motivation are the most
prominent theories that took the course of the situated approach to L2 motivation.
Willingness to Communicate: L2 research has taken psychological, educational,
linguistic, and communicative approaches to explain why some individuals seek, whereas
others avoid L2 communication (Clément et al., 2003; Skehan, 1989; Tucker, Hamayan, &
Genesee, 1976). The WTC construct was first introduced into the literature by McCroskey
and Baer (1985) with reference to L1. It is conceptualised as the probability of initiating
conversation when given the choice to do so (McCroskey & Baer, 1985). MacIntyre and
others (1998) adapted WTC to the L2 situation in a model that is intended to explain
individual and contextual influences in the choice to initiate L2 communication.

35
The construct comprises several layers, which subsume linguistic and psychological
variables; these include linguistic self-confidence, a desire to affiliate with a person,
interpersonal motivation, intergroup attitudes, motivation and climate, parameters of social
situation such as communicative competence and experience, and various personality
traits.
WTC is a popular research area in L2 motivation and many studies have been
conducted in the SL/FL context. For example, Clément, Baker and McIntyre (2003)
explored the factors of contexts, norms and vitality affecting WTC among French
immersion students; McIntyre, Baker, Clément and Donovan (2003) examined the effects
of language, sex, and age on WTC, anxiety, and perceived communication competence,
frequency of communication in French, and attitudes and motivation.
Studies conducted in various Canadian contexts also combined the WTC model with
Gardner‘s Socio-Educational model, examining the relations among variables underlying
WTC in a L2. In these studies, WTC was a predictor of frequency of communication in an
L2, whereas motivation was a predictor of WTC, frequency of communication in an L2, or
both (MacIntyre & Charos, 1996; MacIntyre & Clément, 1996).
In FL contexts, Yashima (2002) investigated Japanese university students‘ WTC in
its relation to students‘ international posture or non-ethnocentric attitude (see 3.4. for more
detail). The results showed that international posture influenced motivation, which, in turn,
had an impact on proficiency in English. Motivation affected self-confidence in L2
communication that led to a willingness to communicate in an L2.
Another study in a FL context is that of Tannenbaum and Tahar (2007), which
explores WTC in the language of the other, between Jewish and Arab students in Israel.
Analysis of variance indicated differences between groups with Arab children having, in
general, more positive attitudes and higher WTC in Hebrew compared to Jewish children
36
with regard to Arabic as well as the impact of the school context. The results showed a
strong association between WTC, various attitude dimensions and familial/peer influence,
and are discussed in terms of the position of the target languages in the Israeli socio-
political context.
Task Motivation: Learning tasks and activities influence how and what students learn
from instruction. It is believed that different tasks affect motivation and learning in
different ways. Gagné (1985) views task motivation as one of the major types of
motivation. He further notes that motives are intrinsic to the task and completion of the
task satisfies the underlying motive. Nevertheless, Boekaerts (1995) maintains that task
motivation only partly depends on general motivation; it also partly depends on the unique
way the individual perceives the task.
Tasks constitute the basic building blocks of classroom learning, and, therefore, L2
motivation is examined in the best possible situated manner (Dörnyei & Csizér, 2002).
What is more, Dörnyei (2003, p. 14) holds that tasks are able to break down the prolonged
L2 learning process into ―discrete segments with well-defined boundaries, thereby creating
researchable behavioural units.‖
Julkunen (2001) has been actively involved in researching situation- and task-
specific motivation. In a FL classroom, learning takes place in situations that vary in their
motivational effects. Researchers (Johnson & Johnson, 1999; Julkunen, 2001) distinguish
among three types of situations: cooperative, competitive and individualistic. A learner‘s
general motivational orientation, motivation as a trait, interacts with the learner‘s
situation-specific motivation, motivation as a state, and together they produce situation-
specific action tendency.
Dörnyei (2003) goes beyond the state/trait dichotomy and proposes a more dynamic
task processing system to describe how task motivation is negotiated and finalised in the
37
learner. This system proposed by Dörnyei (2003) consists of the following interrelated
mechanisms: task execution, appraisal and action control.
Task execution refers to the learner‘s engagement in task-supportive learning
behaviour, following the action plan provided by the teacher or by the learner.
Appraisal refers to the learner‘s continuous processing of the multitude of stimuli
coming from the environment.
Action control refers to self-regulatory mechanisms that are called into force to
enhance, to scaffold or to protect learning-specific action. Thus, task processing is viewed
as the interplay of three mechanisms; while learners execute a task, they appraise the
process and, whenever there is a breakdown in the process, they activate action control to
enhance or to save the action.
2.6.6 A Process-Oriented Approach to L2 Motivation Research
Dörnyei is an active proponent of a comparatively neglected aspect of motivation:
its dynamic character and temporal variation (Dörnyei, 2001; 2002; Dörnyei &
Otto, 1998). Dörnyei (2003, p. 18) attempts to summarise the essence of the
proposed model in one sentence:
A process model of L2 motivation breaks down the overall motivational
process into several discrete temporal segments organised along the
progression that describes how initial wishes and desires are first
transformed into goals and then operationalised intentions, and how these
intentions are enacted, leading (hopefully) to the accomplishment of the goal
and concluded by the final evaluation of the process.
Dörnyei (1998) distinguishes among three phases in the process: (i) Pre-actional
phase, which is made up of three sub-phases: goal setting, intention formation, and the
38
initiation of intention enactment; (ii) Actional phase, during which four basic processes
come into effect: subtask generation and implementation, a complex ongoing appraisal
process, and the application of a variety of action control mechanisms; and (iii) Post-
actional phase, which begins after either the goal has been attained or the action has been
terminated; alternatively, it can also take place in situations when action is interrupted for a
longer period (e.g. a holiday). The main processes during this phase entail evaluating the
accomplished action outcome and contemplating possible inferences to be drawn for future
actions.
This chapter provided a solid theoretical underpinning for the present research by first,
introducing and defining the concepts of L2 attitudes and motivation and second, by
presenting the most prominent theories and conceptualisations of L2 attitudes and
motivation that have been put forward in order to explain the complex and multifaceted
nature of attitudes and motivation.
Gardner‘s (1985a) SE Model has been the most researched and empirically-testified
of the models, which provided theoretical basis for many studies for the last four decades.
Nevertheless, in the course of time, there arose a need to expand the Motivational Theory,
thus departing from the macro-perspective of the SE Model, moving towards a micro-
perspective and situating the research into micro contexts, that is, language learning
classrooms.
In addition, attitude/motivational theories did not remain static and continued to
follow general tendencies in the relevant scientific fields; consequently, they did not
remain unaffected by the overwhelming phenomenon of globalisation, which has lately
penetrated into almost every field of human life. The next chapter will elaborate the effects
39
of globalisation on L2 attitude/motivational theories and present the most innovative
approaches to attitudes and motivation in the light of globalisation and, more specifically,
Global English reality.

40
CHAPTER 3
GLOBALISATION, L2 ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION: NEW
TRENDS AND PERSPECTIVES
3.1 Introduction
This chapter will discuss the new trends and emerging paradigms in the field of L2
attitudes and motivation research that are related to the effects of globalisation on the L2
motivation field in general and, more specifically, to the development of English into an
international language. Moreover, the classical understanding of the integrative motive and
integrativeness will be questioned and revised in relation to issues such as attitudes, self
and identity.
In addition, this chapter will address the issues of differences in age, gender and
proficiency level that affect learners‘ attitudes and motivation by making reference to
relevant studies in the field. Studies focused on L2 attitudes and motivation in the Greek
context will be presented and analysed as well, thus providing a more solid and
sophisticated background for the present research.
3.2 The Concepts of Self and Identity in L2 Motivation Research
The beginning of the 21 st century brought about new conceptualisations of L2 motivation,
and the concept was reinterpreted in relation to the emergence of theories on self and
identity. This urge for reconceptualisation was fuelled by the overwhelming phenomenon
of globalisation with its effects on political and economic migration, increased mobility
with the rise of budget airlines, high technologies, the Internet and, most importantly, the
development of English into a language of international communication.
Dörnyei and Ushioda (2009, p. 3) state that over the past decades the world around
the L2 learner has changed dramatically: ―It is now characterised by linguistic and
41
sociocultural diversity and fluidity, where language use, ethnicity, identity and hybridity
have become complex topical issues and the subject of significant attention in
sociolinguistic research.‖
In relation to the position of English in this new scheme, Warschauer (2000, p. 512)
points out that globalisation has brought about ―a new society, in which English is shared
among many groups of non-native speakers rather than dominated by the British or
Americans.‖ In the minds of learners, English may not be associated with particular
geographical or cultural communities but with a spreading international culture
incorporating (inter alia) business, technological innovation, consumer values, democracy,
world travel, and the miscellaneous icons of fashion, sport and music.
Taking into account these recent trends in globalisation and the development of
English into an international language, researchers in the L2 motivation field (Coetzee Van
Rooy, 2006; Dörnyei, 2005; Lamb, 2004; Yashima, 2000) have begun to examine how this
new global reality affects an individual‘s motivation to learn another language in general,
and to learn EIL as a target language to attain a global identity in particular. First it was
necessary to reinterpret the notion of ―integrativeness‖ as many researchers, especially in
FLL contexts, found no empirical support for the classical Gardnerian conceptualisation of
the integrative motive.
3.3 Second Language vs. Foreign Language Contexts: Integrative Motivation

Reinterpreted
In the existing literature on L2 motivation, a clear distinction between Second Language
(SL) and Foreign Language (FL) contexts in motivation does not exist. In many cases
these terms are used interchangeably. Some researchers (e.g. Oxford & Shearin, 1994)
argue that the confusion of SL/FL environment is one of the impediments to understanding
L2 motivation. Therefore, the question of whether motivations differ between learners of

42
English as a SL and as a FL is very essential and has been repeatedly raised in recent
years.
It is considered appropriate, first of all, to define what the SL context and FL context
entail respectively. An SL learning context can be defined as a location where that
particular language is typically used as the main vehicle of everyday communication for
most people. The SL learner is surrounded by stimulation, both visual and auditory, in the
target language and thus has many motivational and instructional advantages (Oxford &
Shearin, 1994).
Research on motivation by Gardner and associates originated in Canada, which is an
example of what can be termed a SL learning context, where the target language is
acquired through either direct exposure to it or formal instruction accompanied by frequent
interaction with the target-language community in the host environment or in a
multicultural setting (Gardner & Lambert, 1972; Gardner et al., 1976).
It should be pointed out that ―second language acquisition contexts‖ refer to a range
of learning environments that can be further classified according to the languages spoken
in the area, the learner‘s ethnolinguistic vitality, the cultural and social milieu as well as
the intergroup relations found in the particular context (Ball, Giles, & Hewstone, 1984;
Gardner, 1988).
An FL context is considered another type of language learning milieu, where one or
two foreign languages are taught in schools as a school subject with no sufficient contact
with the native speaker community. An FL is one that is learned in a place where that
language is not typically used as the medium of ordinary everyday communication (for
example, French as it is usually learned in the US or English learned in Greece). Foreign
language learners are surrounded by their own L1 and have to go out of their way to find
stimulation and input in the target language. These students typically receive input in the
43
new language only in the classroom and by rather artificial means, no matter how talented
the teacher is.
Due the fact that Gardner and associates‘ research was mainly conducted in Canada–
a typical SL context – the integrative motive was found to be dominant and more powerful
for language learning and language proficiency. This does not come as a surprise, as, in
such a unique bilingual context as Canada, learners really need to identify with the TL
norms and merge into their culture. However, this model does not fit into FL contexts,
where the learners‘ contact with TL culture and speakers is limited and unlike the
Canadian context, in FL contexts instrumental orientation is much more likely to lead to
success in L2 learning (e.g. Dörnyei, 1990, Oxford & Shearin, 1994, Warden & Lin,
2000). Gardner (1988, p. 11) himself acknowledges that further research is needed to
define the role of contextual factors.
Consequently, the notion of integrativeness, which was classically considered the
most essential variable for successful L2 learning, has been challenged and widely
discussed (Coetzee Van Rooy, 2006; Dörnyei, 1990; Oxford & Shearin, 1994, Noels et al.,
2003). In Gardner‘s (1985a) Socio-Educational model of second language acquisition,
those learners who had the characteristic of ―integrativeness‖ were said to have an
integrative orientation (or goal) towards learning the language, favourable attitudes
towards the language community, and a general openness towards other groups in general
(sometimes interpreted as an ―interest in foreign languages‖ (e.g. in Masgoret & Gardner,
2003).
In one of his articles, Gardner (2005), in response to the ongoing discussions and the
critique of the notion of ―integrativeness‖, states that he never meant integrativeness (or
integrative orientation, or integrative motive) to mean only a desire to become a member
of the other cultural community, but rather an individual‘s openness to taking on

44
characteristics of another cultural/linguistic group. Individuals for whom their own
ethnolinguistic heritage is a major part of their sense of identity would be low in
integrativeness; those for whom their ethnicity is not a major component, and who are
interested in other cultural communities would be high in integrativeness. By this, Gardner
(2005) makes an attempt to expand the notion of ―integrativeness‖. Moreover, Gardner
(2005) emphasises that this is not a new interpretation of the concept.
In the early 1980s, there was a debate on strong (i.e. social identification and
integration) and weak (i.e. sense of affiliation and interest) types of integrative motivation.
McDonough (1981) argued that the strong type was unrealistic for many language learners.
He further pointed out that there are two separate aspects of the traditional integrative
concept: (1) a general desire for wider social contact (weak), and (2) a desire to belong to a
certain community by acquiring the psychological characteristics of the group (strong).
With regard to the second aspect of the traditional integrative concept, Graham
(1984) defined it as assimilative motivation, which was characterised by a desire to
become an undistinguishable member of the community. In his view, this motivation is
quite different from integrative motivation, which involves a desire to establish a social
relationship with the TL community without necessarily requiring direct contact with a TL
group, whereas assimilative motivation maintains that the learning must take place in the
host environment.
The first challenge to integrative motivation in an SL context was that of Clément
and Kruidiner (1983). They raised the possibility that in certain environments, factors,
such as social milieu and others that have not as yet been analysed might also affect
motivation. Moreover, to underpin their theory empirically, they conducted a large-scale
survey in Canada, investigating a variety of L2 learning orientations among different
samples (defined by the learners‘ ethnicity, learning milieu, and target language). Clément
45
and Kruidiner (1983) distinguished four orientations that were common to all groups:
travel, friendship, knowledge and instrumental orientation. In addition, five factors were
obtained which pertained to specific subsets of the population: desire for greater
involvement with known groups, the recognition of the importance of a visible minority,
Anglophones’ interest in control of pragmatic factors, interest in socio-cultural aspects of
the target language group, and a specific interest in academic success.
An ―integrative‖ orientation did emerge for two groups of respondents. The
multicultural Francophones and Anglophones learning Spanish were characterised by a
cluster of affective and identification parameters. It should be noted, however, that for the
Francophones, integration was coupled with the desire to become influential in their
community. Therefore, an integrative orientation was found only in multicultural settings
among the members of a clearly dominant group. This notion of dominance/non-
dominance appears to be related to the occurrence of the five orientations pertaining to the
above mentioned subset of groups.
Noels and colleagues (2003) proposed to substitute integrative/instrumental
motivational orientations with intrinsic/extrinsic motivation types based on SDT as they
also established that the two orientations were not mutually exclusive, and they could
interchangeably sustain effort in L2 achievement. Moreover, integrative orientation might
not be relevant to many learners in many learning contexts. Here both integrative and
instrumental orientations could be seen as a subtype of extrinsic motivation as they are
both related to goals or outcomes (Schmidt, Boraie, Kassabgy, 1996).
Moreover, alongside the ongoing debate around the concept of integrativeness, the
classification of orientations into integrative and instrumental was also questioned. For
instance, Oxford and Shearin (1994) found that learners may want to learn an L2 because
they want to show off, be intellectually stimulated, or are interested in a separate aspect of
46
the language. Other researchers found more reasons for L2 learning: because of interest
and curiosity (Crooks and Schmidt, 1992), achievement and stimulation (Dörnyei, 1990),
identification-influence (Noels & Clément, 1989), prestige-influence (Moise, Clément &
Noels, 1990), and media usage (Clément et al., 1994) as well as combinations of
orientations like instrumental-knowledge found by Clément et al. (1994).
3.4 English, Globalisation and L2 Attitudes and Motivation
In recent years, in the field of L2 motivation research, there has been an ongoing debate
over the contemporary status of EIL and the need to reinterpret integrativeness in this light.
This debate is particularly pertinent to FLL contexts, where the majority of learners
usually do not have a direct contact with the TL group to form attitudes towards or against
it. Therefore, integrative motivation cannot be the drive to learn an FL in many contexts
where the major aim of learning is not so much to get into contact with the TL communit y
but with the global community in general without any affective predispositions towards the
TL group.
This approach undermines traditionally conceived integrativeness, and, as Dörnyei
(1990) suggests, in FLL situations, instrumental motivation, intellectual, and sociocultural
motives, and/or other motivational factors that have not as yet been analysed, may acquire
a special importance. On the other hand, one may also argue that affective factors that are
normally part of integrative motivation in SLA contexts do play a role in FLL as well, but
that such attitudes, interests, and values are supposed to form clusters that differ from
those emerging in SLA contexts.
Integrative motivation is much more meaningful for second language learners, who
must learn to live in the new culture and communicate fluently in the target language than
47
for most foreign language learners who are far apart in space and attitude from the target
culture and who rarely surpass intermediate language proficiency.
This debate is particularly pertinent with respect to English, which has gradually
become an international language, a fact that has been, heretofore, widely acknowledged
by many scholars (Crystal, 1997; Graddol, 2001; Jenkins, 2000; McKay, 2002;
Widdowson, 1994) and by many researchers in the L2 attitude/motivation field as well
(Dörnyei, 2005; McClelland, 2000; Yashima, 2000.).
Research in different FL settings has shown that the concept of integrativeness has to
be reviewed and reconceptualised. Yashima (2000), for example, discovered among
Japanese university students a factor that she has labelled ―international posture,‖ i.e. a
generalised international outlook that motivates them to learn and communicate in English,
referring to a complex trait that includes an ―interest in foreign or international affairs,
willingness to go overseas to study or work, readiness to interact with intercultural partners
and … a non-ethnocentric attitude toward different cultures‖ (Yashima, 2000, p. 57).
Yashima (2009) argues that motivation to learn a language such as English with its
great ethnolinguistic vitality (Giles et al., 1977) and cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1991)
cannot be classified into integrative/instrumental. In her study of Japanese college
students, Yashima (2000) has detected a factor labelled intercultural friendship
orientation, which establishes the tendency to learn English for intercultural
communication with different cultural groups, and together with instrumental orientation
predict motivational intensity to learn English, which, in turn, leads to higher proficiency.
A similar conclusion has been drawn by many other researchers in different FL
contexts. For example, when investigating language learning in Japan, McClelland
proposed to define ―integrativeness‖ as ―integration with the global community rather than
48
assimilation with native speakers‖ stressing the ―need to reappraise Gardner‘s concept of
integrativeness to fit a perception of English as an international language‖ (2000, p. 109).
Moreover, in his review of research on L2 motivation in Japan, Irie (2003) argues
that, in research findings, many students mention positive disposition towards TL speakers
and culture, and this of course can be interpreted as an expanded definition of integrative
motivation proposed by Gardner: ―Positive attitudes toward TL communities and TL
speakers, without a desire to assimilate with them‖ (Gardner, 1985, 2001). Nevertheless,
researchers avoid using the term integrative motivation mainly for two reasons: firstly,
they consider that the factor does not fit into the original definition; and secondly, because
the factor positive disposition included utilitarian/instrumental items such as travelling and
the distinction between integrative/instrumental motivations is blurred (Dörnyei, 1990,
1994a).
In addition, the world English identity explains the frequent blurring of
integrative/instrumental motivations and sometimes presupposes the predominance of
instrumental motivation as English has become the language of technology,
communication, and the Internet. Kimura, Nakata, and Okumura (2001) proposed the
―Intrinsic-Instrumental-Integrative Motive‖ explicitly expressing the existing interplay and
coexistence of integrative and instrumental motives in this Global English reality.
This view is perfectly in line with Lamb‘s (2004) findings from research on
Indonesian children‘s motivation to learn English. He maintains that, traditionally, distinct
integrative and instrumental orientations interplay and generate a high level of motivation,
which are, moreover, found to be almost indistinguishable. He further argues that English
loses its association with particular Anglophone cultures and is instead identified with the
powerful forces of globalisation. Lamb (2004), building on Arnett‘s (2002) summary of
the psychology of globalisation, proposes that, instead, individuals may want to take over a
49
―bicultural‖ identity ―which incorporates an English-speaking globally-involved version of
themselves in addition to their local L1-speaking self.‖
There are also some studies that question the existence of integrative motivation in
FLL contexts at all. For instance, Warden and Lin (2003) failed to identify integrative
motivation in the Taiwanese EFL context. Dörnyei and Csizér (2002, p. 456) came to the
same conclusion in their studies on Hungarian FL context and suggested that the classic
conceptualisation of the integrative motivation should not be viewed as something static
and ―untouchable‖. What is more, the concept of integrative motivation should be
extended and developed thus filling in the gap of emerging inconsistencies and
contradictions without, of course, losing the accumulated large body of empirical data. In
addition, Coetzee Van-Rooy (2006), in her review of empirical studies on the notion of
integrativeness in World Englishes reality, maintains that integrativeness is untenable for
learners of World Englishes.
According to Dörnyei (2005), one way of extending the concept of ―integrativeness‖
is ―to talk about some sort of virtual metaphorical identification with the sociocultural
loading of a language, and in the case of the undisputed world language, English, this
identification would be associated with a non-parochial, cosmopolitan, globalised world
citizen identity‖ (Dörnyei, 2005, p. 97). Dörnyei (2005) further argues that the
phenomenon of ―world identity‖ already exists, and it is a matter of terminology if we call
it a modified version of integrativeness or something else.
The above discussion brings us to the conclusion that the learning context plays a
considerable role, and, therefore, the social, educational, ethnolinguistic, political and
cultural environment of the learners affect their L2 motivation. This aspect of L2
motivation is still underdeveloped and needs conceptualisation; in particular, the notion of

50
integrative motivation in FLL contexts should be re-conceptualised in the light of English
as a global language of communication.
The concept of international posture has transferred the reference group from a
narrow geographic and ethnolinguistic community to a vast global community of English
users. And it is in this respect that Ushioda (2006) questions: whether it is appropriate to
conceptualise the global community as an ―external‖ reference group or conceptualise as
part of one‘s internal representation of oneself as a valid member of that global
community. This distinction was the theoretical consideration that motivated researchers‘
focus on the internal structure of self and identity and brought about new
conceptualisations of L2 motivation, which are discussed in the following sections.
3.5 Dörnyei’s “L2 Motivational Self System”
Dörnyei (2005) proposed a new conceptualisation of L2 motivation anchoring his theory
on self-theories. As discussed earlier, this proposal was an attempt to conceptualise L2
motivation in the era of globalisation and the World English phenomenon beyond the
classical integrative/instrumental motivations dichotomy that had been proven to be
inadequate in many FL contexts.
Over the past two decades, self-theories have become popular in the field of
personality psychology and many theorists have become increasingly interested in the
active, dynamic nature of the self-system. According to Markus and Ruvolo (1989), the
self-system mediates and controls ongoing behaviour and various mechanisms, including
―self-regulation‖ that links the self with action. As a result, recent dynamic representations
of the self-system place the self right at the heart of motivation and action, creating an
intriguing interplay between personality and motivational psychology.

51
Dörnyei‘s theory is inspired by the work of Markus and Nurius (1986) and their
theory of possible selves. Possible selves are specific representations of someone‘s self in
future states, involving thoughts, images, and senses, and are in many ways the
manifestations or personalised carriers, of one‘s goals and aspirations or fears. Thus,
possible selves give form, meaning, structure, and direction to one‘s hopes and threats,
thereby inciting and directing purposeful behaviour. The more vivid and elaborate the
possible self, the more motivationally effective it is expected to be.
Another theory underpinning Dörnyei‘s Motivational Self System is Higgins‘s
(1987) Self-Discrepancy Theory, which distinguishes between (i) the ideal self, referring
to the representation of the attributes that someone would ideally like to possess (hopes,
aspirations, or wishes), and (ii) ought self, referring to the attributes that one believes one
ought to possess (sense of duty, obligations, or responsibilities).
Higgins‘s Self-Discrepancy Theory postulates that people are motivated to reach a
condition in which their self-concept matches their personally relevant self-guides, thus
reducing the discrepancy between one‘s actual and ideal or ought selves. Higgins (1998)
argues that ideal and ought selves are motivationally distinct as ideal self-guides have a
promotion focus whereas ought to self-guides have a prevention focus, thus regulating the
absence or presence of negative outcomes, and are concerned with safety, responsibilities,
and obligations.
3.5.1 Integrativeness/Instrumentality and the L2 Ideal Self
With regard to the disputable concept of integrativeness, Dörnyei (2005) argues that if
integrativeness is viewed from the ―self‖ perspective, it can be defined as the L2-specific
facet of one‘s ideal self. If an individual‘s ideal self is associated with the mastery of an
L2, that is, if the person that we would like to become is proficient in the L2, we can be
52
described as having an integrative disposition. Moreover, Dörnyei (2005) links the self
interpretation of integrativeness with Norton‘s (2001) concept of ―imagined community‖
(see 3.6.): ―Our idealised L2-speaking self can be seen as a member of an imagined L2
community whose mental construction is partly based on our real-life experiences of
members of the community/communities speaking the particular L2 in question and partly
on our imagination‖ (p. 102).
If we look at the interplay of integrativeness and instrumentality found in many
studies (e.g. Dörnyei, Csizér, et al., 2006) from a self perspective, we can explain this by
the fact that our idealised language self is a cognitive representation of all the incentives
associated with language mastery as well as professional competence. From the self-
perspective, however, instrumentality is divided into two types: it can be related to (i) Ideal
L2 Self and (ii) Ought-to L2 Self (which will be explained further), depending on the
extent of internationalisation to the extrinsic motive. An internalised Ideal L2 Self
contributes greatly to successful language acquisition, whereas non-internalised motives,
representing the Ought-to L2 Self, will have a short term effect and will be generated from
the sense of duty or fear. This approach to instrumental motivation is compatible with
Higgins‘ (1998) distinction between promotion vs. prevention focus (see 3.5).
Dörnyei (2005) assumes that the Ideal L2 Self perspective perfectly fits into the body
of accumulated research, theories and conceptualisations of L2 motivation, providing a
broader theoretical framework. Placed in this framework, integrativeness can be explained
in many learning contexts (especially FLL context with no or limited contact with L2
speakers).
In addition, what is more relevant to this particular research is that this approach to
L2 motivation is suitable for the study of language globalisation especially with reference
to English that has almost lost its ethnic and cultural base and is now considered a
53
language of a global community. As precisely postulated by Yashima, Zenuk-Nishide, and
Shimizu (2004), those who relate themselves to the world, visualise their ―English-using
selves‖ clearly and therefore are highly motivated to learn English. They hypothesise that
learners who visualise ―Possible or Ideal English-using selves‖ are more likely to become
more successful and develop a higher rate of WTC in their interactions.
In attempting to conceptualise and theorise his findings from a large-scale
longitudinal survey of Hungarian students‘ attitudes to learning foreign languages from
1993 to 2004 (Dörnyei et al., 2005; Dörnyei & Csizér, 2002), Dörnyei speculated that the
process of identification theorised to underpin integrativeness might be better explained as
an internal process of identification within the person‘s self-concept, rather than
identification with an external reference group (Dörnyei, 2005). He further proposed the
L2 Motivational Self System, which is made up of three dimensions:
1. Ideal L2 Self, referring to the L2-specific facet of one‘s ideal self: If the person we
would like to become speaks an L2 fluently, the Ideal L2 Self is a powerful
motivator to learn the L2 because of the desire to reduce the discrepancy between
our actual and ideal selves.
2. Ought-to L2 Self, referring to the attributes that one believes one ought to possess
(i.e., various duties, obligations, or responsibilities) in order to avoid possible
negative outcomes.
3. L2 Learning Experience, which concerns situation-specific motives related to the
immediate learning environment and experience.
Furthermore, Dörnyei (2005) argues that this theory creates a link with two
important recent conceptualisations of L2 motivation by Noels et al. (2003) and Ushioda
(2001). Basing their research on Self-Determination Theory, Noels et al. (2003) propose a
54
motivation construct made up of three types of orientations: (i) intrinsic reasons inherent in
the language learning process (ii) extrinsic reasons and (iii) integrative reasons.
Ushioda (2001) offers a larger and more complex construct, which is conceptually in
tune with that of Noels‘et al. (2003). She identifies nine motivational dimensions, which
are grouped into three clusters: (i) actual learning process, which comprises language
learning enjoyment, positive learning history, and personal satisfaction; (ii) external
pressure/incentive; (iii) integrative dimension, which is made up of four constituents:
personal goals, desired levels of L2 competence (consisting of language-intrinsic goals),
academic interest (which had the greatest contribution from interest in French literature),
and feelings about French-speaking countries or people.
Dörnyei (2005) further argues that the Ideal L2 Self is related to Noels‘ integrative
category and the third cluster formed by Ushioda‘s motivational facets; Ought-to L2 Self
respectively corresponds, on the one hand, to Higgins‘ ought self and the more extrinsic
(less internalised) types of instrumental motives, and, on the other hand, to the ―extrinsic‖
constituents in both Noels‘ and Ushioda‘s taxonomies. And finally, L2 Learning
Experience corresponds to Noels‘ intrinsic category and the first cluster of Ushioda‘s
taxonomy. It could be assumed, therefore, that Dörnyei‘s Motivational Self System ideally
fits into the modern conceptualisations of motivation and could provide a solid theoretical
background for research.
3.6 L2 Learning and Identity
Research on identities and language learning has always been in the scope of interest
among researchers in the SLA field. In the 1970s and 1980s, scholars interested in second
language identity distinguished two types of identities: social identity and cultural identity.
Social identity referred to an individual language learner‘s relationship with the larger
social world constructed through such institutions as families, schools, workplaces, etc.
55
(Gumpers, 1982). On the other hand, cultural identity referred to the relationship of the
learner with other members of a particular ethnic group who share a common history,
language and mentality (Valdes, 1986).
Nevertheless, in recent times, the differences between social and cultural identities
are viewed to be theoretically more fluid and the intersections of the two identities rather
than their differences are considered more significant. Language identity is seen as a
sociocultural construct. Many studies on language and identity have recently taken the
postmodernist or poststructuralist approach in which language is viewed as the locus of
social organisation, power, and individual consciousness, and as a form of symbolic capital
(Bourdieu, 1991). In turn, learning is viewed as a situated process of participation in
particular communities of practice, which may entail the negotiation of ways of being a
person in that context (Wenger, 1998).
In contemporary theory on language learning and teaching, the identity of the
language learner addresses the ways in which language learners understand their
relationship with the social world, how that relationship is constructed across time and
space, and how the learner understands possibilities for the future (Norton, 2000). The
identity of the language learner is theorised as multiple, a site of struggle, and subject to
change. The concept of ―subjectivity‖ is central to the postmodernist approach in
understanding the notion of identity in L2 learning (McKay & Wong, 1996; Norton, 2000,
2008). Subjectivity defines an individual as changing, dynamic and contradictory over
historical time and social space and suggests that identity construction ―occurs through the
identification by the individual with particular subject positions with discourses‖ (Weedon,
1997, p. 108). In addition, postmodernist theory stresses the interrelation of language and
identity. Language is the place where our sense of ourselves, our subjectivity is
constructed (Weedon, 1997, p. 21).

56
Norton (1997) focuses her attention particularly on the question of identity and
ownership of English internationally. She maintains that, although the question of
ownership is more frequently addressed by those involved in language planning (e.g.
Kachru, 1992; Pennycook, 1994; Widdowson, 1997), it has a direct bearing on the
relationship between language and identity. Norton further suggests ―that if English
belongs to the people who speak it whether native or non-native, whether ESL or EFL,
whether standard or non-standard, the expansion of English in this era of rapid
globalisation may possibly be for the better than for the worse‖ (p. 427).
Norton‘s theorisation of identity (Norton, 1997; 2000; Norton Peirce, 1995) opens up
a new perspective in framing contemporary theory of identity and language learning. Post-
structuralism is central to Norton‘s theory of identity, in which the constructs of
motivation are substituted by the construct of investment. Norton argues that a learner may
be a highly motivated language learner, but may nevertheless have little investment in the
language practices of a given classroom or community, which may, for example, be racist,
sexist, elitist, or homophobic. Thus, while motivation can be seen as a primarily
psychological construct , investment is situated within a sociological framework and seeks
to make a meaningful connection between a learner‘s desire and commitment to learn a
language, and his/her complex identity.
Norton (2001) proposes the concept of ―imagined communities‖ as an extension to
her conceptualisation of identity and investment. Her concept of ―imagined communities‖
is theoretically biased by Anderson‘s (1983) view of nation-states as imagined
communities, Wenger‘s (1998) view of imagination as a form of engagement with
communities of practice, and Markus and Nurius‘s (1986) view of possible selves as the
link between motivation and behaviour. An imagined community assumes an imagined

57
identity, and a learner‘s investment in the second language can be understood within this
context.
In her discussion, Norton (2001) views the concept of ―communities of imagination‖
as being constructed of a combination of personal experiences and factual knowledge
(derived from the past) with imagined elements related to the future. Dörnyei (2005)
asserts that the notion of ―imagined community‖ lends itself to be used with regard to the
various international or World English identities as these identities concern membership in
a virtual language community. What is more, Norton (2001, p. 166) explicitly states that a
learner‘s imagined community invites an ―imagined identity.‖
This section briefly presented the mainstream conceptualisations and theories on the
interrelation of self, identity and L2 attitudes/motivation. The following sections will
present studies which examine differences in L2 attitudes and motivation affected by
students‘ age, gender and proficiency level as well as presenting some noteworthy context-
specific studies that will provide a firm theoretical background upon which the findings of
the presents study can be grounded and to which it can be compared.
3.7 Factors Affecting L2 Attitudes and Motivation
As discussed above, L2 attitudes and motivation are not static constructs and, therefore,
are affected by various factors. Age, gender and proficiency level are considered the most
influential variables that can affect learners‘ attitudes and motivation. Of course, this does
not mean that other influential factors such as the role of the teacher (Nikolov, 1999),
learning conditions (Djigunović, 2009), the choice of a particular language (Dörnyei,
2003), and parental influence (Olshtain et al., 1990) are to be undervalued. Nevertheless,
the focus of this research has been narrowed to the three most influential factors – age,
gender and learners‘ proficiency level.

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Consequently, the following sections will tackle the issues of gender-, age- and
proficiency-related differences in L2 attitudes and motivation and will present the findings
of the most noteworthy studies in this field, which are, to some extent, relevant to the
findings of the present research.
3.7.1 Gender-related Differences in L2 Attitudes and Motivation
The relationships between gender and L2 performance, attainment and motivation have
been well-researched over the years. Research has shown that boys do not do well in
foreign language learning (FLL) (Burstall, 1975), are less motivated (Clark &Trafford,
1995), are less accepting of the necessity to learn a foreign language (Powell & Batters,
1985), are more likely to drop FLs (Carr & Pauwels, 2006; Clark & Trafford, 1995), and,
irrespective of the FL studied, demonstrate less commitment than girls (Dörnyei et al.,
2006).
Language learning is traditionally perceived to be a ―female subject‖ (Clark &
Trafford, 1995). Gardner (1985a) reports that, in some studies, girls demonstrate more
positive attitudes towards language learning and argues that attitudinal differences might
be responsible for gender differences in achievement. This is in line with the findings of
Wright (1999) among Irish adolescents learning French. In his study, girls showed more
positive attitudes to learning French than boys did. Clark and Trafford‘s (1995) findings
illustrate that many teachers of modern languages consider girls mature earlier than boys
and thus take their studies more seriously.
In recent years, there have been several studies that analyse gender differences in L2
motivation within different theoretical frameworks. For example, MacIntyre, Baker,
Clément and Donovan (2002) investigated the effect of gender and age on WTC (see
2.6.5), anxiety, perceived competence and motivation in L1 and L2 among students of

59
junior high French late immersion programme in grades 7, 8 and 9 in Canada. Gender
differences in language anxiety were observed across the three grades. Contrary to their
expectations, boys reported a higher level of anxiety than girls did in grade 9. Another
interesting finding, though not specific to the L2, was that boys‘ overall anxiety levels
remained constant across the three grades, whereas there was a considerable increase in
WTC and decrease in anxiety among girls from grade 8 to grade 9. The findings can be
explained by two facts: first, that increased self-consciousness is associated with the onset
of puberty, which is on average earlier for girls than for boys. Secondly, they consider that
―girl favoured‖ attitudes of the teachers contribute to the girls‘ decrease of anxiety and
increase of willingness to communicate.
In a more recent study, Henry (2009) sought to explore the effects of gender on the
development of school students‘ L2 self-concepts within the framework of Dörnyei‘s
motivational self-system among a Swedish cohort (N = 169) at two points in time: after
one and four years of FL learning. Whilst the results for the whole sample indicate that
students‘ self-concepts remain stable over the period, separate analyses reveal that girls‘
self-concepts strengthen whereas boys‘ weaken. Furthermore, as regards students‘ notions
of ideal selves across the period, girls‘ scores increase significantly, whilst boys‘ scores
indicate a tendency to weaken. Consequently, a gender gap, in favour of girls emerges in
the 9th grade, with significant differences registered on all dimensions with the exception
of instrumentality. The findings show that, for the sample as a whole, the results suggest
that the high levels of motivation in relation to English present in grade 6 are not only
maintained over the three-year period but, with regard to attitudes to the learning situation
and integrative motives, actually increase. However, the entirety of both of these increases
is accounted for by increases in the girls‘ scores.

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The most noteworthy result, however, relates to the differences observable between
grades 6 and 9 in the students‘ notions of ideal FL selves, which is a key predictor of
motivated behaviour. The difference in the ideal self-scores of girls and boys, which could
be discerned in the 6th grade, had increased markedly. Whilst the scores of girls increased
significantly between grades 6 and 9, those of the boys decreased significantly over the
same period. Henry (2009) suggests that the fact that the most marked gender-related
change over the period takes place with regard to girls‘ and boys‘ notions of an ideal FL
self may be attributable to the considerable changes in self-image that occur during
adolescence.
Rather than seeing gender as an individual variable, Norton and Pavlenko (2004a)
view it as a complex system of social relations and discursive practices, differentially
constructed in local contexts. They situate their approach within a poststructuralist
framework, which foregrounds socio-historic, cross-cultural, and cross-linguistic
differences in constructing gender. Norton and Pavlenko (2004a) recognise that gender, as
one of many important facets of social identity, interacts with race, ethnicity, class,
sexuality, (dis)ability, age, and social status in framing students‘ language learning
experiences, trajectories, and outcomes (Norton & Pavlenko, 2004b, p. 504). Furthermore,
adopting a poststructuralist method, Norton and Pavlenko (2004b) view gender in the
framework of imagined communities. Along these lines, they argue that some gender
discourses closely linked to English might influence a learner‘s investment and decisions.
Those discourses shape the learner‘s desires and images of themselves: their futures, and
their social, educational and economic opportunities.
Nevertheless, following the idea that English has become an international language
and is gradually being accepted as a basic life skill, should we assume that gender
differences will have quite distinct patterns from those of other foreign languages?
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Mori and Gobel (2006) argue that if the general trends in educational psychology are
applied to those studying English, it can be assumed that girls have higher self-perceptions
of English and attach greater value to it. This assumption is congruent with many FL
motivation studies that indicate greater motivation and more positive attitudes among
female students (Burstall et al., 1974; Jones & Jones, 2001; Pritchard, 1987; Williams et
al., 2001).
In addition, in Dörnyei and Clément‘s (2001) study, female students scored
significantly higher than male students on the scales of all of the seven motivational
dimensions in most of the target languages. Those motivational dimensions include direct
contact with L2 speakers, instrumentality, integrativeness, vitality of L2 community, and
cultural interest. However, with regard to the target language, Dörnyei and Clément (2001)
established that English appeared to be gender-neutral with no observable gender-related
gap, (italics mine), whereas French and Italian tended to be preferred by females, and
German and Russian by males. This finding is similar to that of Dörnyei, Csizér and
Németh (2006), in which they predict that ―the global nature of English will cause the gap
to disappear completely, because English will become the first L2 choice for virtually
everybody, regardless of their sex‖ (Dörnyei, Csizér & Németh, 2006, p. 144).
Similarly, in Japan, Kimura and others (2001) have reported having found a
significant effect of gender and grade on one factor – preference for teacher-centred
lectures – but did not find any differences in the other five factors that they labelled
Intrinsic-Instrumental-Integrative Motive, Extrinsic-Instrumental Motive, Influence of
Good Teachers, Language Use Anxiety, and Negative Learning Experiences. The results
of a study on intermediate level Pakistani students (Akram & Ghani, 2013) reveal that
there were no statistically significant differences between males and females in their
attitudes and motivation to learning English across all dependent variables such as parental
62
encouragement, instrumentality, integrativeness, attitudes towards learning English,
towards English people, and ethnocentrism, among others.
The above discussion indicates that, although there is a substantial body of research
on gender-related differences in L2 attitudes and motivation, there has not been an attempt
to analyse those differences with respect to learners‘ motivation to learn English as an
international language or to reveal whether a significant difference among boys and girls in
their desire to learn EIL exists at all. However, research in this direction might render
interesting and insightful data that will open up new perspectives to understanding males‘
and females‘ motivation to learn English in the era of globalisation and Global English. In
this respect, the present study can be considered innovative because an attempt is made to
investigate gender-related differences in attitudes and motivation with regard to EIL.
3.7.2 Age-related Differences in L2 Attitudes and Motivation
The present research will include a cross-sectional analysis of age-related differences in L2
attitudes/motivation for learning English among elementary and secondary school
students. Therefore, a short theoretical backdrop to the issues of age-related differences in
L2 attitudes and motivation follows.
Many studies have shown that attitudes are affected by the age of learners. Burstall
(1975), for instance, reported that positive attitudes towards French tended to decrease
after the age of 10/11. Similar results were found in an eight-year study conducted in
Hungary (Nikolov, 1999) with the students who had started to learn English at the age of
six. Two national surveys in Spain on primary school learners (Alabau, 2002; Gonzalez
Garcia, 2006) (cited in Tragant, 2006) reveal that primary school learners show a more
positive disposition to learning a foreign language. The same decrease is observed in a
study of Masgoret and others (2001) among Spanish students aged 10-15 in a summer
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language programme. Similar findings are observed in the Ghenghesh‘s (2010) study, in
which there is a considerable decrease in grades 9 and 10 learners‘ motivation across all
the motivational variables in comparison to grade 7 and 8 learners.
However, there are also contradictory findings. For instance, Williams et al. (2001)
did not find any significant difference between 12- and 14-year-old learners of French and
German in England. In a study of Julkunen and Borzova (1997), a comparison of Russian
and Finnish students aged 12, 14 and 17 showed no significant age-related difference
among Russian students, whereas in the Finnish sample 14-year-old students were
distinctly less motivated than other age groups.
Kormos and Csizér (2008) researched motivation for learning English as a foreign
language in three distinct learner populations: secondary school students, university
students, and adult language learners. They came to the conclusion that the main factors
affecting students‘ (L2) motivation were language learning attitudes and the Ideal L2 self,
which provides empirical support for the main construct of the theory of the L2
Motivational Self-System (Dörnyei, 2005). Models of motivated behaviour varied across
the three investigated learner groups. For the secondary school students, it was interest in
English-language cultural products that affected their motivated behaviour, whereas
international posture as an important predictive variable was only present in the two older
age groups.
Some studies have found no significant age-related differences regarding the
learners‘ attitudes towards the foreign language (Williams et al., 2001). Likewise, the
study of Muňoz and Tragant (2001) explored the fluctuations in attitudes and motivation of
learners with different ages of language learning onset. They found no significant
differences in the motivation between the learners that started learning at eight and those at
11 years. Age has been seen to affect the types of motivational orientations of the different
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age groups examined. They found that the 10-year-old learners seemed markedly different
from the 12-year-old and older groups. The same results were found in the studies of
Schmidt, Boraie and Kassabgy (1996) and Julkunen and Borzova (1997).
Another study conducted among elementary learners in Croatia yields interesting
data on the impact of learning conditions on L2 motivation (Djigunović, 2009). The aim of
the study was to see if young learners‘ attitudes and motivation for learning English would
significantly differ under two distinct sets of learning conditions – highly favourable and
not favourable. In the study, a comparison was made between formal school instruction
and experimental school instruction, in which the time allocation, equipment, materials,
methods and the conditions in general were much more favourable in the latter than in
regular state schools. According to the findings, those learners who were exposed to
formal FL instruction showed a lower interest in English as a favourite school subject, and
their knowledge of the native speakers and their culture was lower. In addition, they
thought less of their competence in English and showed lower self-confidence as language
learners.
Moreover, as regards the age variable and type of motivation, in all the studies
referred to above, the presence of the instrumental motive was underscored in all age
groups, and a lack of integrative motive was noticed. The difference among different age-
groups lies in the intrinsic and extrinsic types of instrumental motivation. For example, the
study of Muñoz and Tragant (2001) showed that there was a marked difference between
10-year-old and 12-year-old learners‘ groups. The younger learners showed a distinct
profile with a less tangible and more intrinsic types of orientations (such as interest in
English or positive attitude towards the language) than the older students. On the other
hand, the older groups showed a clear orientation towards an instrumental motivation, of a
generally extrinsic type, as they did in the studies by Schmidt, Boraie and Kassabgy
65
(1996), Julkunen and Borzova (1997) and Tragant (2006). Their results indicated that
instrumental orientation was particularly important from the age of 12 onwards, and it
increased with age. Such an increase has also been observed in previous studies. The
subjects in their study were obviously interested in the use of English in interactions with
foreigners, a category which would correspond to the ―xenophilic orientation‖ identified
by Clément, Dörnyei and Noels (1994), an orientation included by these authors in a wider
category of integrative orientation. In this respect, various research data show that specific
interest in the target language community is replaced by a more general interest in
communication with people from other countries (Lamb, 2004; Yashima, 2000). Perhaps
the perception of English as an international language or lingua franca has played a role in
shaping this type of interest among foreign language learners of English.
These findings are in line with similar research findings on age-related differences
and types of motivation. In her study on young learners, Nikolov (1999) asserts that the
instrumental motives for FLL emerge around puberty, but the reasons for learning an FL
are vague and general. She contrasts her findings with those of the Zagreb study
(Djigunović, 1993), in which the majority of Croat learners mention travel and
communication as the reason for learning an FL. Moreover, in the Zagreb study and a later
follow-up study, Djigunović (1993; 1995) claims that the young learners are
instrumentally oriented and that they see vocational rather than cultural value in knowing
the FL, which is strengthened with age with a tendency to expand one‘s general
knowledge.
In Nikolov‘s study (1999), the utilitarian answers given by the majority of older
learners reflect the general xenophilic orientation identified by Clément and others (1994),
in which they do not refer to native speakers, emphasizing the ability to talk to foreigners
in general rather than native speakers of English.

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Some Hungarian studies clearly identify an instrumental dimension for primary
school children (e.g. Dörnyei et al., 2005); in other studies in which participants were
secondary school learners, no clear utilitarian dimension emerged (Clément et al., 1994;
Dörnyei, 2002). In contrast, in the study of Kormos and Csizér (2008), instrumentality did
not emerge as a single dimension. Their results suggest that in countries like Hungary,
where the national economy is largely dependent on foreign companies and international
relations, the role of instrumental incentives might be partly covered by international
posture because most of the instrumental values of knowing English are related to the role
of English as an international language. With regard to the age-related difference, they
found that models of motivated behaviour varied across the three investigated learner
groups. For the secondary school students, it was interest in English-language cultural
products that affected their motivated behaviour, whereas international posture as an
important predictive variable was only present in the two older age groups.
What is more, in the majority of studies, no traces of integrative motivation were
identified (Djigunović, 1993; Nikolov, 1999; Tragant, 2006). Recently, the concept of
integrative motivation has been extensively discussed and reviewed especially with respect
to English as being an international language. Many studies, especially in FL contexts,
show that the notion of integrative motivation in learning English does not refer to the NSs
and NS cultures, as is the case with other foreign languages, but to the global community
in general. This is present in all the age groups across different studies.
3.7.3 Language Proficiency Level-related L2 Attitudes and Motivation
The role of motivation in second/foreign language learning has long been acknowledged,
and it is considered one of the main predictors of success/failure in language learning.
Therefore, the higher the motivation is and the more positive the attitudes towards the
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target language/society are, the better the language learning outcomes and the higher the
proficiency level will be.
For a long time, integrative motivation was considered superior to instrumental
motivation for predicting the success of second/foreign language learning. However, such
an assumption was found to be very incongruous. The discussion below will show that in
many contexts instrumental motivation can be a better predictor of language attainment
level; this particularly refers to FL contexts, in which learners have limited or no contact
with the TL community and, therefore, no intention of integrating into it. To underpin the
above discussion, it would be appropriate to present several studies that deal with the issue
of attitudes/motivation and their interrelation with the proficiency level.
The early studies conducted in predominantly SL settings (Lambert & Gardner,
1959; Spolsky, 1969) showed that the integrative motive was a more powerful instrument,
which produced a higher proficiency level, i.e. those learners who were integratively
motivated showed higher scores in proficiency. Likewise, Lambert, Gardner, Barik and
Tunstall (1963) researched American students attending a six-week French summer school
in the USA and found that the degree of their identification with French culture had an
influence on their proficiency level in French. Spolsky (1969) found that integrative
motivation accompanied a high level of proficiency among three groups of foreign
students attending universities in the USA.
Lukmani (1972) set up a study to investigate whether Marathi-speaking high school
learners (60 girls) in Bombay were integratively motivated to learn English and whether
their motivation was related to their proficiency level. Contrary to expectations and to the
results of the previous studies, the proficiency level in English was significantly related to
instrumental and not integrative motivation. However, Lukmani (1972) made a strong
point that the results might be contradictory due to the fact that the studies had been
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conducted in completely different social contexts: on the one hand, there were groups of
learners with a strong desire to integrate into the TL community (French-speaking
Canadians learning English, foreign students coming to the USA for studies for example),
while, on the other hand, there was a group in a post-colonial society torn in a struggle
between tradition and modernity (modernity being represented by English in a sense)
seeking to establish its identity. Consequently, in such a context, the only motivation to
learn English could be instrumental, but it in no way means that it does not predict high
scores in language proficiency.
Findings from Dörnyei‘s study (1990) show that learners with high levels of
instrumental motivation who strive for achievement are more likely to have an
intermediate level of proficiency. On the other hand, those who tend to pass beyond the
intermediate proficiency level are integratively motivated.
Similar findings were reported in a study conducted in Bahrain (Al- , 1993). The
main aim of the study was to establish whether instrumental or integrative motivation was
a better predictor of language attainment level among 150 first-year students. The results
showed that the difference between the high achievers and low achievers with respect to
the tested variable was statistically very significant. Notwithstanding the fact that the high
achievers were more instrumentally motivated, the degree of instrumental motivation did
not account for their attainment level. A conclusion was drawn that instrumental
motivation exerts a significant influence on the level of attainment only with intermediate
level learners, and for higher proficiency levels its importance decreases, particularly when
English is learnt for academic purposes. What is more, with regard to the correlations
between integrative motivation and attainment level, no significant correlation was
obtained for the whole sample.

69
In contrast, the results of a study conducted among English majors in China (Li &
Pan, 2009) shows that instrumental motivation influences both high and low achievers.
With regard to integrative motivation, the results showed that high achievers were much
more integratively oriented than the low achievers, and it was there that statistically
significant differences between the groups mainly lay.
Another study that explored how Korean university students‘ English learning
motivation is related to their English listening proficiency (Mi-Yung, 2011) reveals that
identified regulation, which resembles Dörnyei‘s Ideal L2 self, is the most powerful
motivation subtype in terms of achieving L2 proficiency. This means that the more the
external reason to learn English is internalised, the better predictor of L2 proficiency, it
will be. Another important implication in this study is that the kinds of motivational
constructs that predict L2 proficiency might be different for learners with different
proficiency levels. To justify the above statement, it could be said, for instance, that
intrinsic motivation (personal enjoyment and/or internal desire to learn language) could be
a powerful predictor of L2 proficiency among those who already have a considerably high
level of L2 proficiency, but in the above mentioned study, intrinsic motivation was not a
very good predictor of L2 proficiency because the proficiency level of the subjects was not
very high.
Liu‘s (2007) study of Chinese university students showed that the students‘ positive
attitudes and higher level of motivation were correlated with a higher proficiency level.
Liu also found that more proficient students had higher instrumental and travel
motivational orientations. This finding, however, undermines the assumption that
instrumentally motivated students usually have an intermediate proficiency level (Dörnyei,
1990). Similar findings were obtained in a study of secondary school students in Malaysia
(Thang & Ting, 2011).

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A study conducted among 141 Iranian university students (Ghapanchi, Khajavy &
Asadpour, 2011) examined the relationships between personality, L2 motivational self-
system and second language proficiency. This study also examined the predictability of the
L2 motivational self-system and second language proficiency by personality variables. The
results of the study showed that personality was related to L2 motivation and language
proficiency. L2 motivation was also strongly related to second language proficiency. What
is more, L2 motivational self-system had a significant correlation with the proficiency
level. With regard to predictability of L2 motivational self-system and proficiency level by
personality variables, the findings of the study showed that L2 motivation outperforms
personality variables, which means that language proficiency is much more affected by the
students‘ reasons for learning rather than their personality types.
Lasagabaster (2011) undertook to examine the effect of two different teaching
approaches, EFL and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) on students‘
English achievement and motivation among 191 secondary school students in the Basque
Country. The results of the study showed that, in general, the group treated with the CLIL
approach were considerably more motivated than the EFL approach group. More relevant
to the present research is the finding that learners with a higher level of proficiency
irrespective of the approach (CLIL vs. EFL) were more motivated.
It can be assumed that motivation plays a large role on L2 proficiency attainment and
success in language learning, but when it comes to the question of which motivational
construct is the best predictor of L2 proficiency attainment, the answer is vague. Although
it becomes evident that the traditional belief that integrative motivation is a more powerful
predictor of L2 proficiency attainment, the above-cited studies show that motivational
constructs that endorse L2 proficiency attainment may vary depending on the context of
the study.
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3.8 Studies Focusing on L2 Attitudes and Motivation in the Greek Context
Because the present research has been conducted in the Greek educational context among
the Greek EFL learners in state schools, it is considered appropriate to present briefly those
studies that have been conducted in the same context. It is apparent that attitudes and
motivation to learn English have been widely researched in the Greek educational context.
For example, as early as 1989, a study conducted by Kiliari and Kerkiropoulou
(1989) aimed to examine both students‘ and teachers‘ attitudes and expectations in the
state and private schools (lower and upper secondary school). In general, the students
reported being interested in FLs and motivated to learn them. Among the main reasons for
learning a FL the following were reported: a good knowledge of a FL is a professional
qualification; the ability to understand foreign songs and read books and newspapers as
well as and the ability to study abroad.
With respect to the learners‘ attitudes towards FL lessons at school, there was a
general consensus that it did not meet the expectations of the learners. The students
suggested some ways of enhancing their motivation, for example by focusing more on
communicative activities, increasing the hours of instruction, using audio-visual materials
and authentic input. The students justified their preference for private FLCs by making
reference to the increased hours of instruction, better and more motivating textbooks and
audio-visual materials, more experienced and motivated teachers less crowded classrooms,
and an accurate streaming of students into same-level classes. These findings are very
similar to the finding of the present study, and this will be discussed in Chapter 7.
Among the first studies that investigated learners‘ attitudes towards English was that
of Theodorou (1996) conducted among 450 primary school students. Via a questionnaire
survey, Theodorou (1996) tried to delineate the students‘ socio-educational profile in
general, in terms of their attendance to private FLCs/private tutors, second foreign

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language learnt, parental educational background, parental influence on the language
choice, the students‘ motives and their attitudes towards English. The results of the study
showed that the students had quite positive feelings towards English. Another important
finding in this study was that parents‘ educational level, socio-economic status and
knowledge of a FL did not affect the students‘ decision to learn a FL or language learning
outcomes. Theodorou (1996), thus, argued that in Greece learning a FL (English
predominantly) is a prerequisite and, therefore, the knowledge of a FL could not be
considered as a mark of social superiority as all the children learn it. What is more, the
results of Theodorou‘s (1996) study are in many cases strikingly similar to the results of
the present study, which will be discussed in detail in 7.6.
Another study delving into attitudes and motivation in the Greek EFL context was
Manolopoulou-Sergi‘s (2001) PhD research conducted among 572 state junior high school
students selected from 21 schools. The researcher used a variety of methods such as a
questionnaire, a verbal report by the learners, interviews with the teachers and tape
recordings of the lessons to elicit data on such issues as the students‘ personal data,
attitudes towards the English language and people, English as a school subject, the teacher
of English at school, the book of English at school, the parents‘ attitudes towards English
at school, among others.
The results of Manolopoulou-Sergi‘s study show many common trends with the
results of the present study as well, more specifically, the learners in Manolopoulou-
Sergi‘s study, in general, had quite positive attitudes towards English and English people,
but they, nevertheless, had unfavourable attitudes towards the English language teacher
and coursebooks at school. What is more, the vast majority of the respondents believed
that English language lessons at school were boring. With respect to gender-related and
age-related issues, the results showed that girls had more positive attitudes than boys, boys
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were more willing to drop English if they were given an opportunity, and that positive
attitudes declined dramatically from grades 7-9 (in the US) and forms 1-3 (in the UK). The
respondents‘ self-perceived language competence was strikingly high, which was another
common trend observed in two studies in the same socio-educational context (see 7.6).
Manolopoulou-Sergi argues that, in the Greek context, the learners were more extrinsically
motivated which, as she maintained, hindered more successful language learning. She also
draws an important distinction between incoming and outgoing attitudes, in which
incoming attitudes are shaped by the learners‘ milieu (parents and friends) that they bring
into the classrooms with them, and outgoing attitudes, which are usually formed during
language learning classes.
Two other studies delved into learners‘ attitudes and motivation in the Greek
educational context, one being Nikolaou‘s (2004) PhD research conducted in three state
and three private upper secondary schools in Athens; he tested Gardner‘s Socio-
Educational Model and tried to examine the learners‘ attitudes and motivation in two
different settings. The main finding in his study was that the Socio-Educational model was
applicable in the Greek EFL context but with a weaker correlation between attitudes
towards TL speakers/communities and motivational intensity as previously hypothesised.
The results indicated that overall, the respondents‘ attitudes were positive, with a slight
predominance of girls, who had more positive attitudes and were more motivated. With
regard to attitudes towards learning English at state school and private FLCs, the results
indicated that the respondents‘ attitudes towards the teacher of English and English classes
in general were much more positive among those who attended private FLCs. As for the
general motivational orientation of the respondents, Nikolaou (2004) found that they were
instrumentally motivated, though he admitted that in certain cases integrative and
instrumental motivations overlapped.

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The second study, which was conducted by Kantaridou (2004) in the framework of
her PhD research, investigated the effect of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) syllabus
on levels of English and involvement in learning on students‘ motivation and strategy use.
In her study, Kantaridou found that motivation (trait motivation) is affected by neither
teaching intervention nor the EAP syllabus. State motivation (see 2.6.5), though marking a
minute decline, is not affected by the teaching intervention either. Therefore, the decline in
students‘ attendance is not caused by the type of EAP syllabus but by other factors in their
lives (personal, social and/or personal).
In recent times, many MA studies have turned their focus towards the investigation
of attitudes and motivation to learn English in the Greek context. For example, Karakosta
(2008) examined young learners‘ (8 to 10 years old; N=62) motivation to learn English in
three distinct educational contexts: state primary school, private primary school and
private FL school. To be able to get a better insight into the young learners‘ motivation and
attitudes, parents‘, school teachers‘ and the school headmaster‘s opinions about the role
and importance of English and young learners‘ motivation were examined.
The results of her study showed that young learners‘ main motivational tendency
was intrinsic, with a particularly high rate of IM-Knowledge which implied that young
learners‘ motivation reflected their need to attain knowledge (for more detail see 2.3.6).
With regard to gender differences, in general lines, both boys and girls were reported to be
more intrinsically motivated, thus manifesting no significant gender differences and
questioning the assumption that language learning was traditionally perceived as a female
subject (Clark & Trafford, 1995). Nevertheless, boys‘ extrinsic motivation was a little
higher than that of the girls. With regard to the impact of the learning context, the results
showed that the learners of the state primary and private primary schools had higher
intrinsic motivation and the learners of private FL centres exhibited higher levels of
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extrinsic motivation. Another important finding in the above mentioned study was that the
learners‘ high rate of positive attitudes towards English as an important school subject was
closely related to their parents‘ attitudes towards English by which the impact of
significant others (teacher, parents, peers, etc.) on young learners‘ motivation was
emphasised.
It is considered highly encouraging and important that more and more studies
undertake to investigate learners‘ attitudes and motivation on the primary level and to
unveil those factors that affect young learners‘ motivation. For example, the studies by
Koutalakidou (2004), Voti (2008) and Plainaki (2010), Kiriakoulia (2010) conducted on
the primary school level examined different factors that affected young learners‘
motivation to learn English. The impact of such influential factors as parents, teachers,
peers and the learning context (public vs. private) was examined. In synopsis, the results of
the above studies showed that young learners had quite positive attitudes towards English
and its significance as a school subject, young learners‘ attitudes were heavily influenced
by their parents‘ attitudes towards English and their motivation was predominantly
instrumental.
In addition the role of the learning context was also researched (Plainaki, 2010) and
the results rendered quite interesting findings: state primary school learners were more
motivated but less self-determined but in general, learners in both sectors lacked self-
determination and autonomy. With regard to age-related differences, the results yielded
that young learners in both public and private sectors were more motivated as compared to
lower and upper secondary school learners.
A study by Griva and Chouvarda (2012) provided another perspective to the
investigation of attitudes and motivation in the Greek context by examining parents‘
beliefs and attitudes towards ELL and multilingual learning. The results showed that the
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parents‘ attitudes were quite positive towards early foreign language learning and
multilingual education. Another important finding was that the parents widely
acknowledged the role of English as a lingua franca and as a tool for communication with
other European citizens. The researchers established age-related differences, where
younger parents stressed the importance of learning English for communication and
mutual understanding as well as the usefulness of English in the development of
technological literacy.
The above account of context-specific studies shows that considerable research has
been conducted in the field of L2 attitudes and motivation, and the findings of those
studies reflect many similarities with the findings of the present research. The next section
will briefly present those few studies conducted on various aspects of EIL in the Greek
context.
The purpose of chapters two and three was to introduce the major theories, approaches and
conceptualisations of L2 attitudes and motivation. Starting with the literature review from
the classical theories of motivation conceptualised by Gardner and his Canadian associates
in chapter two, we gradually came to the most recent and challenging conceptualisations of
L2 motivation, mainly originated in FL contexts, which are employed to fill in the
conceptual gaps in previous theories.
What is more, in chapter three, a detailed account of studies that link language
globalisation, Global English and L2 motivation has been offered, thus providing a solid
base to underpin the present study, which tackles the same complex issue. In addition, a
brief overview of studies that were related to differences in terms of gender, age and
proficiency level as the most influential variables will be offered in order that, in the
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discussion of the findings of the present research, parallels might be drawn and
similarities/differences highlighted. Additionally, a brief overview of the studies focused
on L2 attitudes and motivation research in the Greek context is provided which outlines
the context in which the present research has been conducted.
This chapter, in a sense, provides a vital link that connects the theories of L2
attitudes and motivation with the novel concept of EIL. The next chapter, therefore, will
present and discuss different issues related to English as an International Language, an
emerging paradigm alongside the well-established EFL paradigm.

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CHAPTER 4
ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN OR AS AN INTERNATIONAL
LANGUAGE? THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW PARADIGM
4.1 Introduction
This chapter addresses the underlying issues regarding the emergence of an EIL paradigm
alongside those of the established English as a Foreign Language (EFL), English as a
Second Language (ESL) and English as a Native Language (ENL) paradigms as well as
the role of English as an international language. We will discuss the current status of
English in socio-cultural, political, economic, and, of course, educational spheres of the
globalised world.
In this chapter, the most influential and widespread definitions and labels of English
will be presented. Moreover, the reason for using the term EIL, which is considered most
appropriate and applicable in the context of the study, will be substantiated and supported.
The chapter will further explore the changes and implications within ELT methodology in
the light of the emergence of EIL as well as such issues as language ownership, EIL-
attitudes and identity and the role of the non-native speakers of English within the EIL
paradigm.
In the final section, there will be a brief overview of studies focusing on EIL and
EIL-related issues in the Greek educational context.
4.2 EFL and the Rise of EIL
English language teaching was traditionally based on three fundamental models: ENL,
ESL and EFL. In the first case, English is taught to its native speakers as their mother
tongue (the USA, the UK, Australia, and others). The ESL model is designed for those
who learn English as their second mother tongue or second language; this term basically
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refers to people who immigrated to ENL countries and had to learn English in order to be
able to integrate into and live in the given society. Moreover, those countries where
English is a second or co-official language are also characterised as belonging to ESL
contexts (e.g. India, Pakistan, Singapore and others). And finally, EFL is taught in those
countries where English has no official status and learners have no or limited contact with
the target language speakers and cultures.
In EFL contexts, English is consequently taught as a foreign language alongside
other foreign languages such as French, Spanish, German, Chinese, among others, and it is
quite natural that the language teaching methodology is mainly based on the native speaker
models and cultures thus carrying native-speaker ideology. In typically EFL contexts such
as Greece, China, Armenia, Russia, Egypt, and others, learners are taught how to speak
and even how to think like the native speakers of English, how to keep to grammar and
pronunciation rules and to construct their oral and written speech correctly. Language
learning materials are native speaker (predominantly British or American, Canadian or
antipodean) biased as it is supposed to be in the case of foreign language instruction.
According to Graddol (2006), the EFL approach positions the learner as an outsider who
desperately struggles to attain acceptance by the target community. As Graddol (2006, p.
81) very accurately puts it: ―The learner is constructed as a linguistic tourist – allowed to
visit, but without rights of residence and required always to respect the superior authority
of native speakers.‖
However, things have recently become quite different in the case of English because
the language has gradually surpassed its national borders and become a language of a far
wider, international communication (Crystal, 1997, 2003; Graddol, 2006; Kachru, 1992;
McKay, 2002; Smith, 1983; Widdowson, 1998).

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This change in the status of English was to a great extent fuelled by the globalisation
phenomenon, the discussion of which will be extended in section 4.3. Moreover, this
change brought about serious considerations regarding such issues as language standards,
language ownership, the definition of the native speaker of English, and the like. In this
new linguistic reality, it became difficult to distinguish and define the ESL and EFL
contexts clearly as gradually typically EFL countries have acquired characteristic features
of ESL (a very good example being Norway and other Scandinavian countries where
English plays a greater role than a mere FL).
The main issue at stake is the appropriateness of basing English language teaching
methodology on native speaker norms in EFL contexts of different parts of the world to
learners who have either limited or no contact with the native speakers, nor a desire to
integrate into their society. Many scholars (Jenkins, 2000; McKay, 2002; Widdowson,
1998) question whether the learners need to learn EFL together with all the culturally
laden elements that learning an FL entails, in case they need English merely for their
everyday basic communication with predominantly non-native speakers of English in the
majority of cases.
Nowadays, after having accumulated a considerably solid theoretical background,
research on EIL has entered into a phase of validating the necessity of introducing EIL to
EFL learners in different parts of the world, i.e. researchers now actively investigate
learners‘ perceptions of and attitudes towards EIL, trying to reveal whether there is a real
need for a new model (EIL) which will introduce a new, more neutral, even ―liberated‖
kind of English with no particular focus on traditional ENL countries such as the UK or
the USA) (Alpetkin, 2002; Jenkins, 2007; Matsuda, 2003; Matsuda & Friederich, 2011;
McKay, 2002; Sridhar & Sridhar, 1992). Moreover, it should be mentioned that research
on attitudes towards EIL entails not only the learners, but the teachers as well (Sifakis &
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Sougari, 2003; 2005; Timmis, 2002) (for a more extended discussion on such issues, see
4.8) because teachers as the transmitters of knowledge should themselves, first of all,
acknowledge the necessity to teach EIL.
This chapter will develop its discussion mainly around EIL as far as this recent
linguistic paradigm is in its advancement and elaboration stage. It needs to be theoretically
underpinned and presented in more detail. Therefore, the subsequent sections will evolve
around such issues as the interrelation of English and globalisation, and different
conceptualisations and labels attached to English in an attempt to define the current status
of EIL, attitudes towards EIL, EIL and ELT and the like.
4.3 English and Globalisation
Globalisation is perhaps the most widespread and the most disputed phenomenon of the
twenty-first century that has affected the global society primarily in political, economic,
technological, cultural, and educational senses. Some people believe that globalisation
brings equal opportunities to almost everyone in the global market and information
exchange. Friedman (2005), for example, maintains that the world is flat, where
individuals stay in their locales while having the opportunity to participate in a globally
linked economic and information system. However, many others (e.g. Barber, 1996;
Luttwak, 1999; Soros, 2002) believe that globalisation may result in a loss of cultural and
linguistic diversity which in turn will make the gap between the rich and the poor much
greater.
According to Scholte (2004): ―people have become more able – physically, legally,
linguistically, culturally, and psychologically – to engage with each other wherever on
earth they might be‖ (Scholte, 2004, p. 12). The same view is held by Giddens (1990, p.
64), who defines globalisation as ―the intensification of worldwide social relations which
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links distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring
many miles away and vice versa‖.
As it becomes evident, in the era of globalisation, the local and the global constantly
interact and neither of them should be positioned as inferior to the other. Canagarajah
(2005) argues that there is a need to balance global and local concerns, which means a re-
examination of the disciplines, and an orientation to language, identity, knowledge and
social relations, taking the local grounding that should become the primary force in the
construction of contextually relevant knowledge, and a development of plural discourses.
Therefore, questions may be posed: What is the role of English in the process of
globalisation? Is English the accelerator of the globalisation process or is it a product of
globalisation? Nowadays, more and more studies addressing the issues of globalisation, the
spread of English and its effect on English language teaching appear in relevant literature
(Block & Cameron, 2002; Crystal, 1997; Pennycook, 2007 and others). In this respect, it is
important to present Pennycook‘s categorisation of the global spread of English into a
homogenic position and heterogenic position. The homogenic position implies that the
spread of English leads to a homogenisation of world culture. Some scholars support this
position and consider this a positive characteristic of globalisation (e.g. Crystal, 1997).
However, many scholars argue against this view, considering homogenisation as a form of
linguistic imperialism which leads to language loss (e.g. Brutt-Griffler, 2002; Canagarajah,
2005; Pennycook, 2007; Phillipson, 1992).
The second position offered by Pennycook (2007) is the heterogenic position,
which implies that globalisation has brought about pluricentrism and formed the World
English paradigm, in which English has become localised and embedded in the local
cultures, thus creating different varieties of English around the world. Many scholars (e.g.
Brutt-Griffler, 2002; Kachru, 1992) support this view and consider this heterogeneity as a
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positive effect of the globalisation of English in the world. However, Pennycook (2003, p.
10) himself argues that the ultimate effect of globalisation on English is neither
homogenisation nor heterogenisation; ―it is a fluid mixture of cultural heritage and popular
culture..., of change and tradition, of border crossing and ethnic affiliation, of global
appropriation and local contextualisation‖.
The next section presents a short overview of the development of English into an
international language, by pinpointing the main spheres of dominance of English, those
historic events that fuelled the expansion of English and those features that make English
an international language.
4.4 English as an International Language – International English: Defining the Main
Terminology
Before proceeding to the main discussion of EIL, it is useful to introduce the main
definitions of the term.
IE is the term that has had widespread usage starting from the early 1980s
(McArthur, 2001), but, at the same time, it has several contradictory interpretations. IE can
be viewed as a type of English used for specific purposes worldwide, a kind of ESP, for
example, in international business, politics, and other spheres. According to Johnson
(1990), IE is a register of English used by people who need access to international
scholarship, policy-making and administrative bodies, commerce and technology but who
do not use English as a community or national language. Johnson (1990) argues that IE
does not have any geographical or regional borders, nor do its speakers share the same
political, cultural or socioeconomic background, but rather they belong to the same
professional sphere.
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In the same line of reasoning, Widdowson (1997) states that IE (though he uses the
term EIL and IE interchangeably) is a register of English primarily used for academic,
international, and professional purposes, most generally in written language. Widdowson
(1998, p. 400) maintains that IE is a ―composite lingua franca which is free of any specific
allegiance to any primary variety of the language‖. Nevertheless, Widdowson‖s approach
to IE as a kind of register has been severely criticised, because IE cannot be reduced to a
limited set of patterns as it is with ESP, nor can it be viewed as the sum of all ESPs since
IE is a language and not a corpus. Brutt-Griffler (1998) follows the same line of criticism
by arguing that to define IE as a register seems to be an unjustified restriction to the use of
English.
Another approach to IE is suggested by Ross (1997, p. 29), who views IE as ―a form
of English which, although not actually spoken by anyone, provides the common core to
all the varieties of English in the world‖. This sense of IE is similar to the idea of Standard
English: a particular dialect of English, being the only non-localised dialect, of global
currency without significant variation, universally accepted as the appropriate educational
target in teaching English, which may be spoken with an unrestricted choice of accent
(Strevens, 1982).
McKay (2002, p. 132) defines IE (as a shorthand form of EIL) like this:
―International English is used by native speakers of English and bilingual users of English
for cross-cultural communication. International English can be used both in a local sense
between speakers of diverse cultures and languages within one country and in a global
sense between speakers from different countries‖. McKay, thus implies that IE is spoken
by native speakers in ENL and ESL countries, so IE stands for international and
intranational English in her definition.

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Finally, with regard to the difference between the two terms EIL and IE, it can be
inferred that EIL and IE are used interchangeably in the literature, and IE is considered a
shorthand form of EIL. As Seidlhofer (2003, p. 8), however, very precisely puts it: ―The
longer term is, however, though more unwieldy, more precise because it highlights the
international use of English rather than suggesting, wrongly, that there is one clearly
distinguishable, unitary variety called ‗International English‘.‖
Sharifian (2009) points out that EIL does not refer to a particular variety of English
and should not be confused with the term ―International English.‖ He further maintains
that the use of an adjective plus ‗English‘ suggests a particular variety such as American
English, Singaporean English or others. Thus ―International English‖ can be perceived as a
particular variety, which is not at all what EIL intends to capture. EIL, therefore, implies
that English, with its many varieties, is a language of international/intercultural
communication. Sharifian (2009, p. 2) characterises EIL in the following way: ―English as
an International Language refers to a paradigm for thinking, research and practice. It marks
a paradigm shift in TESOL, SLA and the applied linguistics of English, partly in response
to the complexities that are associated with the tremendously rapid spread of English
around the globe in recent decades‘.
Modiano (2001, p. 170) views EIL in a slightly different manner. He suggests that it
is an appropriate alternative to ―standard English‖, providing a space where speakers can
be culturally, politically and socially neutral. In his view, EIL can act as the gateway to a
global sense of community. What is more, Modiano (1999a) holds that EIL combines
those features of English which are easily understood by a broad cross-section of L1 and
L2 speakers. He represents this conception of EIL with overlapping circles, in the centre
there is the core, which incorporates all the similarities from basic varieties that are
internationally intelligible.
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Figure 4.1 Model of EIL (Modiano, 1999b, p. 10, in English Today)
According to Modiano (1999a), the following features should not belong to EIL:
Extreme regional dialects, words that have not gained international acceptance, marked RP
(Received Pronunciation) usage, and terms which have different meanings in American
English and British English. Modiano‘s conceptualisation of EIL provides a rich ground
and best corresponds to the current status of English, though he fails to give further insight
into what kind of English may be comprehensible to the majority of English speakers. It
remains unclear what he means by ―competent‖ speakers of English and ―excessive‖
regional accents and dialects of English.
In an attempt to find an appropriate description that would encompass the whole
range of conceptualisations and functions of English as an International Language and
upon which the theoretical underpinning of this study can be grounded, the following
definition, which is close to Modiano‘s (1999a) position, has been put forward: EIL is a
neutral, internationally intelligible variety of English that can interchangeably stand for
English as an International/ Intranational/ Intercultural Language as it functions as a
medium of communication between NSs and NNSs and more often between NNSs and
NNSs locally as well as internationally. EIL is not an established variety of its own; it is
rather the most internationally intelligible and neutral core which is void of cross-
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linguistically unintelligible and culturally-laden elements. For this reason, the term EIL
will be used in this paper as a reference point and as a conceptualisation of the possible use
of English in the context in which the study has been conducted (see 5.1).
4.5 Development of English into an International Language
Because of space limitation, this paper will not include a detailed account of the history of
the development of English into an international language but will focus its attention on its
current status. However, there were two turning points in the history of English that
transferred the language far beyond its national borders, spreading it throughout the world.
The first threshold in the history of English was the rise of the British Empire and
the colonisation of vast and geographically widespread territories. The second turning
point in the history of English to become an international language was the Second World
War. These two historic events came to verify the assumption that a language becomes
dominant and internationally spoken mainly because of the political power of its people
(Crystal, 1997, p. 7).
Perhaps such considerations induced some scholars to view English as a language of
linguistic imperialism (Pennycook, 1994; Phillipson, 1992). Nevertheless, notwithstanding
the reasons that spurred the global expansion of English and contradictory feelings towards
it, English today occupies a unique position of an international language,and this fact is
acknowledged by all the scholars in the relevant fields (Brutt-Griffler, 1998; Crystal, 1997;
Graddol, 1997; Kachru, 1986; McKay, 2002; Smith,1983; and Strevens, 1980, among
others).
Smith (1976) was one of the first to define the term ―international language‖, noting
that an international language is one used by people of different nations to communicate
with each other. Smith made several important assertions regarding the relationship of an
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international language and culture: (i) its learners do not need to internalise the cultural
norms of native speakers of that language; (ii) the ownership of an international language
becomes ―de-nationalised‖; and (iii) the educational goal of learning is to enable learners
to communicate their ideas and culture to others.
These assumptions are valid for the global use of English, in which it is used by
people of different nationalities to communicate across borders, but we should keep in
mind that English also has a local function for the ESL countries where it is used for
intranational communication. With regard to the distinction between the local and the
global, McKay (2002) makes the following alterations: i) as an IL, English is used both in
a global sense for international communication between countries and in a local sense as a
language of wider communication within multilingual societies; ii) as it is an IL, the use of
English is no longer connected to the culture of the Inner Circle countries (discussed
below); iii) as an IL in a local sense, English becomes embedded in the culture of the
country in which it is used; and iv) since English is an IL in a global sense, one of its
primary functions is to enable the speakers to share their ideas and culture with others.
Brutt-Griffler (1998) suggests the following classification of central features that
make a language truly international. First, it is a product of the development of the world
econocultural system, which includes the development of a world market and business, as
well as the development of a global scientific, cultural and intellectual life. Second, it tends
to establish itself alongside local languages in multilingual contexts composed of bilingual
speakers. Third, unlike an elite lingua franca, it is not confined to the socioeconomic elite
but is learnt by various levels of society. Finally, an international language spreads not
because a great number of speakers of that language migrate to other areas, but rather
because many individuals worldwide acquire that language.

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With regard to the spread of English, Kachru (1985), in his groundbreaking article,
drew attention to the global flow of English and ensuing innovations around the world.
Describing the sheer magnitude of the spread of English as unprecedented, he pointed to
the changing demographic distribution of the language as well as its new roles in terms of
range of functions and depth of societal penetration.
Moreover, he represented the spread of English in three concentric circles (see figure
4.2): the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle.
Figure 4.2 Kachru’s Concentric Circles (adapted from Kachru, 1985)
In the Inner Circle countries, English is a native language (ENL); in the Outer Circle
English is a Second language (ESL) and in the Expanding Circle English is a foreign
language (EFL). English spoken in the Inner Circle countries is considered to be ―norm
providing,‖ in the Outer Circle countries – ―norm developing‖ and, consequently, in the
Expanding Circle countries, it is ―norm dependent‖ (Kachru, 1985).
Inevitably, over the course of time, the Kachruvian model was criticised and revised
many times (Bolton, 2005; Bruthiaux, 2003; Graddol, 1997; Yano, 2009), the progression
of which will be briefly presented below. It has to be pointed out, however, that Kachru
(1985) himself noted that the concentric circles might be an oversimplification, and that
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fuzzy areas existed. The fact is that the categories are not necessarily mutually exclusive,
as Kachru himself acknowledged, and grey areas exist between the circles. Moreover, he
pointed out that languages have life cycles, particularly in multilingual communities, and
the status of a language may shift overall, or even within a given locality.
Bolton (2005), for instance, expresses the view that ―the Kachruvian model of the
three circles was never intended to be monolithic and unchanging, but was formulated in
the 1980s as a potent rewrite of centrist orthodoxies of that time‖. The first deficiency of
the model is that it locates native speakers and native-speaking countries of the Inner
Circle right in the privileged position at the centre. Undoubtedly, this representation played
a part in Phillipson‘s (1992) critical conceptualisation of the unequal relations between the
―core English-speaking countries‖ (situated at the centre of the model) and the ―periphery-
English countries‖ (the Outer and Expanding Circles).
Graddol (1997, p. 10) also considers the positioning of native-speaking countries as
a drawback of the model, as it seems to imply that the Inner Circle should be viewed as
‗the source of models of correctness, the best teachers and English-speaking goods and
services consumed by those in the periphery‖. What is more, he maintains that L2 speakers
of English must be put in the centre of the model, as they determine the future growth and
change of the language, and there is an increasing need to distinguish between
proficiencies in English, rather than a speaker‘s bilingual status. Kachru (1985) himself,
proposed that the Inner Circle is now better conceived of as the group of highly proficient
speakers of English – those who have ―functional nativeness‖ regardless of how they learnt
or use the language.
Modiano (1999a, p. 24) places his share of criticism on Kachru‘s Inner Circle from a
Eurocentric frame and points out that it ―re-establishes the notion that the language is the
property of specific groups, and that correct usage is determined by experts who speak a
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prestige variety‖. Very explicitly, this tri-circle model reinforces the concept of the native
speaker as the centre of reference, thus promoting a form of linguistic imperialism and
language hegemony that Kachru was determined to avoid.
Bruthiaux (2003) criticises the Kachruvian model because, in his opinion, it
overlooks the variation of English used within a specific geographical area. It also
overlooks the variation in use within specific contexts, as for instance, the use of African-
American vernacular within the United States of America.
Canagarajah (2006) argues that World Englishes can no longer be viewed through
the ―three Circles‖ prism. He explains this by the fact that Outer Circle Englishes and
Expanding Circle Englishes are spread into the so-called ―Inner Circle‖ countries. A large
number of speakers from the Outer and the Expanding Circle countries now live in the
Inner Circle countries, and, therefore, even the native speakers of English are increasingly
exposed to the reality of World Englishes. This idea, consequently, entails revising the
notion of ―proficiency‖ even for the NSs. Canagarajah (2006, p. 233) states: ―in a context
where we have to constantly shuttle between different varieties of English and
communities, proficiency becomes complex, one needs the capacity to negotiate diverse
varieties to facilitate communication‘.
Furthermore, following the same idea that the notion of ―proficiency‖ should be
revised, and, attempting to find a more appropriate model of the spread of English, Yano
(2009) proposed an alternative three-dimensional model of EIL (see Figure 4.3), which, he
argues, is more fitting and applicable for the status and the role of English as a language of
international and intercultural communication. Yano (2009) suggests that the Kachruvian
and other geography-based models depict the spread of English in terms of history and the
present status in the world, while, on the other hand, he proposes an individual
proficiency-based model, which he considers to be an important factor in the EIL context.

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Figure 4.3 Yano’s three dimensional proficiency-based model of EIL (Yano, 2009, p. 38)
In Figure 4.3, the upward arrow in the centre shows the proficiency level of an
individual speaker of English. Foreign-language users in the Expanding Circle must reach
―the proficiency level of adult native speakers‖ in the Inner Circle. The proficiency level of
adult native speakers is used by Yano to signify the proficiency of someone who can
understand and be understood with no difficulty in English for General Purposes (EGP),
namely, the basic communicative skill in English. Excluded are expressions which require
specific professional and occupational knowledge in English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
and those which are heavily laden with specific cultures (what Yano terms ESC, ―English
for Specific Cultures‖).
At the top is EIL, the ultimate level of idealised proficiency for cross-regional
communication with high ESP and ESC proficiencies and accommodation skills that have
been developed through frequent contact with people of different professions and cultures.
This model of EIL offers challenges once again to reconsider the questions of identity and
ownership of English. Therefore, Yano‘s model suggests moving from geography-based

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models to proficiency-based ones, thus corresponding more appropriately to the current
status of English as an international language, and, what is more, it very accurately reduces
such disputable issues as identity, the ownership of English and who can be defined as a
native speaker.
4.5.1 The Current Status of English and Spheres of its Dominance
It is very difficult to grasp the pace of the spread of English worldwide and to produce an
approximate estimation of the number of English speakers who reside in the three circles.
Based on several sources and using the criterion of ―reasonable competence‖ rather than
native-like fluency, Crystal (2003) estimated that there were 1,200–1,500 million English
users worldwide from all the three circles. Other sources (see Table 4.1 in Appendix III)
cite estimates of around 1.3 billion speakers of English. Similarly, Graddol (2006) presents
approximately the same estimates; what is more, he maintains that, by the year 2030, the
number will reach its peak of around 2 billion speakers and by 2050 will decrease to 1.9
billion.
Consequently, English has become a dominant language of wider international
communication. The main domains where English today exerts its international dominance
are: international relations, the media, the film industry, popular music and tourism. What
is more, the dominance of English is considerably exerted in the sphere of
communications. It should be mentioned, however, that, if this thesis were written some
eight years ago, it could be said that around 80 per cent of the Internet content was in
English, but nowadays this number is progressively decreasing.
According to Graddol (2006), it was in the early days of the technology boom that
English was dominant and indispensable to reach the intellectual power of the Internet. For
instance, in 1998, Nunberg and Schulze (1998) (in Graddol, 2006) found that around 85%
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of web pages were in English. A study by Excite Home found, however, that the number
had dropped to 72% in 1999; and a survey by the Catalan ISP Vila Web in 2000 estimated
a further drop to 68%. It seems that the proportion of English-based content on the Internet
is declining, but it still remains more English than is proportionate to the first languages of
users (in Graddol, 2006, p. 44). Crystal (1997, p. 108) maintains that: ―As the demand for
materials in other languages grows, so will the supply.‖ He further states that none of these
will remove the dominance of English on the Internet but it will help to avoid, as Crystal
(2003, p. 118) labels them, international intellectual ghettoes. Nevertheless, the prevalence
of English content on the Internet and in personal communication via the Internet cannot
be understated (see Figure 4.4).
Figure 4.4 The changing demography of Internet users by first language. Reprinted from
Graddol (2006, p. 44)
What is more, Graddol (2006, p. 45) maintains that English is losing its dominance
on the Internet, listing the main factors that hinder the dominance of English on the
Internet: more non-English speakers use the Internet, more languages and scripts are now
supported by computer software, the Internet is used for local information, some major
uses, such as e-Commerce (online shopping) are mainly of a national character, many
people use the Internet for informal communication with friends and family, and the
Internet links diasporic linguistic communities.

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On the other hand, however, the most recent statistics (see Table 4.1 in Appendix III)
shows that English is still the most dominant language on the Internet followed by Chinese
and Spanish. However, what is noteworthy is that Internet penetration by language is much
higher with Japanese, German and Russian languages.
And, finally, the most crucial domain of English as an international language
relevant to this study is, of course, education. Most of the scientific articles are written in
English, and many universities worldwide adopt English as a medium of instruction in
higher education, especially in postgraduate studies (Crystal, 2003). Many lecturers are
faced with the need to cope with mixed language audiences and use English because of the
abundance of foreign students in the classrooms as a result of active international student
exchange programs such as Erasmus, Jason, Work and Travel in the USA, etc.
A recent report by Eurydice (2012) on teaching foreign languages in Europe shows
that there is a considerable increase in learning English as a first foreign language from the
primary level onward in all European countries. What is more, there is an increase in the
number of English learners independent of their educational level, age and occupation.
Another statistics from the same source (Eurydice, 2012) indicates that English is a
mandatory language in 14 countries in the EU; English is also the most widely learnt
foreign language all over Europe, starting from the primary level. In Greece, for instance,
English is the most widely learnt language and the number of its learners in primary
education reaches 96.1% (Eurydice, 2012).
From the above discussion, it becomes clear that English has acquired a special
status and is used as an international language. Nevertheless, this is quite natural that such
a global expansion of English cannot be seen only as a positive phenomenon. There are
some strong preoccupations with regard to the international status of English.

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Crystal (1997), for instance, points out three major dangers that an international
language can bring about: a) Linguistic power – those who speak an international language
as a mother tongue will be in a position of power and gain better opportunities in
international business, science, education, etc. However, Crystal (1997) suggests that if
children are taught the international language from their primary education, getting thus
prepared in this way to become bilingual or plurilingual, they will be able to claim equal
rights with the native speakers of the language; b) Linguistic complacency – with the
existence of an international language there will be no motivation to learn other languages.
This is especially significant for the ENL countries where English speakers do not see any
need to learn a foreign language, because English is spoken worldwide and they can easily
survive in any linguistic environment. These monolingual native speakers of English will
have inferior positions in comparison to bilingual or plurilingual non-native speakers of
English; and Death of languages – the spread of a global, easily available language will
cause the disappearance of minority languages. For example, according to Swerdlow
(1999), some 6000 languages exist nowadays; however, there are predictions that by the
year 2100, the number will be reduced to 3000. This estimate is line with Krauss‘ (1992)
prediction that the next century will see the extinction of 90% of the languages, especially
in the Asia-Pacific region.
Eventually, it becomes clear that English has changed and it can no longer be viewed
as a mere foreign language taught alongside other foreign languages at schools. This
change, quite naturally, has brought about a need for reconceptualisation of English in
terms of defining new terminology and approaches. The following sections will delve into
issues such as ownership of English and intelligibility, attitudes towards EIL and identity
as well as the shift in ELT with regard to the emergence of EIL.

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4.6 English Reconceptualised: The Ownership of English and Intelligibility
The global spread of English and the gradual recognition of varieties of English in
postcolonial contexts have encouraged applied linguists to reconceptualise English so that
it corresponds to its current status as an international language. As McArthur (2001)
accurately noted, the closing decade of the 20th century marked a major change in the
worldwide perception of English.
The debate over the international status of English in academic circles started in the
early 1980s; scholars took up investigations of local varieties of English, traced countries
and domains where English was used for international and intranational communication,
tried to document the spread of English and to calculate an approximate estimation of
English speakers in the world (e.g. Fishman, Cooper & Conrad, 1977; Platt, Weber & Ho,
1984; Pride, 1982).
One of the most contentious issues in this field at those times was and still remains
the ownership of English, and whether or not the emerging post-colonial varieties are
legitimate varieties of English that have an equal right to existence. The questions of ―Who
are the legitimate users of English?‖ and ―Who could be called a native speaker?‖ were
also addressed. As early as 1982, in his paper addressing the issue of ownership of
English, Strevens (1982) stated that English belongs to everyone who wants or needs it,
and it belongs exclusively to no nation, no community, no individual. Furthermore,
Strevens (1982, pp. 427-428) posits:
Whose language is it? It is to suggest that the question itself embodies unreal
values. It implies that some merit accrues to us because we possess in some
unique sense, the English language. As we have seen this is not true. But it is
undoubtedly true that we acquire great benefits from being as it were co-
possessors, with seven hundred million others of the English language. Whose
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language is it? It is ours and everyone‘s: the English language is truly a world
possession.
Widdowson‘s (1994) article ―The Ownership of English‖ was another step towards
the changing perception of English. He questioned the authority of the native speakers to
set up linguistic norms as well as criticised the discrimination of non-native speaker
teachers of English. Widdowson (2003, p. 42) maintained that: ―You are proficient in a
language to the extent that you possess it, make it your own, bend it to your will, assert
yourself through it rather than simply submit to the dictates of its form.‖
Research in the field led to a discussion upon which criteria should determine who
can be labelled an NS or an NNS, because there was no longer a single norm for Standard
English, especially in the international context (Brutt-Griffler & Samimy, 1999, 2001;
Jenkins, 2007; Pennycook, 1994, 2003; Prodromou, 2008; Widdowson, 1994). The NS-
NNS dichotomy has been criticised for being more of a social construction rather than a
linguistically based parameter, and it has been assumed that the speakers‘ own ideological
stances towards their linguistic identities should be more significant than the label they are
given by others.
Davies (1991), for example, argues that membership as an NS in a speech
community was a matter of self-ascription. He suggested defining an NS as someone who
had a ―special control over a language and insider knowledge about ―his/her‖ language‖.
The problem of ownership is definitely much more related to the Outer Circle countries,
where English has become indigenised, and such scholars as Kachru (1985), for example,
state that these varieties must become legitimately accepted varieties of English; however,
in reality, they are still labelled as non-native varieties, institutionalised varieties, local
forms of English, associate languages among others. Nonetheless, research goes even
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further by touching upon the problem of rightful ownership of English by the speakers in
the Expending Circle.
Scholars in the field (e.g. Norton 1997; Norton Pierce 1995) state, that categorizing
speakers into NSs and NNSs prevents learners from owing English because they are
precluded from becoming legitimate speakers of it. The same point is held by many
researchers (e.g. Jenkins, 2007; Matsuda, 2003) from the Expending Circle countries who
maintain that placing the NNSs to a more inferior position in relation to the NSs threatens
to undermine the learners‘ agency as EIL users. Students unfamiliar with the norms of EIL
may conclude that their own English, which is naturally different from the Inner Circle
varieties, is wrong and unacceptable. The learners, therefore, may feel embarrassed about
their accents and hesitate to use English.
Another strong consideration within the EIL paradigm deals with the problem of
which standards should be used for English as an international language. While some (e.g.
Quirk, 1985) argue that a single standard English (American or British English) should be
promoted the whole world over, others (e.g. Kachru, 1985) maintain that new standard
Englishes have arisen in new sociolinguistic and socio-cultural contexts and this
sociolinguistic reality of English should be recognised.
In an attempt to compile and consolidate the existing empirical data on EIL, Jenkins
(2000) goes further and offers a Lingua Franca Core (LFC) (discussed in 4.7), which
focuses on pronunciation teaching, is sociolinguistically grounded and, as she argues,
should be used as a teaching standard in ELF.
The following section will discuss the terminology shift as related to the
reconceptualisation of English as an International Language.

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4.7 English Reconceptualised: Terminology Issues
The changing perception of English has also brought about a shift in terminology. Because
the word ―English‖ is an adjective that characterises a language belonging to the English
people, there arose a need to rename English so that it could become denationalised and
more compatible with its current status.
In the last thirty years, scholars have been trying to rename and redefine English in
order to reflect its global status of an international language. In addition, it is noteworthy
that most of these labels have been proposed to describe the use of English among non-
native speakers of English, since the English used to describe the language of the native
speakers does not need to be redefined or renamed. Consequently, this trend in
terminological shift was a result of rising awareness among scholars of the global spread
of English and the overwhelming phenomenon of globalisation, which affected English
and was affected by English.
One such attempt was the proposal of using the plural form of English – Englishes
(World Englishes/New Englishes), which emerged in the mid-80s as a consequence of
Kachru‘s pluralistic conception of English; it described all the varieties of English in the
world taken together. Kachru (1992) stated, that the term World Englishes/New Englishes
most accurately described the global function of English.
Other terms given to English are World English (McArthur, 1998); Global English
(Alexander, 1999; Seidlhofer, 2002); Nuclear English (Quirk, 1982); Basic English
(Ogden, 1930); World Standard Spoken English (WSSE) (Crystal, 1988); General English
(Ahulu, 1997); English as an International Auxiliary Language (EIAL) (Smith, 1976)
among others.
Smith‘s (1976) EIAL is sometimes referred to as a Global Lingua Franca. And this
is quite justified, because estimates show that today there are more interactions among
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Non-Native Speakers (NNSs) of English and that NNSs outnumber Native Speakers (NSs)
three to one (Graddol, 1997), and because English is now used more among NNSs in Non-
Native settings, the term English as a Lingua Franca is abundantly used in the literature
(e.g. House, 1999; Jenkins, 2000; Seidlhofer, 2001).
The term lingua franca is usually taken to mean ―any lingual medium of
communication between people of different mother tongues, for whom it is a second
language‖ (Samarin, 1987, p. 371). In this definition, then, a lingua franca has no native
speakers, and this notion is carried over into definitions of English as a lingua franca, such
as in the following example: ―[ELF is] a ―contact language‖ between persons who share
neither a common native tongue nor a common (national) culture, and for whom English is
the chosen foreign language of communication‖ (Firth, 1996, p. 240). Meanwhile,
Modiano (2001) adds that a lingua franca is a mode of communication which allows
people to interact with others without aligning themselves to ideological positioning
indicative of a specific mother-tongue speech community. Moreover, Modiano (2001)
holds that a lingua franca is primarily designed to provide its speakers with an access to
the global village.
Seidlhofer (2011, p. 7) defines ELF in the following way: ―English as a lingua franca
(ELF) can be thought of as ―any use of English among speakers of different first languages
for whom English is the communicative medium of choice, and often the only option.‖
Therefore, ELF is viewed as a genuine means of communication for everyone, NNSs as
well as for NSs in their everyday lives.
Due to the fact that very often the terms EIL and ELF are used interchangeably and
the research on EIL and ELF seems to follow the same path of enquiry, it becomes
pertinent to define them both, to underline their similarities and differences if such exist
and to clarify our position and the use of these two terms. Therefore, basing on Modiano‘s
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(1999) definition, we can characterise EIL as a neutral, internationally intelligible variety
of English that can interchangeably stand for English as an International/ Intranational/
Intercultural/Intracultural Language because it functions as a medium of communication
between NSs and NNSs and more often between NNSs and NNSs in both local and
international contexts. EIL is not an established variety of its own; it is rather the most
internationally intelligible and neutral, a core variety, which is void of cross-linguistically
unintelligible and culturally laden elements.
On the other hand, ELF in its most recent definition is characterised as "any use of
English among speakers of different first languages for whom English is the
communicative medium of choice, and often the only option" (Seidlhofer, 2011, p. 7). ELF
is currently the most common use of English worldwide. Millions of speakers from diverse
cultural and linguistic backgrounds use ELF on a daily basis, routinely and successfully, in
their professional, academic and personal lives (ibid.). Just like EIL, ELF is also
considered to be a culture-free and neutral tool for international communication (House,
2002). On the other hand, some hold that ELF carries the culture of its speakers (Pölzl &
Seidlhofer, 2006). Likewise, Hülmbauer (2007) believes that ELF users develop their own
markers of identity (European, international or individual). In this respect, ELF is not
exactly culture free, it is rather multicultural.
It becomes obvious that there are no stern semantic discrepancies between the terms
as they both describe the same phenomenon and the international use of English. As it has
been previously stated in 4.4, the default term throughout the whole thesis will be EIL
together with its working definition but in many cases the two terms may be used
interchangeably without any semantic deviation.

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4.7.1 English in Europe
The advance of globalisation and expansion of the EU has brought about an urgent need
for a common lingua franca of communication. This need is becoming even more urgent as
the EU expands; in 2004, ten more states joined the EU, three more states have applied for
membership, and the total number of member-states is 27 today.
English has evolved into the default language of communication between EU
member states (Cenoz and Jessner, 2000) and its extensive use can be observed in several
domains, such as business, media and academia: ―In reality English is no longer a foreign
language in several member states…It is a fact of professional and social life for many EU
citizens‖, according to Phillipson (2003). Following the same line of reasoning, Graddol
(1999, p. 65) concludes that ―English...is fast becoming a second language in Europe.‖
Hartmann (1996) examines the use of English in various domains, such as academia,
education and EU administration. He also discusses European bilingualism, diglossia and
the adoption of English lexis into European languages. Hartmann (1996, p. 2) concludes
that ―the future looks as though it belongs to the English language, even though [English]
could itself be transformed in the process.‖
As can be inferred from the brief literature review made above, a general
acknowledgment of the dominant presence of English in Europe is well rooted;
nevertheless, the reactions to this phenomenon are contradictory and ambiguous. Although
many Europeans accept the importance of English in Europe and in their lives, there is also
a widespread fear about the impact it might have in their native languages and other
European languages as well. Many Europeans express a concern that other language
speakers might lose power.
According to the Eurobarometer (2005) survey, over 60% of Europeans believe that
it is necessary to protect their own national languages more carefully as the EU expands.
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Such fears refer to not only language loss but also the loss of the cultural identity of
different nations. Some Europeans fear that the spread of English will lead to an erosion of
national identities in Europe and the encroachment of a different set of values, primarily
those of the US (Berns, 1994).
However, recent linguistic studies show that such preoccupations are groundless as
the loss of national languages can also be caused by factors other than English.
Educational authorities within EU implement and develop a policy of multilingualism and
multiculturalism, thus promoting the learning of foreign languages other than English. To
be more specific, various data show that a considerable increase in learning French and
German has been observed. Nevertheless, English is the language which has advanced
most of all; furthermore, nearly 70% of Europeans were reported to believe English should
be the foreign language learnt by everyone in the EU (Labrie & Quell, 1997). The results
of a survey show that English is now learnt by 91% of European secondary school
children, while 34% learn French, 15% learn German and 10% learn Spanish; in addition,
nearly one third of the citizens of 15 ―non- English-speaking‖ countries in the EU are able
to speak English well enough to take part in a conversation (Eurydice, 2008).
Within the framework of his work on EIL, Modiano (1996; 1998) proposes a
European variety of English which he calls Mid-Atlantic English (MAE). In his scheme,
MAE is a subcategory of EIL with a narrower scope. Görlach and Schröder, (1985, p. 230)
previously used the term and described MAE as an insufficient variety of English: ―an odd
mixture of speech levels and…an artificial jargon,‖ which is ―acceptable neither to the
educated Briton nor to the educated American.‖ However, Modiano (1996) gives it a more
positive meaning and argues that by using MAE, speakers could avoid political or cultural
labelling and better retain the attributes of their own countries.

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Modiano (1998) promotes MAE as an official language for cross-cultural
communication within the EU. He argues that ―Europeans require a form of the language
which allows for cultural pluralism, for a politically and socially neutral lingua franca,‖
and that MAE would allow a European to remain European when speaking English
(Modiano, 1998, p. 242). The shortcoming of MAE (like EIL) is that it lacks empirical
study and support; in other words it has not been systematically studied and codified so as
to serve as a codified lingua franca.
MAE was the initial stage of the formation of a variety called Euro-English.
Carstensen (1986) was the first to suggest that a variety called Euro-English came into
being along with the formation of ―Englishised‖ vocabulary and an increase in use of
English for intra-European communication. The term ―Euro-English‖ later occurred in the
titles of several articles (e.g. Jenkins, 2000; Modiano, 1996; 2000; Seidlhofer, 2001).
Modiano (2000, p. 34) states that, ―as to pronunciation, a ―neutral‖ variety of spoken
English is coming into being, one which is difficult to locate geographically (note many of
the young commentators on the satellite TV networks who are difficult to place, being
more ―European‖ and less ―Dutch‖ or ―Belgian‖ or ―French‖).‖ McCluskey (2002, p. 1)
asserts: ‗As in all enclosed systems, a special language has emerged inside the EU
apparatus. It takes two forms, Eurojargon, a set of terms created by the need to name new
things invented by the EU, and Eurospeak, the hermetic insider medium with its own
idiosyncratic grammar and syntax‖.
Euro-English is spreading and developing very intensively throughout Europe and as
McArthur (2001) points, we may yet see course guides, grammars, and dictionaries dealing
in how mainland Europeans at large and the citizens of such countries as Finland and
France in particular have been adding their phonologies and idioms to the world‘s –and
Europe‘s—lingua franca.
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The above sections presented a short account of the development of English into an
international language. The role of English in the globalisation process, as well as recent
reconceptualisations of English in terms of language ownership and terminology shift have
been discussed in detail. Moreover, the literature review made above attempts to underpin
the assumption that EIL, as an established paradigm, has already accumulated a solid
theoretical ground and claims its place among other English language models (EFL, ESL,
English for Specific Purposes (ESP), among others). This clarification, being a case in
point, is now considered essential to delve into such issues as attitudes towards EIL,
motivation to learn EIL, EIL and identity and, what is more crucial, the role of EIL in
ELT, which will be discussed in the following sections.
4.8 EIL: Attitudes and Identity
In its modern status and role, English has come to fulfil two functions; it has become: (i) a
language for communication and (ii) a language for identification (House, 2003). In his
study on language and identity, Edwards (1985) suggests that there is a perceptible
distinction between communicative and symbolic functions of a language and, therefore, a
difference between language as a tool of communication and language as a symbol of
groupness.
With regard to EIL, it is not clear-cut who out of billions of English speakers uses
English for merely communicative functions and who – for representational functions as
well, or more likely, many use English for both functions. Meierkord (2002) argues that
ELF is not merely designed for communicative (and not identification) purposes. She
maintains that the ―home‖ cultures of language users are bound to interfere in lingua
franca communication and consequently ELF is a hybrid form of communication, serving

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whatever purpose the speaker wants it to. Meierkord (2002) further proposes the concept
of a ―third culture‖ in language use, the space created in intercultural communication.
The same approach is proposed by Dröschel, Durham and Neukirchen (2002), who
argue that when using a particular language to communicate with others, speakers may
wish to express a social identity transcending nationality and culture. They may, for
example, wish to express their belonging to a particular economic or professional group
and foreground their membership of a particular speech community that is not necessarily
linked to a specific national or cultural identity; English, therefore, as a lingua franca
fulfils both instrumental and phatic functions, which means that the language is used both
for communicative purposes as well as to reflect the speakers‘ identity.
Brutt-Griffler (2002, p. 178), following the same idea, argues that the users of
English as a lingua franca are the carriers of an evolving transnational identity and make
up a ―world language speaking community‖. This community, as she argues, shares a
culture formed by globalisation and its cultural and economic accompaniments. This
means that the English language is a potential carrier of the British and American culture,
the ―home‖ culture of the EFL user, as well as a transmitter of the global culture in which
its users participate.
It is considered excessive to launch an extended discussion on the general notion of
language attitudes as this has been fully covered in chapter two (see 2.2). More
specifically, recent studies on attitudes towards EIL will be presented and briefly discussed
in this section. There is still a dearth of studies on EIL attitudes; however, some key
studies in this field (Decke-Cornill, 2002; Matsuda, 2003; Sifakis & Sougari, 2003, 2005;
Timmis, 2002; Young & Walsh, 2010) provide a very informative insight into the issue of
teachers‘/learners‘ attitudes towards EIL and these studies will be addressed in detail.
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4.8.1 Teacher-focused Studies on EIL-related Attitudes
In recent years, there has been an increase in interest in EIL in general and EIL-related
attitudes in particular. Many studies embarked upon the investigation of NNS teachers‘
attitudes towards EIL on all linguistic levels; the great majority, however, focus their
attention on pronunciation issues. This tendency may be explained by the fact that attitudes
towards pronunciation and accents encompass such issues as identity, ownership,
intelligibility, beliefs and self-perceptions. Timmis (2002, p. 241), for example, maintains
that pronunciation seems to go into the heart of the native-speaker issue.
In short, it becomes apparent that the teachers, though acknowledging the role of
English as an international language, still insist that English language teaching should be
grounded in the native speaker norms. In some cases, it becomes clear that the teachers are
not aware of EIL-related issues and, in general, are not well informed about the recent
trends in ELT. Some related studies will be presented more analytically below.
In his study, Timmis (2002) explored teachers‘ attitudes towards pronunciation,
standard grammar and spoken grammar; for that purpose, 180 questionnaires were
administered to teachers from 45 countries. The results show that the vast majority both
within the teacher cohort tend to confine to NS norms not only in pronunciation but also in
standard grammar and spoken grammar issues. However, surprisingly enough, teachers
seem to be diverging from the NS norms faster than the students; moreover, teachers were
more tolerant of ―accented intelligibility‖, thus, prioritizing intelligibility over standard
pronunciation norms. Timmis‘s research findings show that in the light of EIL/ELF,
teachers face two dilemmas: (i) while it is inappropriate to impose native-speaker norms
on those who do not want or need them, it is even more inappropriate to ―offer the students
a target which manifestly does not meet their aspirations‖, (ii) teachers might find some
students‘ views and attitudes quaint or ill-informed, the question is whether they have any
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right or responsibility to politically re-educate their students and in Timmis‘s words:
―When does awareness-raising become proselytizing?‖(p. 249).
Decke-Cornill (2002) carried out a study among German teachers of English on their
attitudes towards ELF in two different types of school – the Gymnasium (selective) and
the Gesamtschule (non-selective). The study explored the teachers‘ attitudes towards the
possible changes in ELT with regard to the role of English as an international language,
more specifically, the teachers were asked to share their views on such issues as a shift
from a culture-specific to a global focus of English language teaching; whether they
already included EIL specific elements in their teaching; and how teacher education should
be changed with respect to EIL.
The respondents expressed a wish to open up the minds of their students to the
diversity of people and cultures and expressed their hope to instil interest in different ways
of living and thinking as well as respect for heterogeneity. However, on a practical level,
all teachers expressed doubts as to including EIL into their teaching practices. What is
more, the teachers from the non-selective schools felt more comfortable with the idea of
incorporating EIL specific elements into their language teaching and prioritizing their
students‘ communication needs, while acknowledging that EIL might be more effective for
their students. Nevertheless, they showed a considerable preoccupation over the linguistic
aspect – ―the language they would have to invent‖. Meanwhile, the teachers from the
selective schools were more NS-norm bound and conservative in their desire to
incorporate EIL into their teaching practice.
Sifakis and Sougari (2005a) surveyed 421 Greek EFL teachers about their attitudes
regarding their pronunciation beliefs and practices. Their study primarily aimed at
exploring the teachers‘ viewpoints on pronunciation-specific issues and the possible links
between pronunciation teaching, EIL, and the sociocultural identity of non-native speakers
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of English (NNSs). Moreover, in their study Sifakis and Sougari sought to establish the
extent to which these teachers were aware of EIL-related matters, such as the need for
mutual intelligibility in NNS–NNS communication.
The present study involves teachers from different teaching contexts (i.e. primary,
lower secondary, and upper secondary levels), to find out whether there is a relation
between teachers‘ beliefs about pronunciation norms, their preferences, and their teaching
practices.
The results show that the teachers from all three teaching contexts are extremely
proud of their accents and believe that they sound native-like and provide adequate role-
models for their learners; moreover, they show a high tendency towards an NS ―norm-
bound‖ (to be discussed in 4.9) perspective in their attitudes and teaching practices.
However, there is a considerable difference between the primary level teachers and the
upper-secondary level teachers; primary-level teachers believe that attaining a native-like
accent is very important, whereas the upper secondary-level teachers consider improving
their learners‘ pronunciation less important. With regard to the issue of language
ownership, more than 70% of the respondents respond that English belongs either to NSs
or to people with NS competence; only 8% take the EIL perspective and choose as owners
―speakers of the language (independent of problems)‖.
Another study conducted in an FL context by Hsuan–Yau (2008) aims to explore
university English teachers‘ perceptions of the role of English today in Taiwan from two
aspects – the ownership of English and the acquisition of the target language culture in the
English language classroom. The results of this study show that Taiwanese teachers‘
perceptions of the international role of English are very contradictory. While some of the
teachers insist that English belongs to certain countries (particularly the U.S. and the UK)
and that learners should be exposed to these prestigious and ―standard‖ varieties, others
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support the EIL perspective and favour the idea of raising the learners‘ awareness and to
expose them to different non-native varieties of English. The author himself argues that,
although he largely advocates EIL and tries to raise his students‘ awareness of EIL-related
issues, he still has to teach them a standard ENL model (American English in his case) due
to his students‘ demand for finding a good job or passing academic exams (e.g. TOEFL,
IELTS, or GEPT).
A recent study conducted in the UK by Young and Walsh (2010) delves into
teachers‘ attitudes towards EIL-related issues. It involves twenty-six teachers from
different countries in Europe, Africa, and West, Southeast and East Asia who have
volunteered to take part in the focus groups. The aim of the study is to establish the
teachers‘ awareness of the varieties of English, the variety of English they prefer to teach
and how they perceive the nature of EIL.
The results show that the vast majority of teachers state that they are not aware of
any particular variety of English that they have been exposed to; however, after the
moderator‘s extended discussions, they state that they have probably learnt a ―local
variety‖(of their teachers) which is as closely modelled on ENL norms as possible.
Interestingly enough, participants from diverse educational contexts maintain that they
were exposed to ―local varieties‖ on lower levels, and on more advanced levels the target
gradually moved closer to either BrE (British English) or AmE (American English).
In response to the second question, most teachers (about 81%) feel that they are
teaching something at least approximating AmE. There is a striking unanimity among the
participants in their statement that they should teach standard or formal English, which
corresponds to AmE or BrE in their view. When asked about their attitudes towards
English, all teachers express positive views about this phenomenon on the conceptual
level; however, none of them manifest desire or readiness to teach EIL/ELF in their
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classrooms. There is, in general, ambivalence among all the teachers as to the nature of
EIL/ELF and its teaching methodology.
This study, like all the previous ones, suggests that the concept of EIL is still in its
origins and many teachers have, in general, negative attitudes towards EIL/ELF first
because they are likely unaware of EIL-related issues and recent trends, and second
because EIL is still in its descriptive phase and not prescriptive, so teachers do not know
how to implement EIL in their classrooms and they believe that EIL does not really
correspond to their learners‘ language learning needs.
Jenkins (2007) tackles the issue of attitudes towards ELF more thoroughly and on
different levels: (i) she first presents those attitudes towards ELF that prevail among the
linguistic academia; these attitudes are mainly negative and what is more, surprisingly
enough negative attitudes are expressed by scholars from not only the Inner Circle contexts
(Quirk, 1985; Trudgill, 2002; among others) but also the Expanding Circle contexts
(Görlach, 1999). The common attitudes towards ELF among scholars are that ELF is a
―deficient‖ variety of EFL; it cannot be applicable to ELT as there is not any established
and empirically testified methodology. Many scholars strongly oppose the assumption that
ELF is a variety of its own having equal rights with ENL, ESL, or EFL. Even those who
seem to support ELF in general, do not particularly favour this perception of EIL as an
institutionalised variety of its own (Prodromou, 2008); (ii) Jenkins shortly provides an
overview of some of the most important studies on ELF attitudes that has been published
in recent years; (iii) ELF attitudes observed in written texts and in spoken data are
analysed; and (iv) Jenkins elicits her own research findings based on a questionnaire study
of teachers‘ beliefs about and attitudes towards ELF and specifically towards English
accents.
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The questionnaires were sent over to twelve countries and overall 326 respondents,
300 of whom were NNSs of English, participated in the study. In her study, Jenkins aims
at not only revealing the teachers‘ attitudes to different NNS and NS accents, but also
exploring the expanding circle members‘ attitudes towards their own (italics original)
group‘s English accent. The results of this study are straightforward: NS accents
(particularly UK and US accents) are preferred in all respects. As for the NNS accents,
they are all non-preferred but in a hierarchical manner East-Asian English accents being
rated as the most non-preferred ones. Moreover, after analysing the comments made by the
respondents, Jenkins identifies five categories or themes that affect the respondents‘
preferences for a particular accent: reservations, prejudice, intelligibility, familiarity and
personal preferences.
Nevertheless, Jenkins‘ (2007) study also uncovers some encouraging positive
attitudes among the participants towards other NNS accents and, what is more important,
towards their own group accents, especially among the participants from China.
Meanwhile, when trying to establish what EIL is and what the attitudes towards it
are, it is mandatory that the learners‘ voices also need to be heard and taken into
consideration, because any teaching model is ultimately designed for and targeted at them.
In recent times, many studies that investigate learners‘ attitudes towards and perceptions of
EIL have emerged in research literature.
4.8.2 Learner-focused Studies on EIL-related Attitudes
Learners‘ attitudes towards the emerging paradigm of EIL are essential in this examination
because the ultimate goal of any teaching model is to serve the needs of learners that it has
been predestined for in the most appropriate way. Of course, this does not mean that
teachers‘ attitudes should not be extensively examined or should be undervalued since

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teachers are the transmitters of knowledge and, therefore, must be ready and willing to
accept the new model and be able to pass it on to their learners. Therefore, this issue
should be investigated from both perspectives thus providing a deeper understanding of the
phenomenon.
A study conducted in Brazil by Friedrich (2000) focuses its attention on the learners‘
perception of the importance of English as a language for international communication, the
role of English within Brazil and the learners‘ expectations of time and energy to be
consumed in the learning of the language. The participants are 190 adult learners attending
a private institute in the metropolitan area of San Paulo who responded to a survey
questionnaire. The majority of respondents identify American English as the variety they
are learning. Besides American and British English, no other variety is indicated.
With regard to the acknowledgement of the international status of English, all
respondents without exception agree that English is a language of international
communication. However, what is not expected is the acknowledgement of almost 60% of
the participants that they would learn English even if it were not a language of
international communication.
Similarly, Matsuda (2003) conducted a qualitative case study among Japanese
secondary school students (N34) in the 12th grade and finds that, although the students
widely acknowledge the international status of English and perceive it as a lingua franca
and a common language, they still claim that the ownership of English belongs exclusively
to its native speakers. What is more, the notion of a native speaker within this sample is
limited to the North Americans and Britons. They manifest a complete ignorance and a
lack of awareness of outer circle varieties such as Indian English or Singapore English.
Getting back to Timmis‘s study (2002), in the second part he explores the learners‘
attitudes towards pronunciation, standard grammar and spoken grammar; it was conducted
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in Leeds among 400 participants from 14 different countries. The main question in this
study is whether or not the learners should still be confined to NS norms in language
learning. The results show that the vast majority within the learner cohort tend to conform
to NS norms in not only pronunciation but also standard grammar and spoken grammar
issues. However, surprisingly enough, the students seem quite unwilling to diverge from
NS norms and are much more intolerant to intelligibility than the teacher cohort is. The
students believe that native-like pronunciation is a benchmark of achievement –the sign of
a good level of English.
However, it must be pointed out that attitudes are not solid constructs and tend to
change. For example, Shim (2002) chronologically presents her three studies that aim at
exploring Korean learners‘ attitudes to English as a World Language. In the first survey
conducted in 1995 among 57 students in the Language Research Institute, the results show
that the overwhelming majority of the students favour American English as the best model
of English education. The vast majority of the respondents express a desire to learn
American English and Canadian English, while only 49% want to learn Australian English
and no one wants to learn Pakistani English or Korean English. What is more, the majority
of the respondents find no reason for learning or being aware of other non-native varieties.
Shim‘s second survey was conducted in 1997 on 24 graduate students who were
enrolled in a teaching methodology class at Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea.
They were asked to respond to the following questions: a) What variety of English was
being taught in Korean schools? b) What variety (or varieties) of English should be used as
the teaching model? c) Was there was a need to understand the non-native varieties of
English? and d)Were they willing to participate in an English learning program that
introduced non-native varieties of English?

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The researcher anticipated positive answers for questions 3 and 4, as the students had
previously been introduced to the concept of varieties of English and English as a world
language. Nevertheless, contrary to Shim‘s expectations, 22 out of 24 students give
negative answers to these questions. As regards questions 1 and 2, all the students
unanimously answer ―American English‖. Shim (2002) concludes that most Koreans
believe that the goal of English education is to communicate with native speakers of
English and that the best model for English education is American English.
However, things began to change in Korea after December 1997 when the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a 15.5 billion stand-by credit for Korea.
Shim (2002) believes that the Korean public was exposed to a new situation in which
people from different countries, with various accents spoke English on radio and
television, discussing the IMF credit or related matters, and that this drastic change in
Korean society affected people‘s attitudes towards the status of English. As a result, in
March 1998, the Korean Educational Broadcasting Station (EBS) made an unprecedented
decision to air an English education program that would introduce non-native varieties of
English to the Korean public. The program was ―Crossroads Café‖; it featured several non-
native speakers of English as main characters (Romanian, Mexican, Chinese and Egyptian)
and dealt with issues of multi-ethnicity in the United States.
Shim (2002) repeated her previous study among her 27 TESOL graduate students.
The results differ radically from the previous year. All the respondents still state that
American English is being taught in Korean schools. Nevertheless, to the question, ―What
variety should be used as a teaching model?‖ the vast majority respond – internationally
acceptable English. What is more, the respondents unanimously agree that there is a need
to understand the non-native varieties of English and everyone expresses a willingness to
participate in an English learning program that introduces non-native varieties of English.

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Shim (2002) maintains that the concept of non-native varieties of English has
gradually become acknowledged and accepted in the Korean society and she believes that
it would be further established in 2002 when Korea hosted the World Cup, an event that
would be another catalyst in increasing public awareness of World Englishes in Korea.
One important point to highlight here is the age of the respondents of the above
mentioned studies. It becomes quite evident that the studies conducted in this field
examine mainly secondary level/college students‘ and adults‘ attitudes towards EIL, which
means that young learners‘ attitudes and beliefs about the role and importance of EIL are
considerably under-researched, which, consequently, increases the significance of the
present research.
The studies discussed above clearly show that the more a country is involved in
international business and world politics, the higher the given society‘s awareness of EIL-
related issues is. Of course, it is not only the given society‘s changing perceptions but also
the given country‘s educational policy that establishes the role and importance of English
as well as what variety of English should be introduced and taught and on what
educational levels. The next section, consequently, discusses the recent trends in ELT
pedagogy related to EIL.
4.9 EIL and English Language Teaching
The global spread of English and its current status as an international lingua franca of
communication brought about a serious paradigm shift in ELT pedagogy. There arose an
urgent call among specialists in the field to revise the teaching methodology with respect
to the current status of English. An urge for a change in methodology was particularly
evident in the Expanding Circle countries where English was taught as a FL, and Inner
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Circle oriented EFL models were then implemented in ELT (e.g. Alpetkin, 2002; Matsuda
& Friederich, 2011; McKay, 2002; Sridhar & Sridhar, 1992).
McKay (2002) was among those scholars who first raised a voice of criticism against
the existing ELT models in the light of the spread of English as an international language.
She argues that the teaching and learning of an international language must be based on an
entirely different set of assumptions rather than the teaching and learning of any other
foreign language.
Alpetkin (2002) strongly questions the validity of the pedagogic model based on a
native-speaker-based notion of communicative competence and he maintains that a new
notion of communicative competence is needed, one that recognises the role of English as
an international language. He calls for a new model that aims at the realisation of
intercultural communicative competence in ELT. More specifically, Alpetkin questions the
existing model for the following reasons: i) communicative competence with its
standardised native speaker norms is as utopian as the notion of the idealised native
speaker-listener. He considers an idealised native speaker-listener to be a linguistic myth;
ii) communicative competence, with its standardised native speaker norms, fails to reflect
the lingua franca status of English. He believes that given the international status of
English, much of the world needs and uses English for instrumental purposes and much
communication in English involves NNS-NNS interactions, and therefore it is irrelevant to
teach such culturally-laden discourse samples as British politeness or American
informality, and iii) communicative competence, with its standardised native speaker
norms, circumscribes learner and teacher autonomy.
Moreover, Alpetkin (2002) believes that the more the language is localised for the
learners, the more they can engage with it as a discourse. What is more, he believes that
native speaker-based authenticity restricts the NNS teachers‘ autonomy because these
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teachers feel intimidated by NS norms of use and usage and also awkward and insecure
when equipping their students with aspects of the NS sociolinguistic and strategic
competences. As teachers share the same linguistic background with their learners, it
would be more appropriate and comfortable for them to include their own cultural
discourse in language teaching.
In conclusion, Alpetkin (2002) strongly holds that a new pedagogic model is
urgently required to accommodate the case of English as a means of international and
intercultural communication. This new model should be based upon the following criteria:
i) successful bilinguals with intercultural insights and knowledge should serve as
pedagogic models in EIL; ii) intercultural communicative competence should be
developed among EIL learners by equipping them with linguistic and cultural behaviour,
which will enable them to communicate successfully with others and also to raise their
awareness of difference; iii) The EIL pedagogy should be the one of global appropriacy
and local appropriation thus preparing learners ―to be both global and local speakers of
English and to feel at home in both international and national cultures‖ (Kramsch &
Sullivan. 1996, p. 211); and iv) instructional materials and activities should involve local
and international contexts that are familiar and relevant to language learners‘ lives; v)
instructional materials and activities should have suitable discourse samples pertaining to
NS-NNS as well as NNS-NNS interactions.
Sifakis and Sougari (2003a), who are actively involved in research on EIL-related
issues in Greece, argue that, before deciding upon which pedagogical model to follow in
ELT, first, it must be clearly determined which language teaching situation is under
consideration. They contend that, in situations in which English is learnt as an international
language, a culture bound (C-bound) approach should be implemented. With this
approach, there is an observed tendency to break away from the notion of ―nativity‖ as an
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indispensable attribute of language ownership. In this case, the C-bound approach is
opposed to norm bound (N-bound) approach, where codification, standardness and
regularity are emphasised (Sifakis, 2006).
Moreover, language is perceived all the more as a mere tool of communicating
messages that carry the entire cultural baggage of the interlocutors along with them. In
these situations, a culturally-based approach should be implemented in language teaching.
Such an approach stresses the need for reinforcing all speakers‘ (native and non-native
alike) sense as communicators at a global level by adding an extra dimension (i.e. cultural
awareness) to our communicative competence.
Sifakis and Sougari (2005b), in search of a new methodology for teaching EIL,
suggest that the focus of C-bound EIL instruction should fall on the development of
intercultural communicative skills. They further assert that by exposing the learners to
different NS and NNS varieties, learners are given opportunities to develop their own
intercultural self-awareness by realizing their own identity in relation to others through the
use of EIL. What is more, Sifakis and Sougari (2003a) suggest that before choosing the
norm-bound or culture-bound approach, the ELT practitioners should take into
consideration such factors as learners‘ age, language level, purpose factor, and affective
factor.
As repeatedly mentioned throughout this Chapter, EIL is still in its descriptive phase
rather than prescriptive (e.g. Jenkins, 2006; Seidlhofer, 2003), which means that there is
not any established and tested EIL curriculum available to provide the teachers worldwide
with guidance, pedagogical implications and abundant materials to teach and promote EIL.
However, many scholars involved in this area of studies are trying to develop or even
outline a possible EIL curriculum which would be applicable in various linguistic and
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educational contexts (e.g. Alpetkin, 2002; Matsuda, 2003; Matsuda & Friederich, 2011;
McKay, 2002; Sifakis, 2006, 2007; among others).
In a recent article, Matsuda and Friederich (2011) explore key questions in TEIL and
suggest specific ways to introduce an EIL perspective to existing English language
classrooms. In their paper, EIL is defined as ―a term that describes a function that English
performs in multilingual contexts‖ (Matsuda & Friedrich, 2011, p. 20), and not as a
particular linguistic variety (or a collection of specific varieties) that are used for
international communication. Based on this definition, they maintain that an ―EIL course‖
is conceptualised as one whose goal is to prepare English learners to become competent
users of English in international contexts. It is not a course that teaches a linguistic variety
of English called EIL, because there is no such thing (Matsuda & Friederich, 2011, p.
334). In the same vein as Sifakis and Sougari (2003a), Matsuda & Friedrich (2011) also
maintain that the selection of an instructional variety, be it ESL, EFL, or EIL, should be
considered carefully, and be constructed after taking into consideration such contextual
factors as learner goals, teacher‘s background, local attitudes toward English(es), and the
availability of material.
Similarly, in an attempt to envisage what an EIL course could contain, Sifakis (2006)
foresees that an ELF curriculum would concentrate on those competences and
communication skills that any successful (mainly spoken) interaction involving NNSs
portrays, such as to become more intelligible for their interlocutors through a process of
accommodation (for example, making repairs, paraphrasing, rephrasing, or even allowing
for linguistic errors that might facilitate communication). As Sifakis (2006) believes, these
practices would lead learners to realise the importance of NNS-NNS communication, to
appreciate the reasons for learning English (for example, as a language for communication
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rather than as one for identification and to encourage their confidence in their own
language use).
It is considered appropriate to make reference to Jenkins‘ LFC (see 4.7) here, which
is regarded as the most successful, well-elaborated and empirically tested phonological
syllabus for successful EIL communication. LFC can be viewed as an attempt to provide
standard teachable resource material that can be applied in different educational and
cultural contexts when there is a need to learn English as an international language (for
details see Jenkins, 2000; 2002).
Many scholars such as House (1999), Jenkins (2000) and Seidlhofer (2004) have
argued that in the contemporary globalised world, where the interactions in the majority of
cases take place among NNSs, it is unreasonable to rely on NS norms or near-native-
speaker norms because they will not guarantee successful communication and
intelligibility. These authors propose that instead of using an EFL model, it‘s better to use
an ELF model that is not based on any particular national linguistic standard. What is
more, ELF should be targeted as a teaching model because this form of English will better
prepare learners to communicate with L2 English speakers from all over the world, will be
more ―neutral with regard to the different cultural backgrounds of the interlocutors‖ and
will therefore take place on ―some kind of common intercultural basis‖ (Gnutzmann 1999,
p. 163).
Seidlhofer (2001) argues that ELF has an independent existence and coexists with
ENL. In her perception, ELF should not and cannot be a ―globally distributed, franchised
copy of ENL,‖ since ―it is being spread [and] developed independently, with a great deal
of variation but enough stability to be viable for lingua franca communication‖ (Seidlhofer
2001, p. 138). She adds that in ELF domain, the primary concerns are efficiency, relevance
and economy in language learning and language use (Seidlhofer, 2001).

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The assumption that ELF should be targeted as a teaching model entails that an
elaborated teaching model should be designed and implemented. In an attempt to secure
the existence and the role of EFL, Jenkins (2000; 2002) proposes a model of English
pronunciation teaching which includes those elements which are necessary for a lingua
franca communication and intelligibility and not imitation of NS pronunciation. Jenkins
outlines a new pronunciation syllabus based on empirical data gathered from L2 English
speakers‘ interactions. This is what she calls the Lingua Franca Core (LFC). The LFC
pronunciation goals have been reduced to only include linguistic ―errors‖ that interfere
with communication. In proposing the LFC, Jenkins (2000, p. 4) seeks ways to make the
language ―more cross-culturally democratic‖ for all who use English for communication,
―regardless of who or where they are.‖
For the above mentioned purpose, Seidlhofer is currently involved into a compilation
of a corpus of ELF in the framework of Vienna Oxford International Corpus of English
(VOICE) project. This corpus consists of spoken language used between L2 English
speakers, within which Seidlhofer is seeking common features of ELF use and the most
relied-upon grammatical constructions and lexical choices. In this ambitious project,
Seidlhofer‘s (2001, p. 150) ultimate objective in codifying ELF is to make it ―a feasible,
acceptable and respected alternative to ENL in appropriate contexts of use.‖
Given the international status of English, many scholars are intensively involved in a
search for the best method, some suggesting the notion of the ―best method‖ (Prabhu,
1990), others moving ―beyond methods‖ (Richards, 1990), others introducing the notion of
―post-method pedagogy‖ (Kumaravadivelu, 2003) and some scholars even going further
and suggesting that all the methods are dead (Brown, 2002).
Likewise, in a search for the best method, Prabhu (1990) suggests that there is no
best method and at the same time claims that more than one method could be appropriate
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for a particular context, urging teachers to refer to their sense of plausibility which is based
on personal judgements and experience; the latter is shaped by the teachers‘ personal
experience as learners, by their teaching experience and by the exposure to various
methods.
Kumaravadivelu (2003), for example, views a method as an inseparable attribute of
colonialism and introduces quite a revolutionary post-method approach to English
language in which the concept of post-method is viewed as a post-colonial construct and
signifies a search for an alternative to method rather than an alternative method. Post-
method pedagogy consists of the parameters of particularity, practicality, and possibility.
The parameter of particularity is based on the notion that any language teaching
programme ―must be sensitive to a particular group of teachers teaching a particular group
of learners pursuing a particular set of goals within a particular institutional context
embedded in a particular socio-cultural milieu‖ (Kumaravadivelu, 2001, p. 538). The
parameter of practicality refers to the relationship between theory and practice. Practicality
goes beyond the marginalizing dichotomy between theory and practice and aims for a
personal theory of practice generated by the practicing teacher. And finally, the parameter
of possibility is mainly based on Freirean critical pedagogy which aims at empowering
classroom participants so that their lived experience and knowledge, motivated by their
own sociocultural and historical background, should help them adopt the English language
and use it on their own terms according to their own values and visions.
However, everything is not that univocal and clear-cut in this matter. From the
literature review on EIL-related attitudes (see 4.8), it becomes evident that although both
teachers and learners acknowledge the role of English as an international language, they
still tend to view it as an inherent attribute of Inner Circle countries (particularly the UK,
and the USA) (Decke-Cornill, 2002; Matsuda, 2003; Sifakis & Sougari, 2003, 2005; Shim,
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2002; Timmis, 2002; Young & Walsh, 2010). As a consequence, they express a wish to
follow the traditional EFL/ESL model. Voices of resistance are even heard from the ELT
practitioners from the Expanding Circle countries, who are well aware of EIL-related
issues and the recent trends but still believe that the native-speaker model could serve as a
complete and convenient starting point and that it is up to the professionals and the
learners in each context to decide to what extent they want to approximate to that model
(Kuo, 2006). The most possible solution to this ambiguity and resistance might be the one
suggested by Sifakis (2006), who holds that in the initial stage, the EIL curriculum should
be used in addition to the established EFL curricula. This means that it will be the
responsibility of EFL teachers to make attempts at integrating it with their established
practices and see what works and what does not work for their learners.
After a detailed review of the existing literature on EIL-related issues in ELT, we
can conclude that there is a real need to reconsider the traditional NS-oriented or Inner
Circle- oriented methods in ELT, taking into consideration the recent growth of English
into a language of wider international communication. It also becomes apparent that
language pedagogy should be appropriate to a particular socio-cultural, linguistic and
educational context, the needs of a particular group of learners should be taken into
account and, what is more, teachers should be given the freedom to design or at least
modify the language course to be able to meet the needs of their learners. Moreover, it is
observed that all the scholars who deal with this topic suggest that first of all, EIL-related
issues in ELT should be introduced to practicing teachers and pre-service teachers. EIL
educators should raise teachers‘ awareness of the main topics and help them break the
deeply-rooted stereotypes concerning English language teaching.
Of course, EIL has yet a long road to go before it becomes a fully acknowledged and
widely implemented teaching model. It still needs more empirical studies to be conducted
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in different contexts and among different age groups. Nevertheless, EIL has already
entered into the classroom realities and everyday lives of the learners of English all over
the globalised world.
4.10 Studies Focusing on English as an International Language in the Greek Context
The review of literature (see Chapter 4) revealed that EIL is a comparatively novel concept
in research literature in general, and in the Greek context in particular, and is, therefore,
noticeably under-researched. Nevertheless, during the last decade, Sifakis (2006, 2007,
2009), Sifakis and Sougari (2003a, 2003b, 2004a, 2004b, 2005a, 2005b, 2010) and Sougari
and Sifakis (2007a; 2007b) have undertaken a series of studies that attempt to examine the
Greek EFL teachers‘ beliefs and perceptions about EIL-related issues such as
pronunciation, ownership of English, teaching practices, among others. What is more, the
authors investigated the effects of globalisation on EFL in Greece, methodological aspects
of teaching English as an international language in the Greek context and other EIL-related
issues.
Their investment in the field cannot be undermined as they not only shed light on
globalisation, English and different EIL-related issues but also opened the research agenda
on EIL and inspired many researchers to take up similar investigations in Greece. The
present PhD research has also been inspired by the work of the above mentioned authors.
Nevertheless, in this study, the focus was on the young learners of English (aged 12 and
15) with the simple line of reasoning that the above mentioned authors have thoroughly
covered teacher- and adult-related issues of EIL. Here it becomes clear that the present
research is unique in its context and perhaps among the few on a wider international scale
as it examines the interrelation of L2 attitudes and motivation with EIL among young
learners.
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This chapter brought together and concisely presented the accumulated research literature
related to the respectively novel field of EIL in Applied Linguistics. More specifically,
such issues as the impact of globalisation on English, the ownership of English and
intelligibility, different labels of English, the issues of attitudes and identity, and the
impact of EIL on English language pedagogy were examined.
It can be inferred from the literature review that the concept of EIL has already
become a well-acknowledged phenomenon in the field of Applied Linguistics and more
and more scholars have begun to research various aspects of EIL thus enriching the
existing literature and empirically verifying those aspects of EIL that are related to the
matters of ELT in particular. Of course, there are still many opposing voices (teachers
from Expanding Circle countries, learners, course designers, native speakers, among
others) stating that EIL is a deficient variety that cannot be accepted as equal to the
ESL/EFL/ENL models and cannot be taught, but a general acknowledgment of EIL is
much wider among the users of English of different age groups, the governments
worldwide that make reforms in the educational systems trying to incorporate EIL into the
language teaching curricula, scientists who have already chosen to use English as a lingua
franca, businessmen and the like.
It could be predicted that, in future, there will be an additional model called EIL,
which will have a rich and empirically tested basis, an accumulated corpus, teacher
guidelines and even course books which will enable those who wish to learn EIL – an
internationalized and comprehensive model of English – to communicate worldwide with
people of different nationalities and of different L1s while retaining their identity, culture
and accent.
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CHAPTER 5
THE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY AND RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY
5.1 Introduction
This chapter will present the context of the study thus setting the scene where the present
research has actually taken place. It is considered particularly important to define the
context of the study as every type of research, as embedded within a specific socio-
educational context, will certainly carry its peculiarities, which will be reflected in its
outcomes and findings. Consequently, the Greek educational context and, more
specifically, ELT within the Greek context both in state and private sectors will be
presented in detail.
What is more, this chapter will present and analyse in detail the research
methodology in terms of the participants of the study, the implemented research
instruments and the procedures that were followed in the course of the research. In the
concluding part of the chapter, a concise section will posit the research questions and the
methods of statistical analysis.
5.2 ELT within the Greek Educational Context
The following section will present the English language teaching situation in the Greek
educational context in both the state and private sectors. A brief historical account of ELT
development in Greece will be followed by the detailed description of the role of English
in the national curriculum as well as the immense popularity of ELT instruction in private
FLCs.
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English language teaching in the Greek educational curriculum has a long history.
English was first introduced into the secondary education curriculum in the mid-1950s
along with French. In 1987, foreign language instruction (English and French) was
introduced into the third grade of primary school, initially on an experimental basis. In the
school year 1992/1993, the teaching of English became compulsory in the last three years
of the primary school, whereas the teaching of French was dropped. Much later, however,
in 2006, French, German and Italian were introduced as a second foreign language into the
fifth and sixth grades of the primary school (Government Gazette, B´ 119/2-02-2006).
5.2.1 ELT in the Greek National Curriculum
In 2003, the ―Cross-Thematic Curriculum Framework for Compulsory Education (grades
4-9)‖ was introduced as the national educational curriculum (Government Gazette,
B´303/13-03-2003). Therefore, the English language teaching curriculum entailed the
range from the 4th grade of primary up to the 3rd grade of lower secondary school. Later
on, English language teaching was extended to the third grade of the primary school
(Government Gazette, 1028/24-7-2003). Although the traditional school subjects are
maintained in the new curriculum, a holistic approach to content learning is followed,
whereby cross-disciplinary connections and relationships rather than delineations between
academic disciplines are promoted. One important point to make here is that cross-
curricularity has been developed and sustained across the six grades.
The curriculum aims at both the well-rounded development of students‘
personalities and their successful integration into society through developing new values,
cognitive, affective and psycho-kinetic skills and abilities. These values and skills will
enable students to function as informed, responsible and active citizens in continuously
changing and highly demanding social settings (Government Gazette 304, 2003:11).
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Special emphasis is placed on the following: developing students‘ abilities, skills and
interests; ensuring equal learning opportunities for all students; reinforcing students‘
cultural and linguistic identity within the framework of a multicultural society; providing
access to new information and communication technologies; sensitizing students to the
issues of human rights, world peace and the preservation of human dignity; and increasing
the intercultural awareness of students.
Within the given curriculum framework, the main aim of school education is to help
students to ―learn‖ how to learn and develop a positive attitude towards the learning
process as well as to help students ―learn‖ how to function in everyday life. Lessons are
designed to address students‘ cognitive, affective, and psycho-kinetic aspects and learner
motivation is fostered through subject-oriented and cross-thematic activities which
promote learning through experimentation and discovery.
As far as the cross-thematic curriculum framework for modern foreign languages is
concerned, the principal aim of teaching modern foreign languages is to facilitate the
development of language skills that will enable students to communicate effectively in
different linguistic and cultural contexts. Modern foreign languages contribute to the
development of students‘ ability to use language in real-life communication situations, in
predictable or unpredictable settings, employing linguistic, paralinguistic and
extralinguistic means of communication.
The teaching of English as well as other modern foreign languages within the
curriculum is based on three content guiding principles:
 Literacy, which aims at the attainment of foreign language forms, structures and
functions and incorporates fundamental cross-thematic concepts such as
communication, system and culture.

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 Multilingualism, which aims at the development of an awareness and understanding
of the differences between language and speech, as well an awareness of the
differences among languages, and finally the development of lifelong language
learning skills, and incorporates such fundamental cross-thematic concepts as
information, communication, similarity-differences, interaction, space/time,
organisation, culture, etc.
 Multiculturalism, which aims at the development and understanding of cultural
awareness and linguistic pluralism. The most important fundamental cross-thematic
concepts are similarity-differences, equality, immigration, interaction, collaboration,
conflict, civilisation, etc.
In accordance with the EU language policies, multilingualism and multiculturalism
are endorsed and promoted in the curriculum framework and as explicitly stated in the
guidelines (Government Gazette, 303/13-03-2003), English as a language of
communication with native speakers as well as with people of different nationalities will
bring the Greek learners in touch with cultures of English- speaking and non-English-
speaking countries, experiences which will help them develop a multicultural and
pluricentric consciousness. By learning to accept and appreciate the existing similarities
and differences with other cultures, the learners will acquire values which shape their
national identity. Within such a framework, the general objective is not the acquisition of
fragmented knowledge but the acquisition of life attitudes and value systems in a
changing, multilingual and multicultural society.
With regard to time allocation of English language instruction at school, English is
taught for three hours per week in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth grade of the primary
school. In the lower secondary school, at the time of this study, English was taught for
three hours per week in grade one, and two hours per week in the subsequent two grades.
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Teaching materials and course books written by local authors were introduced into
state schools nationwide and were supposed to follow the principles outlined in the
curriculum.
What is more, it should be mentioned that in the first grade of lower secondary
school (LSS), learners are streamed into beginners and advanced classes after a placement
test taken in September. For the purpose of this study, no differentiation was made
between advanced and intermediate learners, hence both groups were examined. To make
the results of the study more reliable and representative, the QPT was implemented in
order to set the learners‘ actual proficiency level without relying much on the actual
distribution of students after the placement test. Incidentally, it should be noted that
proficient students very often perform poorly in the placement test on purpose so that they
are placed in the beginner class and, consequently, expect to get high marks without much
studying. This is another reason why the QPT was initially chosen as a tool for adequately
measuring the learners‘ proficiency level (see 5.3.3.2).
What is more, the Ministry of Education, following the CEFR recommendations,
defines the proficiency levels for the learners within the new curriculum framework (see
Table 5.1).
Grade Level(CEF) Level Certificate Private FL

centres
6th Grade of L0
A2- Breakthrough Α
PS
1ST Grade of
ΚΔΣ Β
LSS Α2+
L1 Waystage
2ND Grade of
B1- C
LSS
3RD Grade of B1+ L2 PET
Threshold D
LSS
Table 5.1 Proficiency levels defined by the Ministry for each grade
It becomes clear that learners of the sixth grade of primary school are supposed to be
at A2-level, whereas learners of the third grade of lower secondary school should be at
B1+ level. We should bear in mind that the research was conducted at the end of the
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school year so the students in the 6th grade of PS should be at A2 level and the 3 rd graders
of the LSS should be at least at B2-level. The results of the study presented in 6.2. will
show the learners‘ actual proficiency levels and to what extent reality corresponds to
recommendations.
5.2.1.1 Teaching Materials and Course Books Employed within the Framework
Although it was not the scope of this research to provide a detailed analysis of the teaching
materials employed in state schools within the curriculum framework, it was considered
necessary, anyway, to examine briefly the coursebook of English for grade 6 of primary
school and grade 3 of lower secondary school in order to get an insight and to establish the
extent to which the books are informed with EIL-related issues as well as issues on
multiculturalism.
In the student‘s book of ―English 6th Grade‖ (Efremidou, Zoi-Reppa & Frouzaki),
the introductory part for the learners (in Greek) explicitly expresses the importance
attached to the role of English as a language of international communication. In particular,
the text implies that English is a language that the learners can use for communication in
settings in which their mother tongue is not spoken. Therefore, English is a modern
language that is chosen by people from all over the world to exchange knowledge, ideas
and experiences. In other words, it is a language ―tool‖ that is used in real life as well as in
virtual life, i.e. the Internet. Consequently, knowledge of English is indispensable in our
times.
Furthermore, multiculturalism and the acknowledgment of similarities/differences of
others are repeatedly emphasised throughout the book, and there are many instances in
which communication in English takes place between learners of different nationalities
(e.g. Albanian, Ukraine, and Georgian) i.e. non-native speakers of English, in the 6th grade
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of an international school. The topics and projects in the course book are mainly
constructed around such cross-curricular notions as communication, culture, information,
multiculturalism, the Internet, tradition, similarities and differences. In addition, in the
webpage of the Pedagogic Institute, there is additional educational software for English 6 th
grade downloadable in zip format as well as available on CD-ROMs for the teachers. This
software package presents different activities and games in English which foster language
learning and make it more exciting and interesting for the students. With regard to EIL and
multiculturalism, it becomes obvious that the contents of the software can serve to increase
the students‘ awareness on EIL-related and multiculturalism issues as well as teach them
how to understand and appreciate similarities and differences.
To sum up, the course books and supportive courseware for the sixth grade of
primary school fully correspond to the guidelines and specifications of the Pedagogic
Institute and therefore, foster intercultural communication, acknowledgment of similarities
and differences with others and, subsequently, can raise students‘ awareness of EIL-related
issues. What is more, it seems that the coursebooks could be used by a skilled and
motivated teacher as a tool for enhancing EIL awareness.
The innovation of the course book ―Think Teen 3rd Grade‖ (McGavigan) is that the
teaching of English in junior high school is based on cross-curricular methodology. The
cross-curricular methodology is implemented through the project method, self-assessment
method and differentiated instruction. It can be deduced that the philosophical orientation
of the book is focused on the notion of cross-curricularity and different innovative methods
implemented within the framework. The differentiated teaching method is considered to be
particularly important and it will be referred to in Chapter 8 on the discussion of the results
(see 8.7.) as a very effective means of fostering the acknowledgement of EIL.

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A brief examination of the book Think Teen for the 3rd grade of junior high school
makes it clear that the materials and topics are not oriented towards native-speakers and
provide the learners with general information on issues such as teen idols, customs and
traditions, myths, computer technologies, holidays and travel, and the like. The educational
software package is also focused on projects, use of the Internet, advertisements,
marketing, history of food and, generally speaking, it fosters the use of English for
developing ICT skills. Unlike the courseware for the sixth grade of PS in which there is an
explicit openness to EIL, multilingualism and multiculturalism, in the case of the third
grade of LSS, there is not such explicitness with regard to EIL or multiculturalism
specified in the courseware but there is a heavy stress on ICT use, projects, self-
assessment, aspects which implicitly entail EIL-related elements. In the hands of a skilled
and knowledgeable teacher, this book can raise the students‘ awareness of
multiculturalism, multilinguism, intercultural communication and, subsequently, of EIL.
Therefore, we can assume that the role of English as a language of international
communication is acknowledged within the cross-thematic curriculum educational
framework and the ELT syllabus is well informed with EIL-related issues, features which
can spur the learners‘ awareness of EIL and boost their positive attitudes towards it. The
same can be said about the course books of English, which provide a rich perspective on
EIL. This fact is particularly vital for the given research as one of the questions is whether
the learners perceive English as a foreign or as an international language. To posit such a
question means to ensure that the learners are to some extent aware of EIL and thus can
construct either negative or positive attitudes towards it.

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5.2.2 Recent Reforms in FL Teaching in the Greek Educational System
A new ―Integrated Programme of Foreign Language Teaching‖ has been introduced within
a new educational framework known as ―New School (School of the 21st Century)‖ for a
selective number of schools on an experimental basis throughout the country (Government
Gazette, issue B, 2320/17-10-2011). The new ―Integrated Programme of Foreign Language
Teaching‖ encompasses all those languages which are currently included in the school
curriculum, i.e. English as the default first foreign language, and French, German (in the
case of PS), Italian and Spanish (in LSS) as second foreign languages. Moreover, the
novelty of the proposed Integrated Programme of Foreign Language Teaching is that it
consists of one curriculum common to all foreign languages taught at schools and common
for primary, lower secondary and high school; it incorporates all educational levels and
covers the description of students‘ language proficiency levels from A1 (breakthrough) up
to C1 (effective operational proficiency), which can be reached by some learners even in
the 3rd grade of the lower secondary school.
Several features listed below make the new Integrated Programme considerably
different from the previous ones:
 It defines the characteristics of learners‘ language proficiency according to
proficiency levels and not according to school grades.
 It directly links language learning at school with language certification, more
precisely with the National Certificate of Foreign Languages (Κξαηηθό
Πηζηνπνηεηηθό Γισζζνκάζεηαο).
 This is the first programme that is not based on the opinions and decisions of
specialists in the field on what should be taught to learners but on the results of
European and Greek empirical research data.

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 This programme was designed in a way that there would be no need to change it
after a couple of years but to improve it, based on the developments in the relevant
research.
With regard to the time allocation of English instruction in the schools that follow
the new programme, English is taught for two hours per week in the first and the second
grades and for four hours per week from the third grade onwards up to the sixth grade of
the primary school and the second foreign language is taught for two hours per week in the
fifth and the sixth grades. In lower secondary school, English is taught for three hours per
week and the second foreign language is taught for two hours per week for all three grades.
With regard to the acknowledgement of EIL-related issues within the integrated
programme, it becomes clear that multilingualism, multiculturalism and EIL are also
promoted and acknowledged, of course, not as explicitly as in the cross-thematic
curriculum (see 5.3). As overtly stated in the guidelines of the new educational framework
―New School‖, a learner becomes a ―language learner‖ and acquires proficiency in written
and oral speech of at least one foreign language at the initial stage, and later of two foreign
languages, proficiency which will enable him/her to become familiarised with other
cultures, to promote European and international communication and to be well-prepared
for future professional use. With the help of the teacher and technology, language learning
turns into a tool for everyone instead of being an advantage for a few.
Furthermore, a new programme entitled ―New Foreign Language Education Policy in
Schools: English for Young Learners‖ (EYL) (implemented within the National Strategic
Reference Framework 2007-2013) has recently been launched; in the schools which follow
this programme, special emphasis is placed on the first and second grades of primary
school, in which the teaching of English is introduced for the first time (Government
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Gazette, issue B, 2422/01-11-2011). The curriculum is based on three fundamental
principles:
1. It views students as learners with an emerging school literacy in their mother
tongue and aims to help them develop in and through English those social literacies that
they have already developed in their mother tongue.
2. It makes provisions for differentiated instruction, i.e. its curricular materials have
been designed by taking into account the fact that individual students have different
interests, preferences and learning styles, and that the student population of different
schools has different types of social experiences and needs.
3. From a language learning point of view, the EYL curriculum is aimed at
developing a pre-A1 level ability to understand and use spoken language.
Respect for diversity, enhancement of self-esteem and the development of an
intercultural ethos of communication are considered equally important as the development
of everyday communicative practices. The development of social skills is considered just
as necessary as the development of learning strategies and oral skills (Dendrinos,
Kosovitsa & Zouganeli).
5.2.3 ELT in the Private Educational Sector
It should be emphasised that English language learning is not only prioritised by the
educational policy-makers but also by Greek society in general. According to statistics
provided by Eurydice (Eurydice, 2008), English is the most widely learnt language in
primary education in Greece (93.6%). Similarly, the results of a study conducted by
Eurobarometer (Eurobarometer, 2005) show that in comparison to other states of Europe,
in Greece people tend to learn one or more foreign languages. In addition, a recent study
provided by Eurobarometer (Eurobarometer, 2012a) reports that 74% of Greeks believe

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that English is the most useful language for their personal development (as compared to
67% of Europeans) and, what is more, 92% of Greeks (as compared to 79% of Europeans)
believe that English is the most useful language for their children to learn for their futures.
Taking into account the enormous popularity of English among Greeks, it becomes
obvious that English language learning is sought after even beyond public education. What
is more, ELT in the public sector cannot prepare learners for English language certification
exams, and perhaps that is the major reason that the ELT industry in the private sector in
Greece prospers successfully. According to statistics provided by the Ministry of
Education in its official site, there are 6619 private Foreign Language Centres (FLC) in
Greece for the year 2012-2013 with an enrolment of 472,423 learners, 421,220 of which
are enrolled in English language courses.
These private FLCs range from small family-run businesses to well-franchised
school networks and cater for all ages and prepare for the most popular language
certification examinations such as KET, PET, FCE, IELTS, CPE, KPG, among others),
which have an undisputable popularity in Greek society. In fact, this popularity can also be
characterised as a little excessive, as the vast majority of Greek parents believe that their
children should attend an FLC to receive adequate FL instruction and, of course, to attain
an English language certificate, which is, undoubtedly, the ultimate goal for both parents
and their children. For example, in the present research, 750 (65.8%) out of 1143
respondents currently attended an FLC, while 264 (22.9%) received private FL tutoring,
which is, by the way, an alternative option to FLCs (see 6.2.). It becomes evident that
about 88% of the respondents in the present study received FL instruction outside school
and this could be an indication of the wide popularity of English and the high rate of
English language learning in the private sector.

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FLCs are attractive for many reasons: first of all their basic educational goal is to
adequately prepare learners for the language certification exams. Their teaching is based
on courseware specially designed for exam preparation and mainly written by native-
speaker authors. These centres provide greater exposure to the foreign language, have a
limited number of learners per classroom; moreover, they provide access to and abundant
use of authentic materials and facilities such as multimedia devices and computers; and,
finally, they adopt an individual approach to the needs and abilities of every learner.
The above section briefly presented the role of English in the Greek educational
curriculum as well as in the private educational sector. It becomes clear that the role of
English is widely acknowledged, and efforts are made by the Greek educational policy-
makers to reform and refine FL teaching at school. It is essential that English language
teaching is integrated in the cross-thematic curriculum framework in which English
becomes a tool through which learners explore and study other subjects as well as
communicate across cultures while retaining their national identity.
5.3 Research Design
The present study is a cross-sectional descriptive study, which has adopted the
―explanatory mixed methods design‖ over the types of mixed methods designs. The
explanatory design is a mixed methods design in which the researcher begins by
conducting a quantitative phase and follows up with a second phase. The second
qualitative phase is implemented for explaining the results of the quantitative study and it
is due to this focus on explaining results that is reflected in the design name (Creswell &
Plano Clark, 2010).
What is more, the mixed methods research has been widely acknowledged and
employed as a legitimate and powerful inquiry approach (Creswell, 2003; 2005) when the
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researchers ―want to follow up a quantitative study with a qualitative one to obtain more
detailed specific information than can be gained from the results of statistical tests‖
(Creswell, 2005, p. 510).
In the present research, the data were collected via a questionnaire survey (see
5.3.3.1), short structured interviews (see 5.3.3.3), and the Quick Placement Test (QPT) by
Oxford University Press (UCLES 2001) (see 5.3.3.2), which was used to establish the
learners‘ proficiency level.
A permission to conduct the present research in state primary schools (PSs) and
lower secondary schools (LSSs) was granted by the Ministry of Education, Lifelong
Learning and Religious Affairs. Quantitative and qualitative phases adopted a multistage
sampling method. The selection of the schools, where the data were collected, was made
from a list provided by the Ministry in a way so that they covered evenly distributed
geographical areas of the eastern and western parts of Thessaloniki, the second largest city
of Greece. The eastern part of Thessaloniki is characterised as a more prosperous part of
the city, mainly populated by people in economically more favourable positions. In
contrast, the western part of the city is mainly populated by people who are economically
less well off. The interviewees were selected among the survey respondents who
volunteered to be interviewed (more analytically presented in section 5.3.3).
Both the quantitative and the qualitative data were collected over a three-month
period from March 2011 until the end of May 2011. In the quantitative phase a total of
1143 respondents were surveyed and in the qualitative phase a total of 31 respondents
were interviewed.
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5.3.1 Population and Sampling
The review of literature (see Chapters 2, 3, 4) revealed that there is a dearth of studies on
young learners‘ attitudes and motivation for learning English, with special reference to the
role of English in the era of globalisation in general and in the Greek educational context
in particular. This consideration prompted the decision to conduct the present research
among learners of the sixth grade of the primary school (age=12) and learners of the third
grade of the lower secondary school (age=15) in the Greek educational context.
Both age groups are considered to be crucial because they mark the transition period
from primary to lower secondary school and from lower secondary to upper secondary
school. Consequently, learners are on the verge of great changes not only in their
educational milieus but in their views and perceptions as well due to the fact that they
become more mature physiologically as well as psychologically. With regard to English
language learning, the vast majority of learners of these age groups attends private
language schools and, after having successfully completed the required number of years of
English language instruction, they are prepared to participate in examinations for the
attainment of a certificate in English – KET (Key English Test) (A2 level) or PET
(Preliminary English Test) (B1 level) in the case of the primary school learners and FCE
(First Certificate in English) (B2 level) or CAE (Certificate in Advanced English) (C1
level) in case of the lower secondary school learners. Such considerations suggest that the
learners of these particular age groups would provide interesting and informative data on
their attitudes towards and motivation for learning English and shed some light on their
perceptions of English as an international language.
The study was conducted in Thessaloniki, the second largest city situated in
Northern Greece. In the present study, a multistage sampling method (i.e. a combination of
sampling methods) was decided upon. The questionnaire survey phase adopted the cluster
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sampling method, which means dividing the whole population into subgroups from which
clusters are selected and all the members of the cluster are examined (Aaker, Kumar, &
Day, 1995). In this study, the schools in the eastern and western parts of Thessaloniki
(administrative districts of the city) were judiciously selected in a manner so that they
covered evenly allocated geographical areas, and represented the clusters within which all
the 6th graders in the case of the primary school and 3rd graders in the case of the lower
secondary school were surveyed, with the intention that the sample could be representative
of the whole population and could include all social strata.
The interview phase adopted the convenience sampling method, which means that ―a
certain group of people was [is] chosen for study because they were [are] available‖
(Fraenkel & Wallen, 2003, p. 103). In the first case, that particular method was selected
because the researcher had to choose from those schools which were provided by the
Ministry of Education and were available for conducting research. It must be mentioned,
however, that there had been no previous contact or arrangements with the headmasters
and the only criteria for the particular choice was based on the geographic position of the
schools. In the second case, the interview respondents were thoughtfully chosen (according
to gender, proficiency level, school district and other criteria) among those survey
respondents who had provided their consent to participate in the interviews.
The overall number of the survey respondents is 1,142. In our research, the size of
the sample composes 5.57 % of the whole population of the learners of the 6th grade of the
primary school and the third grade of the lower secondary school in the Thessaloniki area
(according to the official statistics provided by the departments of primary and secondary
education of eastern and western Thessaloniki, the number of learners for the 2010-2011
school year was 10,369 learners in the sixth grade of the PS and 10,100 learners in the
third grade of the LSS). Taking into consideration the fact that the ―magic‖ sampling
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fraction falls between the range of one to ten percent (Dörnyei, 2007), it can be assumed
that the sample under investigation can be considered representative of the whole
population of the two age groups in the Thessaloniki area.
The sample size is to a great extent determined by the style of the research; a survey
usually requires a large sample, and the larger the sample the better, as this not only
provides reliability but also enables more sophisticated inferential statistics to be used
(Cohen et al., 2007). Moreover, it is believed that the larger the sample, the smaller the
magnitude of sampling error (Best and Kahn, 1989).
What is more, an a priori calculation of required sample size for employing t-tests
for difference between two independent means using a two tailed test, with a significant
level of 5%, a power of the test 0.90 (Type II error) and an effect size of 0.25 (estimated
differences of mean population from mean sample 25%) (Cohen, 1992) revealed that the
approximate required sample should be composed of 1054 respondents, which served as a
baseline for the researcher. Eventually, the size of the sample surveyed in this research
reached 1142 and, therefore, it can be assumed that it ensures representativeness and
generalizability.
The number of interviewees is 31, among which 15 are from the PS and 16 are
from the LSS. The interviewees were chosen among those survey respondents who agreed
to participate in the interviews as well. The particular choice of the interviewees was based
on such criteria as their proficiency level, location of their school, their gender, and their
questionnaire responses. The researcher aimed at including into the sample not only the
highly motivated learners with a higher level of proficiency, but also the unmotivated
learners with A1 proficiency level across both cohorts. In this respect, an attempt was
made to include at least two respondents per proficiency levels (A1, A2, B1 and B2) from
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each school district (eastern and western Thessaloniki), simultaneously trying to ensure an
equal number of males and females (see 6.9 for the respondents‘ profile).
5.3.2 Data Collection
Data collection for the present study was conducted in 27 state schools (13 primary
schools and 14 lower secondary schools) in the eastern and western parts of Thessaloniki.
After having arranged meetings with the school headmasters, the researcher visited every
school to present the aim of the research and the research instrument briefly as well as to
gain their permission to conduct the research in the given school. Teachers of English were
also asked for permission to enter their classes and to conduct the research. The researcher
gained permission in almost all the schools on the list approved by the Ministry of
Education. The researcher was granted one academic hour per class to administer the
questionnaire and the Quick Placement Test. Sometimes, those respondents who were not
able to complete the test during the lesson, stayed in the classroom to finish their task
during the break.
In the initial phase, the research was conducted in the lower secondary schools in
eastern and western parts of Thessaloniki in March 2011, and the data collection was
completed by the end of April 2011. After the questionnaires had been distributed to the
participants, the researcher introduced the aim of the study and provided some guidance on
how to fill in the questionnaire correctly. The participants were also informed that their
anonymity would be maintained.
Once the questionnaires were completed, the QPT tests (versions A and B) (which
will be discussed in more detail in 5.3.3.1) were distributed to the learners, who were then
asked to mark the correct answers on the answer sheets provided with the questionnaires.
No teacher had access either to the questionnaires or to the tests. All the questionnaires had
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been codified (in Greek characters) according to the district, the school, the class and the
individual learner (e.g.7ΓΘ1-17, where 7ΓΘ stands for 7th Gymnasium of Thessaloniki
(Municipality of Thessaloniki belonging to the administrative district of eastern
Thessaloniki), 1 stands for class C1 (΄Γ1), and 17 stands for the number of the respondent).
Those learners who agreed to participate in the interview were asked to provide their
consent on the last page of the questionnaire and include their registration number so that
later on it would be possible to identify them.
After the survey phase had been completed, a total of 16 learners were interviewed.
The interviews were short (15 minutes long) and semi-structured (more information on
interviews will be provided in 6.2.3.3). The interviews were conducted in Greek so that the
respondents felt more comfortable and spoke out freely. A voice recorder had been used as
all the participants gave their consent to be audio recorded. The sample was scrupulously
chosen, so that it included learners from different schools, with different proficiency levels
and there was an attempt to balance an equal number of boys and girls.
At the second stage of the data collection, the research was conducted in the
primary schools and it followed the same procedure as in the lower secondary schools. The
data collection took place from the end of April 2011 till the end of May 2011. However,
in the case of primary schools, the researcher faced a little setback which made the
procedure of data collection more complicated. According to the regulations, a consent
form should be signed by the parents, stating that they allowed their child to participate in
this research. As this was mandatory for the young learners and was explicitly stated in the
official permission, the consent forms were prepared and distributed to the learners either
by the researcher personally or by the teachers who volunteered to help. Some problems
encountered were that many learners lost their papers, many forgot them at home or forgot
to give to their parents to sign, and some simply did not want to participate and hid the
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signed forms. Thus, the researcher encountered the inconvenience of repeatedly visiting
the same schools, waiting till an adequate number of learners brought in the signed forms
and only then was the research conducted. The interviews followed the same procedure as
in lower secondary schools with the only difference being that the young learners were not
audio recorded but rather the researcher took notes during the interviews.
5.3.3 Instrumentation
Three research instruments were used in the present study: (i) an attitude and motivation
questionnaire to measure the learners‘ attitudes and motivations for learning English; (ii)
the Oxford Placement Test to measure the learners‘ language proficiency level; (iii) and a
semi-structured interview questionnaire. All these instruments will be discussed in detail in
the subsections below.
5.3.3.1 The Questionnaire
The questionnaire was selected as a useful research instrument due to the fact that it is
relatively easy to construct, extremely versatile and uniquely capable of gathering a large
amount of information quickly in a form that can be readily processed (Dörnyei, 2007). A
71-item questionnaire was originally developed in Greek in order to guarantee that all the
respondents understood the questions clearly (see Appendix II). Some items in the
questionnaire were partly adapted from other questionnaires used in similar studies (e.g.
Dörnyei, 2005; Gardner, 1985b; Kormos & Csizér, 2008; Schmidt et al., 1996; Yashima,
2000). However, all the adapted items were carefully worded, modified and translated into
Greek so that they could respond to the age and socio-educational milieu of the learners.
Even though certain items were adapted from the questionnaires of other similar
studies, it was decided to devise our own questionnaire designated for the present research.
The main reason for this was the fact that other questionnaires used in similar studies were
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designed for adult learners and comprised items that would be incomprehensible and
confusing to young learners. What is more, no available questionnaire comprised the full
range of items that covered all the issues that the researcher wanted to include in her study.
Before carrying out the actual research, the questionnaire was pilot tested among 17
learners of the 6th grade of primary school located in the central part of the city. The pilot
questionnaire (see Appendix I) contained 76 question-like and statement-like 5-point and
3-point Likert scale items as well as some items with multiple choice answers. Because of
time restraints and the overloaded timetable of the researcher, it was decided to pilot test
the questionnaire only among the younger learners. Such a decision was made on the
premise that if the questionnaire was easily comprehensible to the younger learners, it
would not cause any difficulty among the older learners. The pilot questionnaire (see
Appendix I) and the QPT test were administered to the learners by the researcher herself so
that she could provide further clarifications if needed and take notes of all the comments
made by the respondents.
The respondents were asked to comment on every issue that was unclear to them and
were encouraged to make suggestions on how certain items could be worded in a different,
more coherent way. More precisely, better phrasings of certain items were proposed by the
learners. What is more, their teacher of English kindly agreed to assist and made her
suggestions on certain issues. For example, the term native speaker of English (Φςζικόρ
ομιληηήρ in Greek), after suggestions made by experts and the teacher, was replaced by a
phrase people whose native language is English because many young learners were not
aware of the term in Greek and, therefore, might have misunderstood the question.
In addition, all questions were changed into statements as the majority of the
participants showed greater willingness to contribute to a ―statement-like‖ format,
choosing between statements ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Many
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items were removed because the pilot instrument was quite long, thus the participants got
tired and bored working with it and, more importantly, there was no time left for the QPT
test, which required about 25-30 minutes to be completed. For example, items 48 to 55
were removed as they delved into the learners‘ beliefs about their future possible actions
and an attempt was made to examine their international posture more profoundly, but the
results of the pilot test showed that the young learners were not mature enough to answer
those questions adequately.
After receiving sufficient feedback from the respondents, the necessary changes
were made and the finalised version of the questionnaire (see Appendix II) was used in the
actual study.
Learners‘ attitudes and motivation are psychological constructs and it is a common
practice in Applied Linguistics to use scales to measure them. Given the age of the
respondents, statement-like Likert type scales with a five point rating (1) to (5) were
implemented to measure the learners‘ attitudes and motivation in the present study. The
final questionnaire was organised around six sections, which will be presented and
discussed in detail below:
i. Attitudes towards English (11 items). This subscale is devised to measure learners‘
general attitudes towards English and to reveal whether those attitudes tend to be more
instrumental or intercultural/friendship oriented. This section includes items that
measure the learners‘ instrumental attitudes (items 1, 2, 6, 7); several items measure
the learners‘ general attitudes towards English (items 4, 8, 10); items 3, 5 and 9
measure the learners‘ attitudes towards English related to the role of English as an
international language and item 11 measure the learners‘ opinion about English as
being an easy language.

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ii. Attitudes towards learning English at school (15 items). The main objective of this
subscale is to measure the learners‘ attitudes towards learning English at school such
as their attitudes towards their teacher, towards the books, the role of English in the
school programme, etc. In this section, items 12 and 23 measure the learners‘ invested
effort and self-determination to learn English; item 13 measures the learners‘ linguistic
self-confidence; items 14, 17 and 18 measure the teacher and parental help and
encouragement; two items that are both adopted from AMTB (Attitude Motivation
Test Battery) (Gardner, 1985b) measure learners‘ negative attitudes towards learning
English (items 19, 20); items 21 and 22 measure the learners‘ awareness of the
importance of learning English at school from an early age; items 15 and 16 tackle
personal use and enjoyment of learning English; items 24 and 25 deal with the
learners‘ satisfaction with the learning material, the teacher and his/her teaching
methods; and finally item 26 deals with the fellow classmates‘ attitudes towards
learning English. It was stressed both in the questionnaire and by the researcher during
the administration of the questionnaire that the respondents were kindly asked to
report their attitudes towards learning English at school and not learning English
elsewhere, as it was believed that the learners might hold quite different attitudes
towards learning English at school and at a private foreign language school, for
instance– a field of investigation that was beyond the scope of the current research.
iii. Motivation to Learn English (15 items). This subset seeks to examine the learners‘
motivation to learn English. Items 27, 28, 29 measure the learners‘ instrumental
motivation i.e. their desire to learn English for pragmatic purposes; item 30 measures
the learners‘ desire to learn more things about native speakers, their culture and the
way of life, whereas item 31 measures learners‘ desire to learn more things about
different nations, their customs and the way of life; item 32 deals with the learners‘
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drive to learn English because it is a mandatory subject in the school programme;
items 33 and 34 deal with the learners‘ disposition to learn English because they like it
as a foreign language and because all of their friends learn it; item 36 measures
learners‘ desire to travel to the native-speaking countries (e.g. the UK and the USA).In
contrast, item 37 measures their desire to travel to other non-native speaking countries
(e.g. Germany, Spain, Japan, etc.); and items 39 and 40 respectively measure the
learners‘ desire to communicate with native speakers of English in the first case and
with people from different countries whose mother tongue is not English in the latter
case; and, finally, item 38 measures the learners‘ awareness of the immense influence
that English exerts in the world today.
iv. Attitudes towards native speakers and native speaking countries (the USA and the
UK) (8 items). In this section, 8 positively worded items seek to reveal whether the
learners‘ attitudes towards native speakers and native speaking countries are positive
in general and secondly, to see whether or not there is a significant difference in
attitudes towards US vs. UK or Americans vs. the English. Moreover, general positive
attitudes towards native speakers of a foreign language and their countries may be a
very strong predictor of positive attitudes towards learning the given language and
spur motivation to learn it. Items 42 and 44 measure the attitudes towards the USA;
items 43 and 45 seek to elicit the learners‘ attitudes towards Americans; items 46 and
48 measure attitudes towards the UK and, finally, items 47 and 49 measure the
learners‘ attitudes towards the English people.
The last section includes items regarding the learners‘ attitudes towards their
accent, pronunciation and grammar (item 50).
It was considered important to include such a section for two reasons: first, it was
interesting to see whether the learners are more inclined towards British English, American
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English or towards retaining their own (Greek) accent, and second, it was essential to
establish whether the learners prioritise the actual communication with NSs and NNSs
even if they make some pronunciation or grammar mistakes. Here the learners are asked to
answer with (1) very, (2) quite, and (3) at all to the question on how important it is for
them to speak with a British accent; speak with an American accent; speak English clearly
and correctly retaining their Greek accent; speak English without any grammar mistakes;
be able to communicate with other non-native speakers sometimes even making some
mistakes; and to write English without any grammar mistakes.
In items 51 and 52, the learners are asked to state those activities that they usually
do to improve their English or those activities that have helped them to improve their
English in the past. These items include such activities as listening to English songs,
watching movies in English, reading books in English, communicating with foreigners
(e.g. tourists), using English on the Internet, and the like.
The learners‘ preference for learning materials for listening, speaking, reading and
writing skills is also tackled (items 53, 54, 55, and 56). The respondents had to choose only
one option from the three available for each language skill. The choice was restricted to
the following criteria: activities related to native speakers of English, their countries, their
culture and their lifestyle; activities related to international community, different countries,
international matters and different nations; and, finally, activities related to Greece, its
history and people, the events that occur in Greece or are related to Greece. These items
seek to reveal to what extent the learners are native-speaker, globally, or ethnocentrically-
oriented in their choice for learning materials and activities.
In the final part of the questionnaire, the respondents were asked to provide their
bio data to generate their profile. The final subsection includes such items as the learners‘
gender, age, grade, where and when they started learning English, their attendance at a
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private FLC or lessons with a private tutor, the second foreign language, parents‘
knowledge of English, self-perceived language competence and self-perceived language
learning effort.
The main concern and the most vital aspect of research is to ensure the validity and
reliability of the measuring instrument and obtained results. Reliability refers to internal
consistency of the measuring instrument and the consistency of scores obtained (Fraenkel
& Wallen, 2003). Reliability analysis using Chronbach‘s statistic test was run to check the
internal consistency of the four attitudinal/motivational subscales of the questionnaire, and
the test showed that the scores for each attitudinal/motivational subscale were considerably
high, thus, ensuring the reliability of the measuring tool (see Table 5.2). It is generally
acknowledged that the higher the Cronbach‘s alpha statistics, the more reliable the
generated scale is. According to Nunnaly (1978), an acceptable reliability coefficient is
.70, however in certain cases lower scores are considered acceptable as well (not less than
.60).
Scale Cronbach‘s Alpha

Number of items
Attitudes towards English 11 .62
Attitudes towards learning English 15 .77
Motivation to learn English 15 .80

Attitudes towards native speakers/NS countries 8 .82
Table 5.2 Cronbach‘s alpha statistic (reliability analysis) for the four scales
As regards the validity of the measuring instrument, the concerned is whether or not
the instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. It is defined as ―referring to the
appropriateness, correctness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of the specific inferences
researchers make based on the data they collect‖ (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2003, p. 158). It is
particularly important to guarantee the internal validity, external validity and content
validity of the measuring tool. Internal validity implies that the findings must accurately
describe the phenomena being researched. External validity, on the other hand, refers to
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the extent to which the results can be generalised and applicable to a wider population.
With regard to internal validity, it can be stated that every endeavour was made to
guarantee internal validity in terms of the measures used, the accurate choice of research
setting and timing and the homogeneity of the sample. As discussed above (see 5.3.1), the
sample size allows us to assume that the results of the study could be generalised to a
wider population, which in turn will guarantee the external validity.
The questionnaire was designed in Greek to ensure that all the respondents
understood the content due to the concern that the respondents were quite young (the
English version is available in Appendix II). Given the fact that the researcher was not
Greek and might lack adequate knowledge of the Greek language, especially the kind of
language that could be easily comprehensible and appropriate for young learners, the
questionnaire was checked by proficient native speakers of Greek and most importantly by
the teacher of the 6th grade in which the pilot instrument was tested. The following
measures were taken to ensure the content validity of the questionnaire.
It should be pointed out that the questionnaire, though designed for young learners,
was not in a very child-friendly format i.e. containing some smiley icons, large font size or
child-like font type (e.g. Comic Sans MS) as is usually done in such cases. The
questionnaire was deliberately designed in a rather neutral format with the aim of
addressing the older learners as well. The purpose was to have a common questionnaire for
both age groups for the consistency in further statistical treatment and feasible results. It
was supposed that a very child-like questionnaire could be perceived as ―not serious‖ by
the older learners thus resulting in their reluctance to pay due attention and consideration
to it. Furthermore, the primary students were at the very end of their primary schooling.
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5.3.3.2 The Oxford Quick Placement Test
As one of the main objectives of this study is to reveal whether there is a link between
learners‘ motivation and their proficiency level, the Oxford Quick Placement Test (QPT)
(2001) was implemented to measure the learners‘ competence in English. The QPT by
Oxford University Press is a standardised test validated in 20 countries by more than 5000
students. The paper and pen version was preferred over the computer-based version
because of time and equipment restrictions. Versions A and B were used to avoid cheating
as much as possible. The test assesses Reading, Vocabulary and Grammar in a multiple-
choice format and consists of two parts. Part 1 (40 items) is supposed to be completed by
all the students, whereas Part 2 is completed by more proficient learners. In the present
research, the lower secondary school learners were asked to complete Part 1 and Part 2
because their age and language learning experience made it possible for them to complete
both parts. In the case of primary school, the learners completed only Part 1 (even though
they were given both parts in case someone could complete Part 2 as well). However, the
administration of the test showed that the learners of this age group could cope with Part 1
of the test only. The QPT results are originally interpreted according to ALTE
(Association of Language Testers in Europe) levels; nevertheless, they fully correspond to
the Council of Europe levels and Cambridge Examinations (for the results see 6.9).
It is worth mentioning, however, that the test mainly consists of texts with topics
which are unfamiliar to young Greek learners, especially to those who do not attend
classes at private foreign language school; moreover, the test requires that the learners
evoke not only their background knowledge and their linguistic skills but also their
cognitive skills (e.g. almost all the learners in the primary school and some students even
in the lower secondary school had the problem with the following item: version 2, page 1,
the students are asked to mention where they can see the following notice: PLEASE GIVE
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THE RIGHT MONEY TO THE DRIVER. A) in a bank B) on a bus C) in a cinema.
Almost all the young learners focused their attention on the word MONEY and never
thought that it could be related to the bus, because in their socio-cultural milieu, bus
drivers are not directly given money; therefore, this item frequently raised confusion
among the learners).
Nevertheless, the QPT proved a practical tool in this research because it helped to
establish language proficiency of more than 1000 learners in a quick and productive
manner; moreover, its results were unbiased (independent of the teacher‘s opinion and
assessment) and considerably reliable. It should be mentioned that this test was
successfully used with similar age groups in other studies in the Greek context
(Anastasiadou, 2010; Vrettou, 2011)
5.3.3.3 Short Semi-structured Interviews
Short semi-structured interviews were implemented to elicit qualitative data. Semi-
structured interviews were chosen for several reasons. First, they allow informants the
freedom to express their views in their own terms. Second, semi-structure interviews can
provide reliable, comparable qualitative data. And finally, semi-structured interviews
allow rich two-way interactions and personalised responses (McDonough & McDonough,
1997). The main purpose of the short semi-structured interviews was to validate the
questionnaire data as well as to have a better insight into the learners‘ perceptions of the
role of English and their motivation to learn it.
The interview questionnaire contained 13 questions, (see Appendix IV) which
tackled issues, such as learners attitudes towards their accent, the primary goal of learning
English, expected success in learning English, attitudes towards the English lessons at
school/private language school, the learners‘ use of English outside the classroom (friends,
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pan-pals, Internet, Facebook friends, etc.), attitudes towards learning materials, and
learners‘ perceptions of the role of English in the world today (see 6.9). It should be
pointed out that the interviews were conducted in Greek to help the respondents express
their thoughts and opinions easily.
The researcher chose to raise these particular issues during the interviews for several
reasons: first, because several items implicitly tackled EIL-related issues such as the
respondents‘ attitudes to their accents, their opinion on the role of English in the modern
world, their use of English outside the classroom (more importantly their use of English as
an international language) and learners‘ preference for learning materials (whether they
want to be exposed to texts and materials about their country and region, English speaking
countries and their people, or about different countries, places, events, peoples from all
over the world).
5.4 Research Questions
The main objective of this research is to reveal whether the variables of gender,
proficiency and age influence learners‘ attitudes towards and motivation for learning
English with a special emphasis on the role of English as an international language. The
ultimate aim is to show not only learners‘ general motivation for learning English but also
whether learners are motivated to learn English as a foreign language or as an international
language. In other words, the results of the study will show whether the learners are aware
of EIL and to what extent they are willing to learn English for this end or the learners are
not familiar with the concept of EIL or do not wish to become familiarised with it and need
to learn English as a Foreign Language within the framework of their formal education.
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The following research questions were posited:
Research Question 1. For the whole sample, do differences in age affect the learners’
attitudes and motivation to learn English?
Research Question 2. For the whole sample, do differences in learners’ levels of language
attainment affect the learners’ attitudes and motivation to learn English?
Research Question 3. For the whole sample, are there significant gender differences in
learners’ attitudes and motivation to learn English?
Research question 4. For the whole sample, is English perceived as a foreign or as an
international language by Greek learners?
5.5 Methods of Statistical Analysis
All data were entered, processed and statistically treated with the help of IBM SPSS ®
statistics software. A professional statistician was consulted on the choice of particular
statistical tools and tests as well as on the procedures of statistical analysis. The results
were also interpreted and discussed with the statistician in order to ascertain the accuracy
and credibility of the results.
In terms of descriptive statistical indicators, frequencies, percentages, mean scores
and standard deviations were calculated, depending on the type of data acquired. In the
inferential statistical analysis, the main focus fell on the attitude/motivational 5-point
Likert scale subsets (items 1-49). Factor analysis was performed in order to establish how
certain items would group together within each attitude/motivation subset. Cronbach‘s
Alpha reliability statistic was implemented to measure the reliability (internal consistency)
of the attitude/motivation scales.

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Factor analysis was performed for each attitude/motivational scale and the items
were grouped into different factors which were labelled.
To reveal the effect of the three independent variables on the extracted
attitude/motivational factors first of all, a Two-way ANOVA Test was used to measure the
mean effect of gender, age and any existing interaction between age and gender on the
dependent variables, and second, a t-test was used to examine the effect of the learners‘
proficiency level on the dependent variables. Significance level was set at 0.05.
Furthermore, a chi-square test of independence and cross-tabulations were used to show
the interrelation and significance level between nominal variables (for example, to
compute the learners‘ attendance at private FLCs in terms of age gender, school district
and the like).
In addition, it should be mentioned that throughout the research the taxonomy of the
four proficiency levels into two groups was chosen. It was decided to combine the four
proficiency levels (A1, A2, B1 and B2) into two groups (A1+A2 and B1+B2) due to the
small sample size of B1 and especially B2 levels, a procedure which, consequently, cannot
render reliable results. A justification on this aggregation is that when the sample size is
small, applying factor analysis is somewhat questionable as a valid factor solution for
variables measured with the Likert scale requires a large sample size. In order to extract
reliable factors, there should be at least 10 and preferably more respondents for each
individual item in a questionnaire (Hair et al., 2010). Thus, the minimum sample size
required in this study should have been about 180-220 per group (A1+A2, B1+B2) to
conduct a valid factor analysis based on the items of attitude/motivational subsets in the
questionnaire.
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This chapter presented the context of the study, the guidelines and the main trends in ELT
in the state and private educational sectors as well as the context-specific studies related to
the field of investigation of the present research. After the site of the research had been set,
the following sections presented the methods that were implemented in the present
research.
The research methodology in terms of the sample, the research instruments, the data
collection procedure, the research questions of the study, and, of course, the methods of
statistical analysis were laid out and discussed, thus providing a solid ground for chapter 6,
which will present and discuss the results of the present research.
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CHAPTER 6
THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY
6.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the results of the quantitative and the qualitative data will be presented. The
respondents‘ profile will be outlined in terms of the students‘ age, gender, years of English
language learning, age of language learning onset, second foreign language, etc.
Thereafter, the results of the inferential statistics of the study will be analysed in terms of
the effect of the three independent variables of age, gender and proficiency level on
attitude/motivational items. In addition, in the last part of the chapter, the results of the
short semi-structured interviews will be presented. The results are expected to justify,
substantiate and enrich the results of the quantitative study.
6.2 The Respondents’ Profile
A total number of 1142 respondents participated in the present study, 604 (52.9%) from
the eastern part of Thessaloniki and 538 (47.1%) from the western part of Thessaloniki.
Table 6.1 below illustrates the distribution of the respondents according to age and gender.
Age*
Total
PS** LSS***
N % N % N %
Male 245 49.0 328 51.3 573 50.3

Gender
Female 255 51.0 311 48.7 566 49.7
Total 500 100.0 639 100.0 1139 100.0

Table 6.1 The number of respondents according to age and gender
* Hereafter age will be presented in terms of PS and LSS, where
** PS stands for primary school students aged 12
*** LSS stands for lower secondary school students aged 15
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Therefore, it can be deduced that the distribution of the respondents is relatively even
and it guarantees the representativeness of the sample in terms of its distribution across the
school district, gender, and age (see 5.3.1 for more detail on the population and the
sample).
The following sections will outline the respondents‘ profiles in terms of the first EFL
experience regarding age and place of onset.
6.2.1 First EFL Experience
The great majority of the respondents had started learning English outside the school in
private FLCs (see Table 6.2). Thus, 54.8% of those responding report having started
learning English at a private FLC, 7.1% had private English lessons and only 36.3% of the
respondents began learning English at school. However, there were respondents who
reported having started to learn English at school and the private FLCs (6.7%) or with
private tutors (1.2%) simultaneously.
Place of EFL onset N %

School 415 36.3
Private FLC 626 54.8
Private lessons 81 7.1
Other 20 1.8
Total 1140 100

Table 6.2 Distribution of the respondents according to the place of EFL onset
If the two cohorts are examined separately, it becomes evident that in both cases
private FLCs retain their dominance as a place where the respondents received their first
EFL experience (53.0% in PS and 56.5% in LSS). However, there is a slight difference
between the two cohorts in respect to the first EFL experience at school (42.2% in PS and
31.3% in LSS). This difference is explained by the decrease in the number of those who
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initially started learning English with private tutors (only 3.8% for the PS students and
9.5% for the LSS students).
6.2.2 The Age of EFL Onset
The average age of EFL onset for the overwhelming majority of the respondents (88.7%)
ranges from 6 to 9 years. Those who started learning English in their early childhood (from
0 to 5 years) compose only 3.2% of the whole sample in comparison to the late-starters
(from 10 to 13 years) who make up the 7.8% of the whole sample. Only three LSS students
reported to have started learning English at a very late age. Most probably, they belonged
to immigrant families and had not received English language instruction in their homeland
before they moved to Greece. What is more, no statistically significant gender differences
in the age of EFL onset are observed.
Age N %
0-5 37 3.2
6-9 1010 88.4
10-13 89 7.8
14-17 3 0.3
Total 1139 50.3

Table 6.3 The age of EFL onset
6.2.3 Current Attendance at a Private FLC
Percentage distribution of those who attended a private FLC at the time when the research
was conducted in terms of age, school type, and school district is presented in Table 6.4.
As can be observed, a vast majority of the whole sample currently attended a private FL
institution. If the two cohorts are analysed separately, it becomes evident that the
attendance of English classes at a private FLC is considerably higher among the PS
students in comparison to the LSS students (N=1142, ρ2(1) =38.870, p<.001).

164
Nevertheless, in relation to the existence of statistically significant differences between the
eastern and western Thessaloniki, no differences could be detected (N =1142, ρ2(1) =.694,
p<.221).
Age
PS LSS Total
N % N % N %
Yes 378 75.6 372 57.9 750 65.7
No 122 24.4 270 42.1 392 34.3
Total 500 100.0 642 100.0 1142 100.0
Table 6.4 Current attendance at private FLCs in terms of age
61.3%
6.2.4 Private EFL Lessons 38.7%
A substantial number of the respondents (22.8%) currently attended private EFL lessons,
which is, by the way, more costly than attending a private FLC. A chi-square test shows
that no differences arose in terms of the school district (N=1138, ρ2(1) =001a, p>.05) and
gender (N=1138, ρ2(1)=726a, p>.05). However, a significant difference is observed
between younger and older students (N=1138, ρ2(1) = 6.012, p=.014), where a greater
number of older students report having received private tuition.
The above figures denote that approximately 88.5% of the whole sample had EFL
instruction outside the school either at private FLCs (65.7%) (see above) or at private
tutors (22.8%), which is quite a high figure and should be taken into consideration.
6.2.5 Second Foreign Language
With regard to the percentage distribution of the second foreign languages learnt by the
respondents, the results show that German is the most widely studied second foreign
language among the respondents (49.3%), followed by French (36.0%). In the ―other‖
option the most preferred second foreign languages reported by the respondents are
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Spanish (2.3%), Russian (1.7%) and Italian (1.2%) (see Table 6.5). Two students study
Chinese and two respondents study Japanese.
FL N %
French 411 38.9
German 563 53.3
Italian 41 3.9
Other 42 4.0
Total 1057 100
Table 6.5 Second foreign language studied
6.2.6 Language of Communication at Home
All the respondents, even those of non-Greek origin, reported communicating at home in
Greek. Nevertheless, they were encouraged by the researcher to refer to their mother
tongue. Therefore, 4.6% of the respondents communicated at home in Albanian, 1.4% in
Russian, 1.0% in Georgian and, surprisingly enough, 1.8% of the respondents reported
communicating at home in English. Those who communicate at home in English either
have a native-speaker parent or have lived in a native-speaking country for a long period.
Some even report that they very often speak English (via Skype, Messenger, etc.) with
their relatives who live in the USA, Canada or Australia and can hardly speak Greek. A
few respondents speak Armenian, Serbian, Romanian, German, Swedish and Bulgarian. It
should be pointed out that these languages represent the countries from which Greece
receives the greatest inflow of immigrants. It has been noticed that many respondents of
non-Greek origin report communicating in Greek at home, not mentioning their L1s at all.
This issue is noteworthy and it will be discussed in Chapter 7 in more detail.

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6.2.7 Parents’ Knowledge of English
The survey results show that 53.9% of the respondents‘ fathers and 67.3% of the
respondents‘ mothers have an adequate knowledge of English, ranging from ―very well‖ to
―well‖. The mothers‘ predominance does not come as a surprise as it is generally accepted
that females are considered to be more apt at language learning (see section 3.7.1).
Another issue that presents an increased interest is whether there is a significant difference
in the knowledge of English among the parents from eastern and western parts of
Thessaloniki. Therefore, the chi-square test was run and the results show that there is a
significant difference in the fathers‘ knowledge of English in eastern and western
Thessaloniki (N=1134, ρ2 (4) = 27.415a, p<.001), where the English proficiency level is
much higher among fathers from the eastern part of the city. Similar trends are observed in
the case of the mothers, here again, the mothers from eastern Thessaloniki show a higher
level of knowledge of English (N=1134, ρ2(4) = 33.268a, p<.001).
6.2.8 Self-perceived Language Competence
The substantial majority of the respondents evaluate their level of English language
competence to be quite good (44.1%), those who believe that their level of English
language competence is very good compose 27.1% of the sample, 23.5% of the sample
report being on a good level of English language competence and finally only 5.3% of the
whole sample admit that their level of language competence is not good.
The results of the t-test show that age has a significant effect on the students‘ self-
evaluation (N=1142, t(1140)=-4.719, p<.001), where the primary students (N=500,
M=1.94) evaluate their language competence much higher than the secondary students
(N=642, M=2.17). No gender differences are observed. What is more, proficient students
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(N=241, M=1.67) report having a much higher self-perceived language competence
(N=1142, t(1140)=8.452, p<.001) than the less proficient ones (N=901, M=2.17).
6.2.9 Self-perceived Language Learning Efficiency
57.5% of the respondents report that in comparison with their classmates, they study
English quite well, 15.9% study English very well, 21.5% of the sample well and only
5.1% of the respondents admit that they do not study English very well. The results of the
t-test indicate that there are significant gender (N=1139, t(1137)=2.870, p=.004) and age
(N=1142, t(1140)=-9.170, p<.001) differences in the students‘ self-evaluation of their
language learning efficiency, where girls (N=566, M=2.09) report having a higher level of
language learning efficiency than boys (N=573, M=2.22) and in the case of age
differences, the sixth-graders of the PS (N=500, M=1.94) believe that their language
learning efficiency is quite high in comparison with the third-graders of the LSS (N=642,
M=2.33).
6.2.10 Results of the Quick Placement Test
English language proficiency level is one of the three independent variables in this study,
and the results of the QPT would help to establish whether there is a relation between
language learning attitudes and motivation and the students‘ proficiency level.
According to the Ministry of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs (in
compliance with the recommendation of CEFR), the anticipated proficiency level that the
students of the sixth grade of PS should possess have been set at A2- level (Basic user) and
the proficiency level for the third graders of the LSS has been designated at B1+
(Independent user/Threshold) level (see Table 5.3).

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Age
Total
PS LSS
N % N % N %
Level
A1+A2 434 86.8 467 72.7 901 78.9
B1+B2 66 13.2 175 27.3 241 21.1
Total 500 100.0 642 100.0 1142 100.0
Table 6.6 QPT results in terms of age
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Table 6.6 shows that in the case of the PS, the EFL proficiency level of the majority
of the students corresponds to the EFL level recommended by the Ministry of Education.
In contrast, the EFL level of the majority of students in LSS does not correspond to the
B1+ level (called Threshold) as designated by the Ministry. Unfortunately, the vast
majority of the students in the third grade of LSS had A2 level. Of course, this is not a very
encouraging result and will be discussed in more detail in chapter 7.
The following sections will present the results of inferential statistical analyses in
terms of attitude/motivational variables.
6.3 Attitudes towards English
As presented analytically in 5.3.3.1, the first section of the questionnaire (11 items)
examines the respondents‘ attitudes towards English. The items within the section on
attitudes towards English have been analysed with the aid of Factor Analysis using the
Principal Component Extraction Method and Varimax Rotation in order to establish how
those 11 items are grouped together. Three factors have initially been extracted, which
explains the 46.51% of the total variability.
Afterwards, items 3 and 10 were excluded because of low loadings, and factor
analysis was performed again. After Varimax with Keizer Normalisation Rotation, three
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underlying factors were extracted, which accounts for the 54.67% of the total variance
explained in the attitudinal subset (see Table 6.7).
Factor
Item 1 2 3
Instrumental ICT-related Personal enjoyment
The knowledge of English will make me more educated .73
If I know English well I will be more successful in life .71
I believe if I have any English language certificate,
.70
I will be more successful in future
My parents believe that knowledge of English
.65
is very important for my future
English is the basic language of communication
.50
for people from different countries
The knowledge of English is indispensable for computer use .82
English is indispensable for the Internet and gaming .81
English is an easy language to learn .75
The majority of films and songs that I like are in English .74
Eugenvalue 2.55 1.32 1.04
Table 6.7 Factor analysis: Attitudes towards English
Factor 1 was labelled Instrumental and it is readily interpretable as all the items
indicate the students‘ strong pragmatic orientation in their attitudes towards English. Two
items with relatively high loadings were clustered in Factor 2 labelled ICT-related
attitudes. Both items within this factor have very high loadings, which denote the immense
importance, which the students attach to the role of English for computer and Internet use.
Factor 3 was labelled Personal enjoyment and consisted of two items which reflected the
respondents‘ positive personal attitudes towards English.
Once the underlying factors were extracted and labelled, further statistical procedures
were performed to establish the effect of the three independent variables (age, gender and
proficiency level) on the above factors.

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6.3.1 Instrumental Attitudes towards English
As shown in Table 6.8, the mean scores for both boys and girls in the sixth grade of the PS
are much lower, which means that they hold more positive instrumental attitudes towards
English that become more negative for the older students.
Gender Age N M* SD
PS 244 8.17 2.84
Male LSS 323 9.57 3.16
Total 567 8.97 3.10
PS 255 8.11 2.79
Female LSS 305 9.19 3.01
Total 560 8.70 2.96
PS 499 8.14 2.81
Total LSS 628 9.39 3.09
Total 1127 8.83 3.03
Table 6.8 Instrumental attitudes in terms of gender and age
(* the range of the raw mean score spans from 3 to 15)
The Two-way ANOVA Test Between-subjects effects showed that there was a
significant main effect only for age (F (1, 1123)=48354, p<.001), which means that only
the age factor has an impact on the students‘ instrumental attitudes towards English, where
young students (both boys and girls) hold more positive instrumental attitudes towards
English. The results are graphically summarised in Figure 6.1.
Figure 6.1 A profile plot for the effects of age and gender on the dependent variable
instrumental attitudes
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With regard to the effect of proficiency level on attitude/motivation variables, the
results show (Table 6.9) that the students‘ proficiency level does not affect the above
factor. The mean scores for level A respondents are almost the same as the mean scores of
those who have a higher proficiency in English.
QPT N M SD df T-value p
Instrumental attitudes A1+A2 892 8.84 3.09

1128 0,058 ns
towards English B1+B2 238 8.82 2.82
Table 6.9 The effect of proficiency level on instrumental attitudes towards English
6.3.2 ICT-related Attitudes towards English
It can be inferred from the descriptive statistics (see Table 6.10) that the whole sample in
general hold quite positive ICT-related attitudes towards English.
Gender Age N M* SD
PS 245 3.48 1.51

Male LSS 328 3.49 1.57
Total 573 3.49 1.54
PS 255 3.66 1.33
Female LSS 311 3.72 1.45
Total 566 3.69 1.40
PS 500 3.57 1.42
Total LSS 639 3.60 1.51
Total 1139 3.59 1.47
Table 6.10 ICT-related attitudes in terms of gender and age
The Two-way ANOVA Test Between-subjects effects indicate that only the variable
of gender has a significant effect on the dependent variable (F (1, 1135) = 5.399, p=.020).
From the interactive plot presented in Figure 6.2, it becomes clear that among boys the
ICT-related attitudes remain positive with age, while the girls‘ attitudes, surprisingly
enough, become more negative with age.

172
Figure 6.2 A profile plot for the effects of age and gender on ICT-related attitudes
The t-test results show that the proficiency level has a significant effect (at p= .005
level) on the students‘ ICT-related attitudes towards English (see Table 6.11), therefore,
those students who have a higher proficiency level in English (B1, B2) hold more positive
attitudes than those who are at A1 or A2 level.
ICT-related attitudes A1+A2 901 3.65 1.51
1140 2,830 .005
towards English
B1+B2 241 3.35 1.31
Table 6.11 The effect of proficiency level on ICT-related attitudes towards English
6.3.3 Personal Enjoyment-related Attitudes towards English
The results of the descriptive statistics show (see Table 6.12), that the students‘ personal
enjoyment-related attitudes within both age groups are quite negative (PS – M=7.32; LSS–
M=7.62), if we take into consideration that the range of the raw mean score spans from 2
to 10 and the higher the mean score is, the more negative the attitudes are.
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Gender Age N M* SD
PS 243 7.4 2.3

Male LSS 327 7.7 2.3
Total 570 7.5 2.3
PS 255 7.2 1.8
Female LSS 310 7.5 2.3
Total 565 7.3 2.1
PS 498 7.3 2.1
Total LSS 637 7.6 2.3
Total 1135 7.4 2.2
Table 6.12 Personal enjoyment-related attitudes in terms of gender and age
The Two-way ANOVA Test Between-subjects effects reveal that only the age
factor has a significant effect on the dependent variable (F (1, 1131) = 4.991, p=.026),
which means that the older the students get, the less they experience personal enjoyment in
their attitudes towards English (see Figure 6.3 for the graphic representation of the
results).
Figure 6.3 A profile plot for the effects of age and gender on personal enjoyment
With regard to the effect of the proficiency level on the dependent variable, the t-test
results show that the students‘ proficiency level have a significant impact (at the .001
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level) on the students‘ personal enjoyment-related attitudes, i.e. more advanced students
exhibit more positive attitudes and feel personal attachment to English (see Table 6.13).
A1+A2 898 7.64 2.28
Personal enjoyment 1136 4,589 .001
B1+B2 240 6.90 1.95
Table 6.13 The effect of proficiency level on personal enjoyment-related attitudes
6.4 Attitudes towards Learning English
The second section of the questionnaire was designed to elicit the respondents‘ attitudes
towards learning English at school. The section, which initially consisted of fifteen items
was analysed with the aid of Factor Analysis using Principal Component Extraction
Method and Varimax Rotation. Three factors were extracted, which explains the 46.72%
of the total variance of the attitudinal subset. Later on, item 16 I try to use English as much
as possible out of class was excluded because it had a loading lower than .45, and the
section with fourteen items was analysed again. Three underlying factors have been
extracted, which explain the 48.007% of the variability (see Table 6.14).
Factor
2
Item 1 3
General
School- Parental
attitudes
related encouragement
towards ELL
I am generally satisfied with the English language teacher

.75
and his/her methods
I am generally satisfied with the English course book

.53
and other materials that we have at school
My teacher encourages me to learn English .47

My friends like to learn English .50
English is one of the most important school subjects .48
English must be taught from the first grade of Primary school .47
Learning English is boring .71
I try to dedicate more time to other subjects rather than to
.69
English
I am sure I will learn English well .58
I would have learnt English even if it were not in the school
.57
curriculum
175
I try really hard to learn English better .55

I enjoy my English language lessons .54
My parents encourage me to learn English .77
My parents help me to prepare for my English lessons at home .57
Eugenvalue 4.14 1.42 1.52
Table 6.14 Factor analysis: Attitudes towards learning English
Factor 1 was labelled School-related, as all the items are directly related to learning
English at school, including the students‘ attitudes towards their teacher, the teaching
materials, the important role of English language teaching at school, and their classmates‘
attitudes towards English.
Factor 2 was labelled General attitudes, a label with quite a broad sense, as it
consists of two different subgroups of attitudes: negative attitudes, in which students
believe that learning English is boring and prefer to dedicate more time to subjects other
than English; and self-determination, which includes such items as the students‘ belief in
their success in learning English, their determination to learn English even if it is not in the
school programme and their invested effort in learning English. It should be pointed out
that the item I enjoy my English language lessons (.54) was also loaded to Factor 1 with a
lower loading (.48) and this fact is readily interpretable since the students exhibit both in-
school and out-of-school intrinsic positive attitudes and personal enjoyment in learning
English.
Factor 3 is labelled Parental influence and is quite interpretable as both items refer
to parental assistance and encouragement.
Further statistical procedures were performed to establish the effects of the three
independent variables (age, gender and proficiency level) on the three factors extracted
from the subset Attitudes towards learning English.

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6.4.1 School-related Attitudes towards Learning English
The descriptive statistics presented in the Table 6.15 depicts that, in general, the attitudes
towards learning English at school are quite positive across gender and age.
Gender Age N M* SD
PS 244 15.8 5.1
Male LSS 321 17.7 4.6
Total 565 16.9 4.9
PS 254 14.6 4.8
Female LSS 301 18.0 4.3
Total 555 16.5 4.8
PS 498 15.2 5.0
Total LSS 622 17.9 4.5
Total 1120 16.7 4.9
Table 6.15 School-related attitudes in terms of gender and age
The Two-way ANOVA Test Between-subjects effects produced quite interesting
results; the age factor has a significant effect on the dependent variable (F (1, 1116) =
85.952, p=.001), what is more, the interaction of gender and age has a significant effect on
the students school-related attitudes towards learning English (F (1, 1116) = 6.454,
p=.011). As inferred from the profile plot (see Figure 6.4), in the case of the PS, the girls‘
school-related attitudes towards learning English are more positive than the boys‘ (girls –
M=14.68; boys – M=15.85), but with age the girls‘ attitudes become much more negative
than the boys‘ (girls – M=18.04; boys – M=17.77) (the interpretation of this phenomenon
and the possible reasons for such a change in attitudes among girls will be presented and
discussed in detail in Chapter 7).

177
Figure 6.4 A profile plot for the effects of age and gender on school-related attitudes
It is of an equal importance to examine whether there is also a significant effect of
the students‘ proficiency level on the dependent variable. The t-test results show that the
effect is significant at p<.001 level. Unlike the previous cases, when the students with a
higher level of proficiency held more positive attitudes, here the picture is quite different
as the students with a lower level of language proficiency exhibit more positive school-
related attitudes towards learning English than those whose language proficiency level is
much higher (Table 6.16).
A1+A2 884 16.4 5.0
School-related 1121 -3,744 .001
B1+B2 239 17.7 4.2
Table 6.16 The effect of proficiency level on the students‘ school-related attitudes towards
learning English
6.4.2 General Attitudes towards Learning English
The descriptive statistics indicates that students across both cohorts have quite positive
General attitudes towards learning English (see Table 6.17). However, the test of between-
subjects effects (see Figure 6.5) show that age (F (1, 1125) = 49.954, p<.001), gender
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(F(1, 1125)=3.750, p=.050) and interaction of gender and age (F(1, 1125)=6.812, p<.009)
have a significant effect on the dependent variable.
Gender Age N M SD
PS 245 13.97 3.69
Male LSS 323 14.95 3.86
Total 568 14.53 3.82
PS 255 12.97 3.39
Female LSS 306 15.10 3.62
Total 561 14.13 3.67
PS 500 13.46 3.58
Total LSS 629 15.02 3.75
Total 1129 14.33 3.75
Table 6.17 General attitudes in terms of gender and age
general attitudes
The results show that the factor of age has the most significant effect on the
dependent variable following the same tendency as in the previous results, which means
that the students‘ attitudes become more negative with age. What is more, gender as well
has a significant effect on the examined dependent variable, in which girls demonstrate
more positive attitudes than boys. The interaction of gender and age, in turn, reveals that
179
girls initially have much more positive general attitudes towards learning English than
boys but with age, girls‘ attitudes become much more negative than boys‘.
With regard to the effect of the students‘ proficiency level on the dependent variable,
the results indicate that the difference is statistically significant at p<.001, therefore the
students with a higher proficiency level have more positive General attitudes towards
learning English than the students with a lower proficiency level (see Table 6.18).
General Attitudes towards A1+A2 891 14.57 3.82

1129 4,076 .001
learning English
B1+B2 240 13.46 3.33
Table 6.18 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable general attitudes
towards learning English
6.4.3 Parental Encouragement to Learn English
The results of the Two-way ANOVA Test Between-subjects effects illustrate that age
factor has a significant effect (F (1, 1134) = 61.913, p=.001) on the examined dependent
variable. If we look at the graphical representation of the results (see Figure 6.6), it
becomes evident that the PS students (both boys and girls) are more influenced by parental
encouragement than the older students.

180
parental encouragement
Moreover, the results of the t-test show that the students‘ language proficiency level
as well has a significant effect (at <.001 level) on the examined dependent variable (see
Table 6.19). Here the picture is the following: the learners with a lower level of
proficiency are more affected by the parental influence rather than those with a higher
level of English language proficiency.
A1+A2 900 4.58 1.79

Parental encouragement 1138 -3,289 .001
B1+B2 240 5.00 1.53
Table 6.19 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable parental
encouragement
6.5 Students’ Motivation to Learn English
The subset of 15 items on motivation was initially analysed and produced four underlying
factors which explain the 52.58% of the total variability. Later on, item 41 (I want to
browse the Internet) and item 33 (I like English as a foreign language) were excluded;
item 41 did not take any loading, and item 33 did not semantically match with the other
items and could not be interpreted within the extracted factor. A factor analysis of the
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subset (13 items) was performed and the Principal Component Analysis produced four
factors which explain the 56.1% of the total variability (see Table 6.20).
Factor
Item 1 2 3 4
Travel and Cultural External
communication Instrumental interest pressure
I want to travel to non-native speaking countries (Japan,
.75
Germany, Spain, etc.)
I want to communicate with people for whom English is not a
.68
native language
I want to travel to native-speaking countries (UK, USA,
.64
Australia, etc.)
I want to communicate with the English, Americans,
.57
Australians etc. for whom English is a native language
I want to study abroad (UK, USA, etc.) .54
I want to attain an English language proficiency certificate
.70
(e.g. First Certificate of Cambridge, Proficiency, PALSO)
English will be very useful in whatever profession I choose in
.65
the future
I realise the important role of English nowadays in the world .62
I will learn through English more things about different
.80
nations, their customs and ways of living
I will learn through English more things about the native
.75
speakers, their customs and ways of living
English is a compulsory school subject .73
My friends and classmates learn English .68
It is my parents' wish .55
Eugenvalue 3.92 1.24 1.10 1.02
Table 6.20 Factors analysis: Motivation to learn English
Factor 1 was labelled International travel and communication as it comprised items
which explicitly expressed the students‘ desire to travel and to communicate
internationally. The last item (I want to study abroad) at first seemed a little problematic in
a sense that it logically should have taken its place together with other items expressing the
students‘ instrumental motives. However, after long consideration and discussion, it
became possible to interpret and justify the place of this item within Factor 1. Therefore, at
the respondents‘ age the idea of studying abroad is not as associated with the very process
of acquiring knowledge and receiving diplomas as is studying abroad with travelling to
another country, seeing new places and learning new things.

182
Factor 2 was labelled Instrumental and is readily interpretable as all the three items
express the students‘ pure instrumental (materialistic) motives for learning English. Factor
3 was labelled Cultural interest and received considerably high loadings from two items,
which denote that the students have a general interest in culture of different countries and
nations including both native speakers and non-native speakers.
Three items were loaded to Factor 4 which was labelled External pressure and
included items which expressed the students‘ disposition to learn English because they feel
an external pressure or obligation over them.
In the following subsections the effects of age, gender and proficiency level will be
examined as well as a more detailed per item analysis will be produced to reveal the effect
of the three independent variables on individual items within the motivational subset.
With regard to the motivational subset, two types of analyses have been performed in
order to investigate the students‘ motivation to learn English more thoroughly. First, a
Two-way ANOVA Test and a t-test were performed to examine the main effects of the
three independent variables on the four factors extracted within the motivational scale and
second, an independent sample t-test was performed to a per-item analysis of the
motivational subset in terms of gender, age and proficiency level.
6.5.1 Motivation to Learn English for International Travel and Communication
The mean scores showed that the respondents across both cohorts have considerably high
motivation to learn English for international travel and communication purposes (see
Table 6.21).
183
Gender Age M SD N
PS 11.52 4.44 245

Male LSS 11.76 4.26 323
Total 11.65 4.34 568
PS 10.09 3.59 255
Female LSS 10.73 3.91 308
Total 10.44 3.78 563
PS 10.79 4.09 500
Total LSS 11.26 4.13 631
Total 11.05 4.11 1131
Table 6.21 International travel and communication in terms of gender and age
The Two-way ANOVA Test Between-subjects effects show that only gender has a
significant effect on the dependent variable (F (1, 1127) = 25.353, p<.001), which means
that the girls within both age groups are much more motivated to learn English for travel
and communication purposes than the boys. However, if we examine Figure 6.7 carefully,
it becomes evident that with age the girls‘ motivation to learn English decreases more
drastically.
international travel and communication’
184
With regard to the effect of the English language proficiency level on the dependent
variable, the results show that there is a significant difference at p<.001 level between the
A+ level and B+ level, where those who have a B+ proficiency level are more motivated to
learn English for travel and communication (see Table 6.22).
International travel and A1+A2 894 11.28 4.13
1132 3,741 .001
communication B1+B2 240 10.17 3.91
Table 6.22 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable international travel
and communication
6.5.2 Instrumental Motivation to Learn English
As discussed in Chapter 3 (see section 3.3), instrumental motivation can be an efficient
predictor of success in learning English especially in FL learning contexts. The results
show that the respondents‘ motivation to learn English for pragmatic/instrumental needs
was quite high both among boys and girls and across both age groups (see Table 6.23).
Gender Age N M SD
PS 245 5.0 1.9

Male LSS 328 5.3 2.1
Total 573 5.1 2.0
PS 255 4.5 1.9
Total 564 4.7 1.9
PS 500 4.7 1.9
Total LSS 637 5.1 2.0
Total 1137 4.9 2.0
Table 6.23 Instrumental motivation in terms of gender and age
The results of the Two-way ANOVA Test Between-subjects effects show that
gender (F (1, 1133) = 13.344, p<.001) and age (F (1, 1133) = 6.239, p=.013) has a
significant effect on the dependent variable instrumental motivation, which means that the
girls are much more motivated to learn English for pragmatic reasons than the boys
185
(Figure 6.8). Moreover, young students show a higher degree of instrumental motivation
than the older students, a finding which is in line with the results of similar studies in
different contexts (see section 3.7.2).
instrumental motivation
The results of the t-test show that there is a significant difference between the
students with A+ and B+ level of language proficiency (see Table 6.24), in which students
with a higher level of proficiency are more motivated to learn English for pragmatic
reasons.
A1+A2 899 5.10 2.07

Instrumental motivation 1138 4,459 <.001
B1+B2 241 4.46 1.64
Table 6.24 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable instrumental
motivation
6.5.3 Cultural Interest in Students’ Motivation to Learn English
In general, the respondents‘ motivation to learn English for cultural interest is not that
high as compared to the previous two factors (see Table 6.25).

186
Gender Age N M SD
PS 245 5.16 1.82
Male LSS 328 5.66 2.09
Total 573 5.45 1.99
PS 255 5.11 2.02
Female LSS 309 5.57 2.08
Total 564 5.36 2.07
PS 500 5.14 1.92
Total LSS 637 5.62 2.09
Total 1137 5.40 2.03
Table 6.25 Cultural interest in terms of gender and age
(* raw mean score spans from 2 to 10)
The results show that only age (F (1, 1133) = 15.603, p<.001) has a significant effect
on the dependent variable (see Figure 6.9), which means that with age the students‘
motivation to learn English for cultural interest decrease almost equally among both boys
and girls.
Figure 6.9 A profile plot of the effects of age and gender on the dependent variable
cultural interest
The results of the t-test show that the proficiency level does not have a significant
effect on the dependent variable (p>.05), which indicates that the students, regardless of
187
the level of their language proficiency, are not highly motivated to learn English for
Cultural interest (see Table 6.26 in Appendix III).
6.5.4 External Pressure in Students’ Motivation to Learn English
The results show that in general external pressure is quite a strong impetus for learning
English (see Table 6.27).
Gender Age N M* SD
PS 245 6.6 2.4

Male LSS 327 7.3 2.6
Total 572 7.0 2.5
PS 255 6.7 2.2
Total 566 6.9 2.4
PS 500 6.7 2.3
Total LSS 638 7.2 2.6
Total 1138 7.0 2.5
Table 6.27 The impact of the dependent variable external pressure on students‘ attitudes
and motivation in terms of gender and age (* the range of the raw mean score spans from 3
to 15)
The results of the Two-way ANOVA Test Between-subjects effects reveal that only
age (F (1, 1134) = 14.756, p<.001) has a significant effect on the dependent variable in
which both (younger boys and girls) feel the necessity to learn English because of the
external pressure imposed by their parents, school programme, etc., but with age the
students‘ motivation to learn English for this end decreases (Figure 6.10).
Even though the variable of gender does not have any significant effect on the
dependent variable, it can be seen in the figure that, surprisingly enough, younger boys are
initially more affected by external pressure than girls, but in the course of time, their
motivation to learn English because of external factors decreases more abruptly.

188
Figure 6.10 A profile plot for the effects of age and gender on the dependent
variable external pressure
The results of the t-test reveal that language proficiency level has a significant effect
on the dependent variable (see Table 6.28), which means that more proficient students do
not feel the necessity to learn English because of external pressure imposed on them, while
those who have a lower level of proficiency are more affected by the external factors in
their motivation.
A1+A2 901 6.8 2.4

External Pressure 1139 -4,147 .001
B1+B2 240 7.6 2.6
Table 6.28 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable external
pressure
6.5.5 Per-item Analysis of Motivational Subscale in Terms of Age, Gender and

Proficiency Level
Although it was of primary importance to examine the effects of the three independent
variables on the factors extracted from the attitude/motivational subscales, in the case of
motivation subset, in particular, it was also considered important and more insightful to
perform a per-item analysis and to examine the effects of age, gender and proficiency level
on individual items within the subset. This was considered a wise choice in order to
189
understand and interpret the students‘ motivation to learn English for different reasons
beyond these factors. One of the main reasons for such an analysis was the need to reveal
whether the students are more NS- or NNS-oriented and whether their motivation to learn
English is to some extent related to the international role of English.
T-test for Equality of

Means
Motivation to learn English Gender
T-
M SD p
value
Male 1.60 0.84
English will be very useful in whatever profession I choose in the
1 1.767 ns
future
Female 1.51 0.87
Male 2.59 1.30
2 I want to study abroad (e.g. UK, USA, etc.) 3.024 .003
Female 2.37 1.20
Male 1.76 1.02
I want to attain an English language proficiency certificate (e.g. First
3 4.085 .001
Certificate of Cambridge, Proficiency, PALSO)
Female 1.53 0.92
Male 2.58 1.20
I will learn through English more about the native speakers of
4 0.310 ns
English (e.g. Americans, British), their culture and ways of living
Female 2.55 1.18
Male 2.87 1.15
I will learn through English more about different nations (e.g.
5 0.945 ns
Chinese, Germans. Brazilians), their culture and ways of living
Female 2.81 1.12
Male 2.21 1.20
6 English is a compulsory school subject 0.846 ns
Female 2.15 1.16
1.24
Male 2.14
7 I like English as a foreign language 2.172 .030
1.17
Female 1.99
Male 2.31 1.34
8 My friends and classmates learn English 0.962 ns
Female 2.23 1.19
Male 2.54 1.29
9 It is my parents‘ wish -.962 ns
Female 2.61 1.30
Male 2.10 1.22
I want to travel to the native-speaking countries (e.g. UK, USA,
10 4.564 .001
Australia, etc.)
Female 1.80 1.02
Male 2.32 1.24
I want to travel to the non-native-speaking countries (e.g. Germany,
11 4.555 .001
Spain, Japan etc.)
Female 2.00 1.11
Male 1.82 0.91
12 I realise the important role of English nowadays in the world 2.172 .030
Female 1.71 0.87
Male 2.16 1.16
I want to communicate with the English, Americans, Australians etc.
13 2.157 .031
for whom English is a native language
Female 2.02 1.01
Male 2.50 1.17
I want to communicate with people for whom English is not a native
14 3.762 .001
language
Female 2.25 1.06
Male 2.04 1.17
15 I want to browse the Internet for information -.528 ns
Female 2.07 1.11
Table 6.29 The effect of the independent variable gender on the items within the
motivational subscale
190
First, a t-test was run to examine the effect of the independent variable gender on the
fifteen items within the motivational subset (see Table 6.29). A closer look at the above
table will reveal that in all cases, regardless of whether or not there is a significant
statistical difference, girls are more motivated to learn English than boys with the only
exception – item 15 (I want to browse the Internet) – in which boys, with a minor
difference, seem to be more motivated to learn English.
The results show that the students‘ motivation to learn English was quite high; the
respondents‘ answers range from agree to not sure, which means that their motivation to
learn English is considerably positive. Nevertheless, the statistical analysis show that there
is a significant difference between boys and girls in the following items: Item 2 I want to
study abroad (e.g. UK, USA, etc.); item 3 I want to attain an English language proficiency
certificate; item 10 I want to travel to the native-speaking countries (e.g. UK, USA,
Australia, etc.); item 11 I want to travel to non-native speaking countries (e.g. Japan,
Germany, Spain, etc.); item 14 I want to communicate with non-native speakers of
English; item 7 I like English as a foreign language; item 12 I realise the important role of
English nowadays in the world; and item 13 I want to communicate with the native
speakers of English. It seems that girls have an inner drive to learn English for travel and
communication and for their personal enjoyment, but, at the same time, they also feel the
necessity to learn English for pragmatic reasons such as the attainment of a language
proficiency certificate and for study abroad opportunities, thus they seem to realise the
important role that English plays in the world nowadays.
The effect of the independent variable age on the fifteen items within the
motivational subset was examined with the help of a t-test (see Table 6.30). The results
show that, in general, the younger students exhibit a higher degree of motivation to learn
English across all the items with the exception of item 9–It is my parents’ wish–, a
191
concern which affects the older students more than the younger ones. Perhaps, this
difference can be explained by the initial enthusiasm, desire and high intrinsic motivation
to learn English among young students, which decreases with age, since the sense of duty
and desire not to fail the parents‘ expectations, which is much stronger among older
students, comes into play. What is more, the results reveal that, in general, the students of
both age groups are rather highly motivated to learn English. However, there is a
significant difference between the two age groups of students: younger students are more
motivated to learn English for the interest in foreign cultures (items 4 and 5) and intrinsic
positive disposition towards English (item 7), but at the same time, for such external
factors as the sense of groupness (My friends and classmates learn it) and the fact that
English is a part of the school curriculum.
T-test for Equality of

Means
Motivation to learn English Age
T-
M SD p
value
PS 1.52 0.92
1 English will be very useful in whatever profession I choose in the future -1.517 ns
LSS 1.59 0.79
PS 2.43 1.28
2 I want to study abroad (e.g. UK, USA, etc.) -1.294 ns
LSS 2.53 1.23
PS 1.61 0.93
3 -1.151 ns
LSS 1.67 1.00
PS 2.39 1.13
I will learn through English more about the native speakers of English (e.g.
4 -4.427 .001
Americans, British), their culture and ways of living
LSS 2.70 1.22
PS 2.74 1.10
I will learn through English more about different nations (e.g. Chinese,
5 -2.515 .012
Germans. Brazilians), their culture and ways of living
LSS 2.91 1.15
PS 1.98 1.09
6 English is a compulsory school subject -5.152 .001
LSS 2.33 1.21
PS 1.86 1.14
7 I like English as a foreign language -5.220 .001
LSS 2.23 1.23
PS 2.11 1.22
8 My friends and classmates learn English -3.829 .001
LSS 2.40 1.28
PS 2.62 1.35
9 It is my parents‘ wish 1.018 ns
LSS 2.54 1.24
PS 1.89 1.16
I want to travel to the native-speaking countries (e.g. UK, USA, Australia,
10 -1.719 ns
etc.)
LSS 2.00 1.11
192
PS 2.05 1.18
I want to travel to the non-native-speaking countries (e.g. Germany, Spain,
11 -2.753 .006
Japan etc.)
LSS 2.25 1.17
PS 1.67 0.85
12 I realise the important role of English nowadays in the world -3.136 .002
LSS 1.84 0.90
PS 2.01 1.02
I want to communicate with the English, Americans, Australians etc. for
13 -2.237 .027
whom English is a native language
LSS 2.16 1.13
PS 2.41 1.13
14 I want to communicate with people for whom English is not a native language 0.921 ns
LSS 2.35 1.10
PS 2.05 1.16
15 I want to browse the Internet for information -.041 ns
LSS 2.05 1.12
Table 6.30 The effect of the independent variable of age on the items within the
motivational subset
Moreover, young students exhibit a far wider international outlook thus being
motivated to learn English for travel and communication to NS and NNS countries as well
as because they realise the important role that English plays in the world.
And, finally, t-test analysis was performed to reveal the effect of the students‘
proficiency level on the fifteen items within the motivational subset (see Table 6.31).
T-test for Equality of Means

Motivation to learn English QPT
M SD T-value p
A1+A2 1.58 0.89
1 English will be very useful in whatever profession I choose in the future 1.675 ns
B1+B2 1.49 0.67
A1+A2 2.53 1.27
2 I want to study abroad (e.g. UK, USA, etc.) 2.563 .010
B1+B2 2.30 1.17
A1+A2 1.72 1.02
3 6.469 .001
B1+B2 1.36 0.67
A1+A2 2.58 1.20
I will learn through English more about the native speakers of English
4 0.966 ns
(e.g. Americans, British), their culture and ways of living
B1+B2 2.50 1.16
A1+A2 2.74 1.10
I will learn through English more about different nations (e.g. Chinese,
5 -1.173 ns
Germans. Brazilians), their culture and ways of living
B1+B2 2.91 1.15
A1+A2 2.11 1.15
6 English is a compulsory school subject -3.753 .001
B1+B2 2.44 1.23
A1+A2 2.12 1.25
7 I like English as a foreign language 2.853 .004
B1+B2 1.87 1.01
A1+A2 2.23 1.25
8 My friends and classmates learn English -2.262 .023
B1+B2 2.44 1.28
9 It is my parents‘ wish A1+A2 2.53 1.29 -2.185 .029
193
B1+B2 2.73 1.26

A1+A2 2.01 1.16
I want to travel to the native-speaking countries (e.g. UK, USA, Australia,
10 3.901 .001
etc.)
B1+B2 1.73 0.96
A1+A2 2.19 1.19
I want to travel to the non-native-speaking countries (e.g. Germany,
11 1.743 ns
Spain, Japan etc.)
B1+B2 2.05 1.14
A1+A2 1.81 0.91
12 I realise the important role of English nowadays in the world 3.465 .001
B1+B2 1.61 0.75
A1+A2 2.17 1.11
I want to communicate with the English, Americans, Australians etc. for
13 5.052 .001
whom English is a native language
B1+B2 1.81 0.95
A1+A2 2.39 1.12
I want to communicate with people for whom English is not a native
14 0.969 ns
language
B1+B2 2.32 1.08
A1+A2 2.12 1.16
15 I want to browse the Internet for information 3.908 .001
B1+B2 1.82 1.00
Table 6.31 The effect of the language proficiency level on the items within the
motivational subset
The results show that in general level A and level B learners manifest distinct
motivational orientations. In the majority of cases, level B students are more motivated to
learn English than level A students. Statistically significant differences between level A
and level B students are marked across such items as study abroad, acquisition of an
English language proficiency certificate, travelling to NS countries, communication with
NSs of English, personal enjoyment in learning English and browsing the Internet; in all
these cases, level B students show a higher level of motivation than level A students.
In contrast, level A1+A2 students are more motivated to learn English for such
external factors as parental influence, the sense of groupness and the fact that English is a
mandatory subject at school, which, as the results show, provides a strong stimulus for
learning English. What is more, although the t-test results indicate that the difference is not
statistically significant, it is noteworthy that level A1+A2 students are motivated to learn
English in order to attain knowledge about different nations, their cultures and ways of
living more than level B1+B2 students, though in the case of the NS culture their
motivation is lower than that of level B students. These results also illustrate that more
194
proficient students are more intrinsically motivated than the students with a lower
proficiency level.
The results also reveal that the students with a higher level of proficiency are
explicitly more NS-oriented, and their motivation to learn English carries elements of the
integrative motivation in its classical/Gardnerian sense – to travel to NS countries, to
communicate with the NSs of English, to learn more things about the NSs, their cultures,
among others; this point will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 7.
6.6 Students’ attitudes towards the NSs of English and NS Countries (UK and USA)
A very concise section in the questionnaire was devised to measure the students‘ attitudes
towards the NSs and countries where English is a mother tongue, more specifically
towards the UK and the USA. The subset of eight items was analysed with the aid of
Factor Analysis using the Principal Component Extraction Method and Varimax Rotation.
Two factors have been extracted which explain the 58.31% of the total variability (see
Table 6.32).
Factor
1 2
Item
USA/the
UK/the British
Americans
The USA is a country of technology and progress .77
The Americans are polite .75

The USA is a destination for many young Greeks for work and
.53
studies
The Americans are educated and well-informed .72
The UK is a country of technology and progress .76
The English people are polite .71
The UK is a destination for many young Greeks for work and

.69
studies
The English people are educated and well-informed .76
Eugenvalue 3.65 1.01

Table 6.32 Factors analysis: attitudes towards the NSs/Ns countries
195
Factor 1 was labelled USA/Americans-related attitudes, which is readily
interpretable as all the items grouped are directly related to the USA and the Americans.
Factor 2 was directly related to the UK and the English people and consequently was
labelled UK/British-related.
6.6.1 USA-related Attitudes
The results of the Two-way ANOVA Test show that in general the respondents‘ attitudes
towards the USA and Americans are quite neutral ranging approximately from ―agree‖ to
―not sure‖. The test of between-subjects effects was run to examine the effect of the
independent variables of gender and age on the dependent variable. The results
demonstrate that only age has a significant effect (F (1, 1135) = 56.646, p<.001) on the
students‘ attitudes towards the USA and Americans (see Figure 6.11), in which younger
students have more positive attitudes towards the Americans and the United States, which
become more negative with age.
USA-related attitudes
196
With regard to the impact of the language proficiency level on the dependent
variable, the t-test results show that there are no statistically significant differences in
mean values, which implies that the language proficiency level does not affect the
students‘ attitudes towards the dependent variable (Table 6.33).
QPT N Mean SD p
A1+A2 901 2.4 .82

USA-related attitudes ns
B1+B2 241 2.4 .69
Table 6.33 The effect of the proficiency level on the dependent variable USA-related
attitudes
6.6.2 UK-related Attitudes
The results show that in general the students‘ attitudes towards the UK/British are slightly
more positive than towards the USA/Americans. The Two-way ANOVA Test Between-
subjects effects also reveal that in this case only age has a significant effect on the
students‘ attitudes towards the UK/the English people (F (1, 1135) = 77.924, p<.001).
Although the variable of gender as well as the interaction of gender and age does
not have a significant effect on the dependent variable, as seen in Figure 6.12, the girls‘
attitudes are initially more positive than the boys‘ but with age the girls‘ attitudes become
more negative.
197
Figure 6.12 A profile plot for the effects of age and gender on the dependent variable UK-
related attitudes
With regard to the effect of the proficiency level on the dependent variable, the
results of the t-test illustrate that although, in general, the students‘ attitudes towards the
UK/the English are quite positive in terms of the mean scores, in this case the proficiency
level does not affect the dependent variable as well (see Table 6.34).
QPT N M SD p
A1+A2 901 2.30 .81

UK-related attitudes ns
B1+B2 241 2.25 .70
Table 6.34 The effect of the proficiency level on the dependent variable UK-related
attitudes
6.7 Students’ Attitudes towards Their Accent, Pronunciation and Grammar
The students‘ attitudes towards their accent, pronunciation and grammar were also
investigated (item 50). The impact of the three independent variables on the students‘
preference for the British accent, the American accent or for retaining their Greek accent
when speaking English was examined. In this section, a three-point scale was used: very
(1), enough (2) and not at all (3).

198
The results show that the variable of age significantly affects the students‘ attitudes
in terms of speaking English with a British accent. The mean scores for younger students
are much lower than for the older ones, which means that the younger learners‘ attitudes
are more positive and that the young learners attach a greater importance to their ability to
speak in English with a British accent (Table 6.35). Because of space limitation, only those
items that have statistically significant differences are presented in the table and discussed
– the items with statistically non-significant differences will be provided in the Appendix
III (Table 6.35a).
Age N M SD p
PS 500 1.6 .70

To speak in English with a British accent .001
LSS 642 2.0 .72
(N=1142, t(1140)=-8.584, p=.001)

Table 6.35 Students‘ attitudes towards their accent in terms of age
In terms of gender, the results render quite interesting findings. As depicted in Table
6.36, boys are more inclined to retain their Greek accent when speaking English than girls
are, while girls, on the other hand, attach greater importance to speaking English without
any grammar mistakes. The same applies to writing English, in which the girls‘ mean
scores are much lower than the boys‘, a finding which again shows that girls are more
careful about writing English without grammar mistakes (see table 6.36a in Appendix III
for the non-significant results).
Gender N M SD df T-value p
To speak in English clearly and correctly Male 573 1.75 .789

1132 -4.463 .001
while retaining your Greek accent Female 566 1.97 .830
To speak in English without any grammar Male 573 1.48 .657

1137 4.194 .001
mistakes Female 566 1.33 .556
To write in English without any grammar Male 573 1.43 .643

1136 2.353 .019
mistakes Female 565 1.35 .587
Table 6.36 Students‘ attitudes towards their accent and grammar in terms of gender
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What is more, the results show that the language proficiency level has a significant
effect on almost all the items within the subset (see Table 6.37). It is quite interesting to
note that students with a lower language proficiency level are more inclined towards
retaining their Greek accent when speaking English. More proficient students prove to be
more careful about not only speaking English correctly without any grammar mistakes but
also writing English without any grammar mistakes.
QPT N M SD p
To speak in English clearly enough to be intelligible A1+A2 901 1.79 .804

<.001
to your interlocutor (with your own accent) B1+B2 241 2.11 .820
To speak in English clearly and correctly while A1+A2 901 1.79 .804
<.001
retaining your Greek accent B1+B2 241 2.11 .820
A1+A2 901 1.44 .632

To speak in English without any grammar mistakes <.001
B1+B2 241 1.27 .514
To communicate in English with other non-native speakers sometimes A1+A2 900 1.91 .667
<.001
even if mistakes are made B1+B2 241 1.71 .651
A1+A2 901 1.42 .639

To write in English without any grammar mistakes .005
B1+B2 241 1.29 .516
Table 6.37 Students‘ attitudes towards their accent and grammar in terms of proficiency
level
It can be implied that by reaching a higher level of proficiency, students begin to
prioritise communication in itself rather than the process of communication during which
students with a lower proficiency level try to construct their sentences correctly and not
make grammar mistakes, while proficient ones emphasise the importance of
communicating and exchanging thoughts and ideas.

200
6.8 Students’ Preference for Learning Materials for Reading, Listening, Speaking
and Writing Activities
The questionnaire also encompassed items that delved into the students‘ preference for
learning materials (items 53-56). The main purpose was to establish the extent to which the
students were inclined towards NS-, international- or ethnocentric-related materials.
 Preference for listening materials – The descriptive statistics show that 48.1% of
the whole sample prefer to listen to dialogues among native speakers of English while
31.3% of the respondents report preferring to listen to dialogues among Greeks and other
speakers of English and only 20.4% report a preference for listening to English speech
among non-native speakers of English. A cross tabulation with a Chi-square test was run to
see whether there are significant age differences between the two cohorts. The results of
the ρ2 test show that there are statistically significant differences between the two age
groups. The results reveal (see Table6.38) that young students are more inclined towards
listening to native speakers of English (46.8%) as well as to Greek speakers of English
(35.9%) rather that to non-native speakers of English. In the case of the older students, the
picture is a little different, in which the older students show a higher inclination towards
listening to dialogues among non-native speakers of English as well.
Age
Total
PS LSS
N % N % N %
Σν listen to dialogues in English among the English and
Americans 233 46.8 315 49.1 548 48.1
To listen to dialogues in English among people of different

nationalities for whom English is not a native language (e.g.
86 17.3 145 22.6 231 20.3
Germans, Russians, Chinese, Brazilians, etc.)
To listen to dialogues in English between Greeks and other
people of different nationalities for whom English is not a
179 35.9 182 28.3 361 31.7
native language
Total 498 100 642 100 1140 100

Table 6.38 Students‘ preferences for the listening activities in terms of age
N=1140, ρ2(2)=9.324, p=0.009
201
With regard to the impact of gender on the students‘ preferences for listening, the
results of the ρ2 test show that there are no significant differences between boys and girls.
Boys and girls have almost equal preferences placing the native-speaker speech in the first
place; then they prefer to listen to the Greeks speaking English and give less importance to
listening to other non-native speakers of English.
What is more, the results of the ρ2 test show that the students‘ proficiency level has
a significant effect on the students‘ preferences. A closer look at Table 6.39 reveals that
the less proficient the students are, the higher inclination they show towards listening to
Greek speakers of English speaking to other NNSs of English, and the higher the
proficiency level grows, the higher the preference for listening to native speakers of
English is.
QPT
A1+A2 B1+B2 Total
N % N % N %
Σν listen to dialogues in English among the English and
Americans 398 44.2 150 62.8 548 48.1
To listen to dialogues in English among people of
different nationalities for whom English is not a native
language (e.g. Germans, Russians, Chinese, Brazilians, 189 21.0 42 17.6 231 20.3
etc.)
To listen to dialogues in English between Greeks and
other people of different nationalities for whom English 314 34.9 47 19.7 333 31.7
is not a native language
Total 901 100 239 100 1140 100
Table 6.39 Students’ preferences for listening activities in terms of proficiency level
N=1140, ρ2(6)=42.214, p<0.001
Preference for reading – ρ2 test was run to examine the effect of age on the students‘
preference for reading materials. The results show that age has a considerable impact on
the students‘ preferences. While in the case of young students, the preferences are almost
equally distributed, older students, however, show a considerably higher level of

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preference for reading materials in English about different countries, their people, culture
and ways of living (see Table 6.40).
Age
PS LSS Total
N % N % N %
To read texts in English regarding the USA, the UK,
179 35.8 191 29.8 370 32.4
their history, customs and ways of living
To read texts in English about different countries, their
170 34.0 277 43.2 447 39.2
people, traditions and ways of living
To read texts in English about Greece, its history,
151 30.2 173 27.0 324 28.4
culture, and different events that happen in Greece
Total 500 100 641 100 1141 100
Table 6.40 Students‘ preferences for reading activities in terms of age

N=1141, ρ2(2)=10.228, p=0.006
What is more, the results indicate that there are roughly no differences in the
students‘ preference for reading materials in terms of gender. The results show that the
students‘ proficiency level has a significant effect on their preferences for reading
materials. As seen in Table6.41, the main difference lies in the students‘ preference for
reading texts about different countries and their people, in which more proficient students
seem to be more inclined towards this option and, at the same time, less inclined towards
reading texts about Greece, its culture, history and events happening in Greece.
QPT
A1+A2 B1+B2 Total
N % N % N %
To read texts in English regarding the USA, the UK, their
history, customs and ways of living 297 33.0 73 30.3 370 32.4
To read texts in English about different countries, their people,

traditions and ways of living 328 36.4 119 49.4 447 39.2
To read texts in English about Greece, its history, culture, and

different events that happen in Greece 275 30.6 49 20.3 324 28.4
Total 900 100 241 100 1141 100
Table 6.41 Students‘ preferences for reading activities in terms of proficiency level
N=1141, ρ2(6)=15.544, p=<0.001
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However, the percentage distribution of the total number shows that in general the
majority of students (39.2%) report a greater preference for reading materials related to
different countries and their people.
Topics for writing – the results of the ρ2 test show that age has an effect on the
students‘ preferences for writing topics. The main difference lies in the students‘
preference for writing topics about Greece and Greek people (Table 6.42).
Age
PS LSS Total
N % N % N %
To seek information (e.g. with the help of the Internet, an
encyclopedia) and to write in English about the English
and/or Americans, their countries, their people, traditions 164 32.9 184 28.8 348 30.6
and culture
encyclopedia) and to write in English about different 218 43.8 154 39.7 472 41.5
countries, people, traditions and culture
encyclopaedia) and to write in English about and the Greek 116 23.3 202 31.6 318 27.9
people
Total 498 100 640 100 1138 100
Table 6.42 Students’ preferences for writing activities in terms of age

N=1138, ρ2(2)=9.583, p=0.008
With regard to the impact of gender on the students‘ preferences, the results show
that there are no significant gender-related differences. However, in general, both boys and
girls show a greater preference of topics that are related to different nations, their
countries, cultures and ways of life and are less interested in topics related to Greece and
the Greek.
In addition, the results show that proficiency level has a significant impact on
students‘ preference for writing topics (see Table 6.43). More proficient students show a
greater preference for writing about different nations, their traditions and culture. The
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situation with the third choice is just the contrary, in which the preference for writing
about Greece and Greek people gradually decreases as the proficiency level increased.
Age
A1+A2 B1+B2 Total
N % N % N %
encyclopedia) and to write in English about the English and/or 291 32.4 57 23.7 348 30.6
Americans, their countries, their people, traditions and culture
encyclopedia) and to write in English about different countries, 339 37.8 133 55.2 472 41.5
people, traditions and culture
encyclopaedia) and to write in English about and the Greek people 267 29.8 51 21.2 318 27.9
Total 897 100 241 100 1138 100
Table 6.43 Students’ preferences for writing activities in terms of proficiency level
N=1138, ρ2(6)=26.889, p<0.001
Topics for speaking – lastly, with regard to the effects of age, gender and
proficiency level on the students‘ choice, the results of the ρ2 test show that age affects
students preference for the topics for speaking skills. As shown in Table6.44, the main
difference lies in the students‘ preference for topics related to different countries, their
people and culture, in which case older students show a considerably greater disposition.
Age
PS LSS Total
N % N % N %
To discuss in English more topics about countries
where English is a native language and their people
134 26.9 137 21.4 271 23.8
(e.g. The UK, the USA, Australia)
To discuss in English more topics about global events,
and current international affairs 212 42.6 319 49.9 531 46.7
To discuss in English more topics about Greece

152 30.5 183 28.6 335 29.5
Total 498 100 639 100 1137 100
Table 6.44 Students’ preferences for speaking activities in terms of age

(N=1137, ρ2(2)=7.087, p=0.029)
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Gender differences in the students‘ preferences are not highly significant and the
main difference lies in the boys‘ preference for discussing more topics about native-
speaking countries and native speakers in English. Girls, on the other hand, are more
inclined to opt for topics about global events and international affairs (see Table 6.45).
Gender
Male Female Total
N % N % N %
To discuss in English more topics about countries where
English is a native language and their people (e.g. The UK, the
153 26.9 117 20.7 270 23.8
USA, Australia)
To discuss in English more topics about global events, and
current international affairs 251 44.1 279 49.4 530 46.7

165 29.1 169 29.9 334 29.5
Total 569 100 565 100 1134 100
Table 6.45 Students’ preferences for speaking activities in terms of gender

(N=1134, ρ2(2)=6.313, p=0.043)
The results of the ρ2 test show that proficiency level has a strong effect on the
students‘ choice. As the proficiency level increases, the students‘ preference for topics in
English about global events and current international affairs become stronger and, just vice
versa, the lower the proficiency level, the stronger the students‘ attachment to topics in
English related to Greece (see Table 6.46).
QPT
Total
A1+A2 B1+B2
N % N % N %
To discuss in English more topics about countries where
English is a native language and their people (e.g. The
238 26.5 33 13.8 271 23.8
UK, the USA, Australia)
To discuss in English more topics about global events,
and current international affairs 374 41.6 157 65.7 531 46.7

286 31.8 49 20.5 335 29.5
Total 898 100 239 100 1137 100
Table 6.46 Students’ preferences for speaking activities in terms of proficiency level
(N=1137, ρ2(6)=52.920, p< .001)
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6.9 The Results of the Interviews
In this section, the results of the interviews will be presented and discussed thus providing
a deeper ethnographic insight into the research. The interviews were very constructive and
helped to elucidate the respondents‘ motives, beliefs, preferences and personal opinions.
The respondents‘ profile is outlined in Table 6.47, and the transcripts of the
interviews are provided with an attached CD on the inside of the back cover of the thesis
(note that the interviews were translated and transcribed into English in order to ensure
that the non-Greek readers of the thesis would understand the content).
Primary school Lower Secondary School
QPT QPT
N Code Gender Area N Code Gender Area
(0-40) (0-60)
1 P1 M West 23/A2 1 S1 M East 22/A2
2 P2 M East 26/B1 2 S2 F West 28/A2
3 P3 M West 19/A2 3 S3 M West 18/A2
4 P4 F East 27/B1 4 S4 F East 20/A2
5 P5 M East 14/A1 5 S5 M East 38/B1
6 P6 F West 13/A1 6 S6 M West 35/B1
7 P7 F West 7/A1 7 S7 F West 33/B1
8 P8 M East 31/B2 8 S8 F East 32/B1
9 P9 F West 32/B2 9 S9 F West 12/A1
10 P10 F East 9/A1 10 S10 M West 17/A1
11 P11 F East 21/A2 11 S11 F East 18/A1
12 P12 M East 23/A2 12 S12 M West 11/A1
13 P13 F West 28/B1 13 S13 M East 40/B2
14 P14 M West 29/B1 14 S14 M West 42/B2
15 P15 M West 5/A1 15 S15 F East 42/B2
16 S16 F West 40/B2
Table 6.47 Profile of the interviewees
A questionnaire containing 13 questions (see Appendix IV) was used as a guideline
during the interviews. The interview questions developed around such issues as the
students‘ attitudes towards English, their accent, their preference for teaching materials,
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communication with NSs/NNSs of English, students‘ motivation to learn English, etc. The
questions were originally designed in Greek and the interviews were conducted in Greek in
order to make sure that the respondents clearly understood all the questions.
The main objective of the researcher was to gain a deeper insight into the students‘
attitudes towards English and their real use of English in everyday life, to establish how
frequent the instances were when students actually used English as an international
language, how the EIL communication took place, what kind of ―English‖ the respondents
used, among other matters. Such issues could not be thoroughly elucidated in the
questionnaire and the researcher attempted to focus on these points in order to reveal the
students‘ actual use of English and to what extent English was used as an international
language.
During the interviews, the interviewees were not ask to provide any additional
information (personal data) as the researcher had their completed questionnaires at hand
(with special codes assigned to each interviewee) and could use it later in order to outline
the interviewees‘ profiles. The participants were encouraged to express their thoughts and
attitudes freely and it was repeatedly stressed that their participation was a great
contribution to the research and that their anonymity would be maintained. While the
researcher had the pleasure to enjoy fruitful and extensive interviews with the older
students, who were more relaxed and expressed their thoughts in a more coherent and
sophisticated manner, the younger students proved to be more bewildered, a little cautious
and the interview progressed in a ―question and direct short answer‖ manner, without
expanding much on their statements and thoughts. However, in both cases the interviews
proved to be very informative and successful, thus shedding light upon the issues involved.
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Results for Question 1 “Do you like English?”
All the interviewees state that they like English as a foreign language; nevertheless, more
proficient students hold more positive attitudes towards English and towards learning
English. With regard to the interviewees with a lower level of proficiency, there is a kind
of restraint and confusion, as they find it very difficult to learn English, though they
acknowledge the importance of knowing English and express a desire to learn it.
It becomes apparent that young students are more enthusiastic about English and
report liking it very much. As P5 says: ―I am not good at English at all, I always get low
marks, and I do not attend a private FL centre, but, anyway, I like English very much and I
know how important it is and I realise that I should learn it”.
The older students, in contrast, do not express much enthusiasm and affection for
English but, at the same time, they are more conscious about the importance of English. In
some cases, the respondents‘ answers are that they do not really like English and do not
spend much time on it, but they attend private FL centres and learn English because they
feel that they have to, initially since it is their parents‘ wish and later on because they
acknowledge the benefits that the adequate knowledge of English would bring them. On
the other hand, there are cases in which the respondents express their affection for English
and how much they enjoy learning and speaking it.
With regard to gender differences, it becomes apparent that in the case of the young
students, girls have more positive attitudes towards English, but in the case of the older
students, there are no marked gender differences. What is more, in the latter case, both
boys and girls have a more mature and better formed opinion about English and its
importance. All the young girls, for example, state that they like English, enjoy listening to
English songs, attend a private FLC, etc. In the case of the older girls, though, some do not
sound so enthusiastic and interested in English. Nevertheless, the results of the interviews
209
show that older students, albeit less enthusiastic about English, attach greater importance
to English and more clearly perceive the benefits of knowing English.
It becomes apparent that more proficient learners, irrespective of their age or gender,
have more positive attitudes towards English; they seem to have a wider outlook and more
experience of using English outside the school, factors which have helped them realise the
importance of English and spurred their motivation. One can see the difference between
those who have the opportunity to practice English, speak English, and use English as a
means of communication, and those who still learn English without any practical
implication; the change in the latter‘s attitude and motivation is quite drastic and almost
palpable. This means that the best way to motivate young learners to learn English is to put
them into real-life communication situations in which they can use English for successful
communication with different people. This experience will inspire to them to learn
English. The following excerpt from the interview with P2 will provide a brilliant example
of such a change;
I: Last summer, though, we were staying at a hotel in Chalkidiki and there was a family
with two children of my age from England and another family with children from Spain, so
we played together a lot and spoke English a lot and it helped me very much.
R: How did it help you?
I: I started to speak English more easily; I enjoyed talking English and making friends
with foreigners.
Results for Question 2 “Which is your main reason for learning English?”
The majority of the interviewees, independent of their age, gender and proficiency level,
respond that they want to attain an English language proficiency certificate as well as to
have a better job in the future. However, two primary school female interviewees (P11 and
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P6) and four interviewees from the LSS (S13, S2, S4 and S11) report that they are learning
English primarily because they like it as a foreign language and enjoy listening to songs in
English; they want to be able to understand the lyrics.
The boys‘ motivation, in contrast, is clearly more instrumental. What is more, the
boys are more inclined to learn English to be able to communicate in English with
different people and to use English on the Internet. The interviews reveal that the boys,
irrespective of their age, are more open to communication in English both personally and
via the Internet.
It becomes evident that the students‘ motivation cannot be characterised strictly as
instrumental or integrative; two seemingly opposing types of motivation seem to blend
together. In many cases, their main reason for learning English is to be able to
communicate with different people, to travel and to make friends. For instance, P9 states,
―Well, first of all I want to be a good specialist. I want to become an architect like my
father and I believe that if you want to travel abroad for your personal or professional
matters, you must know English, because you can communicate with so many different
people.‖
Of course, the desire to learn English to be able to get a better job is more frequently
expressed. For example, P2 is certain about his main reason to learn English, ―Well, I want
to grow up and to have a good job. My father has a good job, he knows English, he travels
a lot and he always says that English is very important for my future.”
What is more, parental influence on the students‘ attitudes and motivation are
evident among young students, whereas the older students report not being affected by
their parents in their motivation to learn English. Nevertheless, they point out that in the
very beginning, it was because of their parents‘ wish and persistence that they started
learning English (S11); however, later on they develop their own intrinsic motivational
211
drives to learn English. Here an excerpt from the interview with P10 is presented
(R=researcher, I=interviewee);
I: Well, English is very important. It is a common language.
R: Do you feel the need to learn it?
I: Yes, I know that I should learn English, my parents want me to, but I find it difficult to
learn. The above conversation clearly denotes the extent to which parental opinion affects
the students‘ attitudes and motivation.
Results for Question 3 “Do you like your English accent? Why?”
From a synopsis of all the interview responses, it can be deduced that in the majority of
cases, the respondents are not satisfied with their accent and feel that they need to improve
it as much as possible. To the question about which accent they prefer the most, the answer
is almost unanimous – American English. The majority of the respondents are aware of the
differences between British English and American English and express their strong
preference for American English as it is easier for them to understand and to speak. What
is more, young students are more particular about acquiring a better accent – preferably
close to American English.
Results for Question 4 “How important is it for you to know English well for your future
career?”
The desire to learn English for better opportunities in a future career is more intense
among the older students, both boys and girls irrespective of their proficiency level (S10,
S13, S3), whereas young students are not concerned much about their future career; their
motivation to a greater extent carries the trace of parental influence as well as their
immediate desire to obtain an English language certificate. As S7 makes clear; ―Look, I

212
have not decided yet what exactly I will choose. Of course, I know that it will be in the field
of applied sciences, but I know for sure that in any case I will have to know English well,
because I want to become a serious specialist and I suppose it entails participation in
international conferences, meetings, workgroups and I need to know English to be able to
communicate and participate”. In contrast, P10 stated the following; ―I do not know yet
about my future career, sometimes I want to be a singer, another day I feel that I will be a
good teacher…English, well, it will be useful for sure, I suppose so, it is useful now
everywhere, and we need to learn it…I attend a FLC and now my main objective is to
attain a language certificate and to get good marks at school”. These two contrasting
statements present the general picture of the responses within the two age groups. Of
course, the difference in age plays a great role; in three years‘ time, students become more
mature and begin thinking more seriously about their future careers.
Results for Question 5 “What is your opinion about the English lessons at school?” and
Question 6 “What is your opinion about the English lessons at the private foreign
language schools?”
Unfortunately, the attitudes towards English lessons at school are very negative across
both age groups. Those who attend a private FL centre are very critical of the English
teaching at school in terms of the great number of students per classroom, lack of authentic
materials and ―interesting‖ coursebooks, insufficient hours of English instruction per
week, mixed proficiency level classes which make the lessons unproductive, and so on.
However, the greater part of the criticism is from the older students; the younger students,
being somewhat troubled and feeling insecure, try not to be critical and do not to express
themselves. Due to their age, they are more cautious in the presence of the researcher – a
complete stranger to them. As P15 confesses; ―How can I know that you will not tell my
213
teacher or the headmaster about this? I saw you talking to them during the break….Oh
yes, I know that everything is confidential….anyway, I am satisfied with the English
lessons at school, everything is fine”.
Nevertheless, there are very smart students among the younger ones, who have very
mature and well-formed ideas about certain issues. For example, the answer given by P14
is very astute and all-embracing; ―There is a very big difference. I think first of all, it is the
matter of attitude; at school, nobody cares about the lesson, it is very boring and we just
kill time. At FLC, we are more attentive and try to learn as much as possible. I am not
sure, but when I started attending the FLC, I remember myself trying to do my best, to
learn something, because I wanted my parents to be proud of me. I realised that they paid
for my studies; I didn’t want to fail them. At school, though, we do not have the same
feeling.”
What is more, the most frequent definition used to describe English lessons at school
is ―boring‖, especially expressed by those who also receive out-of-school English language
tuition. On the contrary, the attitudes towards English language learning in private FL
centres are very positive across the two cohorts, irrespective of their proficiency level and
gender. Even those who do not attend a private FL centre at the given moment are very
positive and they try to emphasise by all means that they are going to start attending a
private FL centre at the beginning of the next school-year. The reasons given for favouring
English lessons at a private FL centres more than at school are the following; smaller
number of students, better coursebooks and authentic materials, ―better‖ teachers,
abundant use of modern technologies, homogeneous classes, individual approach and so
forth.
In the majority of cases, Question 7–which tackled the respondents‘ opinion about
learning English as being boring–is not asked separately as the previous discussion on the
214
students‘ opinion about learning English at school evidently involves the discussion
whether or not learning English is boring.
Results for Question 8 “Do you have friends/acquaintances from countries where English
is a mother tongue (e.g. the UK, the USA, Canada, etc.)?”
The majority of the respondents do not have any friends or acquaintances from NS
countries; however, many of them report having distant relatives in the USA, Canada or
Australia and they communicate (via the Internet) primarily in English. Boys, irrespective
of their age, report communicating with native speakers of English when playing on-line
games but they clarify that the process of playing is prioritised and they do not pay much
attention to where their counterparts are from. Few respondents report having met and
communicated with NS tourists during their holidays (S8). One respondent (S4) reports
that she has private English classes at home with a NS tutor and is extremely satisfied with
the experience of being taught by a NS teacher and she believes that her success in
learning English and attaining the Lower certificate is due to that experience. There are
many cases in which the respondents have friends/acquaintances on Facebook with whom
they chat in English.
Results for Question 9 “Do you have friends/acquaintances from countries where English
is spoken as a foreign language (e.g. Germany, Russia, China, Serbia, etc.)?”
In the case of NNS communication, the majority of the interviewees report having friends
and acquaintances from different countries; what is more, the default language of
communication between them is, of course, English. Few are the cases in which the
respondents communicate personally with their friends; in the majority of cases the
communication between them takes place on the Web, especially on social networks such
215
as Facebook. Boys report communicating with NNSs of English from all over the world
when playing on-line games.
It should be stressed that the topic of on-line games is very authentic and emerges
during almost every interview. When asked to describe what such kind of communication
entailed, the boys explain that they usually interchange short comments when playing; they
also report using very simple English; very often they use informal and even insulting
words and expressions; some of the respondents report sometimes going beyond the limits
of the game and chatting for a while with their playmates. All the male respondents stress
that they rarely disable the chat window when playing and they always exchange a word or
two with their counterparts. Needless to say, the language of their on-line gaming
communication is inevitably English.
Results for Question 10 “How often do you use English outside the classroom on a daily
basis (listening to music, watching films, browsing the Internet, talking to
foreigners/tourists)?”
The results of the interviews show that English forms a considerable part of the students‘
everyday lives. The most frequent use of English across the two age groups and genders is
on the Internet; to be more specific, Social Networking Sites (SNSs) such as Facebook are
mentioned as the main source of communication in English. What is more, as stated above,
boys report using English considerably when playing on-line games; however, the English
they use is extremely primitive, encompassing phrases or short sentences, such as I bet I
win! You loser! Unfair! Dirty game! I will win next time! You better not play with me… I
smash you! Nice game! and the like.
Girls, on the other hand, use English not only on the social networks and the Internet
but also to listen to songs in English, watch movies, etc. It becomes clear that everybody
216
irrespective of their age, gender and proficiency level interacts with English on a daily
basis. Of course, more proficient learners make more extensive use of English and are
more self-confident; they interact in English with different people in person or via the
Internet, they watch films, read books, and so on.
P3, for example, gives an interesting answer; ―Well, sometimes I talk with my friends
in English. In this way, we try to improve our English. It is like a game, we imagine that
we are foreign tourists here (giggling). I listen to songs, watch films”. This example shows
that a group of young female learners decide to use their imagination and role-play to
practice and to improve their English. In the interviewee‘s words, that is quite a useful and
interesting experience which actually helps them a lot.
Results for Question 11 “What is your opinion about the role that English plays today in
the world?”
The most frequent answer to this question is ―English is a common language‖; by this the
majority of the respondents mean that English is a language that is spoken by different
people, for example, when they travel or meet visitors to Greece. The respondents prove to
be well-informed and exemplify the use of English as a common language; for instance
(P3): ―People use English during important political meetings; people do business in
different countries and speak English in order to understand each other better; when there
are international contests…. like, let’s say, Miss Universe or Eurovision, they always use
English in the official programme as well as unofficially, when the participants from all
over the world speak English to each other”. It can be assumed, therefore, that the notion
of English as an international language consciously or subconsciously has been integrated
into the students‘ perception of English and their daily usage.

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English is also perceived as a language of success and international
acknowledgement. For instance, P9 states the following; ―Well, I believe that today if
someone really wants to be successful in his business, art or whatever profession, he must
know and speak English. If you really want to be known abroad as well. For example, if I
want to be a successful architect, to be known outside my country as well or to go and to
study abroad, or to participate in an important conference, whatever it is, I will need
English”. More succinct answers were also provided (S7 ―It is a very special foreign
language because it is learned by everyone”), but the length of the given answers in no
way changes the essence – everyone states that English is a common (well-
known/global/international/important/etc.) language learned and spoken by almost
everyone in the world.
Results for Question 12 “Do you believe that English teaching materials should primarily
be focused upon the NSs and the countries where English a native language? Why?”and
Question 13 “Do you believe that English teaching materials should contain topics about
different countries and nations? Why?”
In response to these two questions, the interviewees‘ opinions are not as unanimous as in
previous cases. A strong attachment to NS-biased content in their learning materials is
observable among young interviewees, who think that it would be better to learn things
about English speaking countries as long as their language, English, is concerned; just the
same way as they respectively learn about France when they learn French and about
Germany when they learn German. One of the interviewees (P4) declares: ―I think it is not
fair! I know that all Greek language coursebooks focus on materials exclusively dedicated
to Greece and the Greek people; and I would not be very happy to know that Greek
language coursebooks contained materials about other countries and people. Following
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the same logic, I believe that it would be fair that English language books contained stuff
about, uum let’s say, the UK or the USA or Australia”. It should be mentioned, however,
that neither gender nor proficiency level has a significant impact on the respondents‘
attitudes.
Age, in contrast, affects the interviewees‘ attitudes towards the NS-NNS-biased
content in their English course books. The older respondents are more inclined to read and
learn about different nations and people. To be more specific, the main tendency among
the older students is the desire to have more up-to-date content related to actual problems
of youth worldwide, sports, AIDS, media, innovations, among others. As many of the
interviewees confess, they are tired of the standard content related to geography, culture,
traditions, sightseeing and the like; they want something that will spark their interest,
independent of whether the content is NS-biased or NNS-biased.
The short interviews prove to be very productive and informative as they shed light
on important issues such as the learners‘ attitudes towards English and their primary
motivation to learn it. The findings of the qualitative study solidify and enrich the findings
of the questionnaire survey and show how the variables of age, gender and proficiency
level affect the learners‘ motivation and attitudes. To be more specific, the results of the
interviews make it obvious that in general the learners hold positive attitudes towards
English and are motivated to learn it primarily for instrumental needs.
The results of the study show that, in general, the respondents‘ attitudes and motivation to
learn English are considerably high across both age groups. Girls, however, show more
positive attitudes and a higher level of motivation as is the case in the majority of studies
conducted in this field. With regard to the proficiency level, the results show that the
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higher the learners‘ proficiency, the higher their motivation and more positive their
attitudes are to learn English. The underlying factors extracted from the
attitude/motivational subscales demonstrate that the learners prioritise the pragmatic
benefits that the knowledge of English brings. Nevertheless, they are open to travel and
communication with not only NSs of English but also people from different countries and
backgrounds, a view which implies that they are also motivated to learn English for their
international communication.
In sum, it can be said that the most influential independent variable that affects the
learners‘ attitudes and motivation is age, which affects almost all of the attitude/motivation
factors. However, the effect of proficiency level on the learners‘ attitudes and motivation
should not be undervalued as it proves to influence the majority of factors as well. Gender,
in contrast, comes as the least influential variable in the study, a finding which seems quite
logical taking into consideration the examined language – English, which has become a
universal tool for international communication regardless of gender.
The results of the qualitative study corroborates and enriches the results of the
quantitative study and sheds a brighter light on such issues as the learners‘ real-life use of
English as a media of international communication, a matter that is not so profoundly
evident through a survey questionnaire. The results of the interviews reveal that the
learners acknowledge the role of English in the world and have incorporated English into
their daily communication (predominantly on the Internet). Therefore, the vast majority of
learners report using English as an international language frequently enough on the
Internet, especially on the on-line games and social networking sites.
Furthermore, a more detailed discussion of the findings of the quantitative and the
qualitative studies will be further considered in Chapter 7, which will provide well-
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grounded responses to the research questions as well as a plausible interpretation of the
research findings.
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CHAPTER 7
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
7.1 Introduction
This chapter will discuss the findings of the study in relation to the four research questions
that have been initially posited. What is more, the effects of the three independent
variables of age, gender and proficiency level on attitude/motivational factors will be
discussed, parallels with similar studies will be drawn and, thereafter, an attempt will be
made to identify and to discuss the context-specific divergences and peculiarities.
The discussion will also develop around EIL and whether the findings of the study
confirm or reject the assumption that the notion of EIL has been to some extent
incorporated into the everyday in-class and out-of-class reality of Greek EFL students thus
answering the fourth research question. In other words, an attempt will be made to reveal
to what extent the students prefer to cling to NS norms or to integrate EIL into their
English language learning. What is more, there will be an attempt to answer the question
posited in the title of the thesis whether English is a foreign or an international language.
This chapter will be organised according to the order in which the research questions
have been posited: first, the impact of age on attitude/motivational factors; second, the
impact of gender; third, the impact of proficiency level; and fourth, the question whether
English is perceived as a FL or an IL in the Greek context will be discussed in relation to
the findings of the study. The discussion will also be extended to the attitude/motivational
variables and their impact on the students‘ perceptions and motivation. Furthermore, the
socio-educational profile of the sample that participated in this study will be outlined; its
peculiarities and some noteworthy features will be discussed. In other words, the profile of
Greek EFL students aged 12 and 15 will be delineated. Lastly, the chapter will conclude
several suggestions and pedagogical implications.

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7.2 The Impact of Age on Students’ Attitudes and Motivation
The results of the study revealed that the independent variable of age was the most
influential factor affecting the students‘ attitudes and motivation. It emerges in almost all
the attitude/motivational factors as significantly affecting the dependent variables. The
findings in the present study show that as in many similar studies, young students have
more positive attitudes and higher levels of motivation to learn English across almost all
the attitude/motivation factors (Alabau, 2002; Burstall, 1975; Ghenghesh, 2010; Nikolov,
1999; Tragant, 2006) (for more details see 3.7.2).
The findings of this study show quite plainly that young students are more positively
disposed towards English, learning English, the native speakers of English and the
countries where English is spoken as a mother tongue. With regard to motivation factors,
young students seem to desire to learn English for a plethora of reasons: utilitarian
purposes, future benefits, interest in the cultures of foreign countries and desire to travel
and communicate with people from all over the world.
Motivation decreases with age and attitudes become more negative (Alabau, 2002;
Burstall, 1975; Masgoret et al., 2001; Nikolov, 1999; Tragant, 2006; Vrettou, 2009, 2011
among others). This empirically tested statement falls in line with the findings of the
present study. Of course, the reasons that lie behind such a decrease and lack of concern
may be different depending on specific contexts and/or cohorts. In this study, in particular,
the main source of decrease of students‘ initial enthusiasm and desire to learning English
at school is attendance at private FLL centres, which provide better learning conditions
and wider opportunities to them. The results of the quantitative study show that almost all
the respondents agree that learning English at school was boring. The mean scores for the
older students are much higher which means that the older students are much less
interested in learning English at school. The same is stated by almost every LSS
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interviewee during the interviews. What is more, the school programme, in general,
becomes more sophisticated and complicated for the older students, while in the private
FLL schools English language classes are more intensive. Furthermore English language
instruction at school corresponds neither to the certification exam requirements nor to the
needs of the older students.
Of course, psycho-physiological factors should be taken into account as well,
because at the age of 14-15 there is a general sense of denial and rebellion among students
(Deubelbeiss, 2010). This drastic change is particularly noticeable among girls (see 6.3,
6.4, 6.5), quite an interesting finding.
During the interviews, it was noticed that young students were much more
enthusiastic and willing to learn English (see 6.9), nevertheless, it must be pointed out that
parents‘ and teachers‘ influence and other external factors such as the school programme
or the impact of classmates were much stronger in the case of young students (see 6.5.4).
This is quite natural, as due to their age, young students are more affected by their parents
and being emotionally attached to their teachers, they are more willing to please them and
to keep up with their classmates.
With regard to age-related differences in the students‘ perceptions of English as an
international language of communication, it can be deduced that young students are more
open to the idea of EIL, i.e. to the idea of using English for making friends with people of
different nationalities, for travelling and communicating with different people, learning
new things about different cultures, and so on. The interview responses show that the older
students also realise the benefits of knowing English well and feel the urge to learn it. It is
at this point that the main difference between the two cohorts is found as the younger
students‘ motivation is much more extrinsic, that is they do not feel the inner drive to learn
English. Indeed, they feel the necessity to please their parents or to keep up with their
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classmates but not the urge to learn English for better job opportunities, career
advancement or greater access to international market as much as the older students do.
Another factor that is greatly affected by the students‘ age is their proficiency level.
The results of the QPT show that the proficiency level of the majority of the PS students at
the end of Grade 6 corresponds to A2 level which is in line with the recommendations of
the Ministry of Education and CEFR guidelines. Nevertheless, in the case of the older
students, although the required proficiency level is set at B1 level by the Ministry of
Education, the results indicate that the vast majority of the students are at A2 level, which
is obviously not a very encouraging result. Therefore, it becomes clear that the decrease in
motivation among the older students also affects their language proficiency level
negatively.
As we see in Table 6.4, 57.9% of LSS students currently attend private FLCs as
compared to 75.6% of PS students. Nevertheless, the number is quite high and reasoning
from this, it could be expected that the LSS students should have demonstrated better
outcomes and higher proficiency levels. What is more, those attending private FLCs
should be getting prepared to sit for the First Certificate exam by the end of the school
year. Nevertheless, despite all the above mentioned facts, the LSS students‘ proficiency
level is lower than the recommended standard, findings which once again denote that the
decline in motivation among the LSS students affects their language learning outcomes.
In addition, some respondents in off-the-record conversations state that they earned
the First Certificate in the previous year or in the beginning of the school year and so they
do not need to dedicate time to English any more. This fact shows the extent to which
Greek students‘ motivation is exam-oriented and hence language proficiency certificate
attainment is considered by them much important than acquisition of knowledge.

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Therefore, this kind of motivation could be labelled exam-oriented instrumental
motivation.
7.3 The Impact of Gender on Students’ Attitudes and Motivation
The findings of the research show that gender does not play a crucial role in students‘
attitudes towards English and their motivation to learn it. In general, studies have shown
that girls are more motivated and have more positive attitudes towards TL and language
learning, and language learning is always viewed as a ―female‖ subject (Clark &
Trafford, 1995). What is more, boys are considered to be less motivated to learn foreign
languages (Clark & Trafford, 1995).
Nevertheless, the results of this study indicate that the above statements are not valid
for the examined sample as boys especially the younger ones have positive attitudes and
are equally motivated to learn English. The results confirm that the assumption made by
Dörnyei and Clément (2001) that English appears to be gender-neutral can be applied to
this study as well. This fact shows that in the case of English, gender differences in
attitudes and motivation are diminished as English as a lingua franca or a language of a
wider international communication is considered very important by everyone, irrespective
of gender.
Nonetheless, it must be stressed that some significant gender-related differences
have been found with regard to different attitude/motivation variables. For instance, the
boys, irrespective of their age, show more positive attitudes towards the use of English for
ICT and the Internet, while girls significantly outscore boys in their desire to learn English
for travel and communication purposes. Here it is very important to underline the immense
importance that the boys attach to the use of English for computers and the Internet. The
findings of the qualitative study confirm the above statement, as the boys, irrespective of
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their age, are quite positively disposed towards the use of English on the Internet, more
specifically, the vast majority report that they use English very frequently for on-line
gaming and chat in Social Networking Sites (SNS) such as Facebook. The interviews, in
general, reveal that boys show an incomparably high rate of use of English on the Internet.
As opposed to boys, girls are not as attached to ICT and the Internet; they favour
using English for communication and travel, listening to songs and reading books in
English more.
An assumption can be drawn that the boys in this particular study could quite justly
be considered so-called digital natives, as they manifest the characteristic features that
digital natives possess. The term ―digital native‖ is a rather novel concept and
characterises the N [for Net]-gen or D [for Digital]-gen students, who represent the first
generations to grow up surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music
players, video cams, etc. (Prenski, 2001; Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). Prenski (2001, p. 1)
states: ―Our students today are all ‗native speakers‘ of the digital language of computers,
video games and the Internet‖. Prenski (2001) considers the older generation of instructors
and parents as well as those who have not been, for some reason, integrated into the new
technology era digital immigrants.
Nevertheless, the digital native vs. digital immigrant dichotomy was strongly
criticised especially on the premise that digital nativeness could not be determined by age
(Bennett, Maton & Kervin, 2008; Helsper & Enyon, 2009; Hockly, 2011; Williamson &
Hague, 2009).
In the present study, in the case of the boys, it is evident that one could speak about
the emergence of digital natives, but this statement would not be valid for the girls yet.
Therefore, it is considered more appropriate to use the distinction suggested by White and
Le Cornu (2011) which will better represent the given situation. White and Le Cornu
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(2011) make a distinction between a) the Residents- those who live a percentage of their
lives online and for whom web supports the projection of their identity and b) the Visitors-
individuals who use the web as a tool in an organized manner. They have a focused need
to use the web but do not ―reside‖ there.
Consequently, in this study, the boys can be characterised as web Residents and the
girls as web visitors. Such results come to support the idea that age and gender cannot be
defining factors in determining the extent of digital nativeness.
Of course, the concept is very innovative and no studies have attempted to
investigate the aspects of age or gender with regard to the newly emerging phenomenon,
but based on the findings of the quantitative and the qualitative data, it becomes obvious
that boys have already been integrated into the digital era and become digital natives,
while girls are still on the threshold.
Such a great attachment to the technologies and the Internet (in this sample, in
particular) can be attributed mainly to on-line computer gaming. The boys, irrespective of
their age, are extremely enthusiastic about on-line gaming and they are willing to talk
about it, to describe the games that play, to provide examples of their use of English during
the game (as they explain, many on-line games provide on-line chat and they always have
their chat turned on to communicate with their counterparts or game partners). Girls, on
the other hand, limit their use of modern technologies to listening to music (mp3 players,
mobile phone players, etc.) and using SNSs for communication, but their attachment and
enthusiasm is markedly weak.
Such assumptions could be underpinned by a study conducted in the sixth grade of
primary school in Greece by Papachristou (2013), who examined learners‘, teachers‘ and
school headmasters‘ attitudes towards the use of ICT in English language learning. The
results of her study show that an overwhelming majority of the learners use computers on a
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daily basis, and have very positive attitudes towards the use of ICT during their English
lessons. What is more, Papachristou posits that boys‘ attitudes towards and attachment to
ICT are much higher than that of girls‘. With regard to the teachers‘ attitudes towards the
use of ICT during English classes, the feelings are not very positive and a considerable
number of the teachers believe that the introduction of ICT to language classrooms creates
complications for them. The majority of the teachers express their preference for printed
materials.
Papachristou‘s study is certainly an indication that, in the Greek context, apart from
web Residents and Visitors irrespective of age and gender we can also encounter situations
when digital immigrant teachers face digital native learners of English in their classrooms
(Prenski, 2001).
The results of another study in the Greek context (Koutsoyiannis, 2011) showed that
males (Greek state and private school learners aged 14-16) outscored females with regard
to such issues as the possession of a PC at home, having access to the Internet,
downloading music and what is more important and relevant to the findings of the present
study, playing on-line games.
Yet another study by Rothoni (2010) in the Greek context, examined the informal
English literacy practices of 14-16-year-old teenagers. By adopting a social view of
literacy, the study was aimed to explore the nature of literacy practices, the role of new
technologies and the interrelation between in- and out-of-school literacy. the findings of
the study show that Greek teenagers very often engage in various types of English literacy
practices in the majority of cases, the use of modern technologies and their most
interactive applications (e.g. online chatting). This study did not look into the variables of
gender or age rather than social variables such as parental class positioning, family
strategies and attitudes, wealth and access to resources as having a direct influence on the
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Greek teenagers English literacy practices. Nevertheless, this study is yet another indicator
of abundant technology-mediated English language use, which brings us back to the idea
of digital natives.
With regard to the interrelation of age and gender, it should be pointed out that as
mentioned in section 7.2, girls‘ motivation decreases with age more drastically than the
boys‘ and this is a rather interesting finding. The results show that, for instance, in cases
such as the students‘ general attitudes towards learning English, school-related attitudes
towards learning English and attitudes towards the UK and the English people, girls
initially have more positive attitudes towards the dependent variables but with age, the
girls‘ attitudes become much more negative than those of the boys‘. This was quite an
interesting finding and has provoked great interest in examining the underlying reasons for
such a drastic change in the girls‘ attitudes, which could be a new line of investigation.
Nevertheless, such issues fall outside the scope of the present study.
The same tendency is noticed in the case of external pressure; in this case, however,
younger boys are initially much more affected by the external factors such as parental
influence or school programme; however, with age, their attitudes towards the external
factors become more negative than those of the girls‘.
With regard to the impact of gender on students‘ proficiency level, it is evident that,
unlike other studies in which females are better language students and are, overall, more
proficient language learners (Hansheng, 2009), especially in the initial stage of language
learning, no significant differences have been traced in this particular sample. This finding
once more confirms the fact that English language proficiency is considered highly
essential for everyone, irrespective of gender, because English in turn is perceived as a
universal communicative tool.

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7.4 The Impact of Proficiency Level on Students’ Attitudes and Motivation
As presented in Chapter 6, the students‘ proficiency level has a significant effect on their
attitudes and motivation. Students that are more proficient have more positive attitudes
related to ICT, personal enjoyment and learning English in general. What is more, more
proficient students are more motivated to learn English for travel and communication and
instrumental purposes. In contrast, the students with a lower proficiency level display more
positive school-related attitudes towards learning English.
Here, it becomes evident that the more proficient the students are, the more positive
their general attitudes towards learning English are, but when it comes to learning English
at school, their attitudes become much more negative and the vice versa. This difference
can be explained by the fact that more proficient students are not satisfied with English
language teaching at school as their proficiency level is considerably high and the school
programme does not comply with it. Such tendencies have been observed during the
interviews as well when more proficient students express their dissatisfaction with the
school programme, the teaching materials, the overcrowded classrooms, and so on.
The findings of this study somehow contradict the findings of Dörnyei‘s study
(1990) in which he postulates that instrumentally motivated students are more likely to be
on the intermediate level and those who have integrative motivation are likely to be more
proficient. In the present study, in contrast, more proficient students are both
instrumentally and integratively motivated. By saying integrative, one should keep in mind
the Dörnyeirian definition of the term, which in this study implicitly corresponds to the
factor labelled travel and communication. The interviews also reveal that more proficient
students are more open to the idea of EIL, of using English as a tool for a better career as
well as for travel and communication.

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During the interviews, it has been observed that the more proficient students are, in
general, more positively disposed towards English and learning English; they enjoy the
language and use it. The quantitative data verify this fact as the statistical analysis shows
that there is a significant difference between the proficient and less proficient students with
regard to the factor of personal enjoyment. This finding does not come as a surprise as the
proficient students have already overcome the painstaking stages of foreign language
acquisition, have become more self-confident and, therefore, have started to enjoy the
process of speaking and using the language. In contrast, the less proficient students are
more affected by external factors such as parents, friends, school programme, etc. as they
lack self-confidence and have not yet developed internal affective drives to learn and to
use the language. This finding seems to correspond entirely to Coleman‘s (1996, p. 99)
statement: ―the better you become, the more you enjoy it, and the more you enjoy it, the
better you get it‖.
7.5 Attitude/Motivational Variables
As explained in Chapter 6, the items within attitude/motivational subsets have been factor
analysed and clustered in different variables. In the first subset on attitudes towards
English three factors have been extracted – instrumental, ICT-related and personal
enjoyment.
ICT-related attitudes have very low mean score (see Table 6.10), which means that
that the respondents‘ attitudes towards the use of English for ICT and the Internet are very
positive. It has been discussed in the previous section (see 7.4) that this variable is
particularly essential with regard to gender differences. It should be pointed out that it has
not been the main purpose of this study to perform an in-depth investigation of the
students‘ ICT-related attitudes and, thus, several items are included in the questionnaire for
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the reason of just exploring the students‘ attitudes towards the use of English for the
Internet and computers. Nevertheless, the high rate of this factor and the extremely
positive attitudes towards it, especially among boys, make it necessary to look more deeply
into this matter and to give due importance to it.
It becomes apparent that in this particular sample, we can trace the features of the N-
Gen (Net Generation) (see 8.3.), and the following definition by Kvavik, (2005) can be
accurately applied to the sample examined in this study; Kvavik (2005, p. 1) maintains:
―The new generation possesses unprecedented levels of skill with information technology;
they think about and use technology very differently from earlier student cohorts‖. With
this observation in mind, it becomes mandatory to revise the existing language teaching
pedagogies which will be able to respond adequately to the needs of the N-Gen. Therefore,
some pedagogical implications and recommendations in this respect will be put forward
later in this chapter.
The factor instrumental attitudes recorded an average mean score (see Table 6.8),
which denotes that the respondents‘ attitudes towards the utilitarian benefits of learning
and knowing English are neutral. In contrast, the responses to items related to personal
enjoyment are quite negative and this observation has already been discussed in relation to
age, gender and proficiency level (see sections 8.2, 8.3 and 8.4).
With regard to the scale on attitudes towards learning English, two distinct groups of
attitudes have been identified – in the first group, attitudes related to learning English
specifically at school are clustered, while the other cluster contains items on attitudes
related to learning English in general. This distinction is astonishingly clear-cut and the
mean scores are exactly the same for both groups (see Tables 6.15 and 6.17), a finding
which indicates that the respondents‘ attitudes in both cases are quite neutral. This fact
shows that the students have developed, on one hand, special attitudes towards learning
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English at school, and on the other hand, attitudes towards learning English in general.
This tendency reappears in the finding that learning English at school does not correspond
to their expectations and their understanding of learning English in general, and illustrates
the reason that there are two clear-cut distinct groups of attitudes.
Among the factors produced within the motivational subset, the factor international
travel and communication is worth a special consideration and an extended discussion.
This factor contains items which refer to communication with both native speakers and
non-native speakers of English and travel to countries where English is a mother tongue
and where English is a foreign language. This factor subsumes motivational orientation
similar to a factor labelled travel in Clément and Kruidiner‘s (1983) study and, at the same
time, it contains features of factors intercultural friendship orientation and travel and
passive socio-cultural defined by Yashima (2000). The mean score for this factor is quite
low (see Table 6.21) which means that the students are strongly motivated to learn English
to be able to travel and to communicate in English internationally.
The emergence of such a factor shows that, unlike Warden and Lin‘s (2003) study on
which they fail to identify integrative motivation in the Taiwanese EFL context, in this
study we can trace the pattern of integrative motivation but it should be stressed that
integrative motivation should be viewed in its modern interpretation (see sections 3.3 and
3.4), i.e. integration is defined as ―integration with the global community rather than
assimilation with native speakers‖ (McClelland, 2000, p. 109). Therefore, here as well
integration is viewed as a desire to travel, to communicate and, generally, to integrate with
the world society without any particular TL group. What is more, the emergence of such a
factor indicates that the respondents do not isolate the native-speakers of English as a
target group with which they would like to identify or communicate; on the contrary, the
respondents wish to communicate with people from all over the world.
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Although many relevant studies have established that in World English reality and,
particularly, in many FL contexts there is a frequent blurring of integrative/instrumental
motivation (Dörnyei, 1990; 1994; Kimura, Nakata, & Okumura, 2001; Lamb, 2004; and
others), the findings of this study show that there is a definite distinction between
instrumental and ―integrative‖ motivation (one should always keep in mind that
―integrative‖ motivation is presented in its modern re-conceptualised sense).
Nevertheless, one item in the factor international travel and communication [I want
to study abroad (see 6.21)] should have logically found its place within the factor
instrumental motivation as it is obvious that the desire to learn English to be able to study
abroad is a purely utilitarian reason. What is more, in many relevant studies, this item is
traditionally found in the factor instrumental motivation (Dörnyei, 1990; Yashima, 2000;
Kimura et al., 2001; Takagi, 2003). In an attempt to identify similar findings in other
relevant studies, it has been observed that the phenomenon is unique and the emergence of
this item outside a factor related to the utilitarian reason is really quite unexpected and
novel. This phenomenon has been extensively discussed and an assumption has been made
that due to the fact that the respondents (or at least half of them) are quite young, the
notion of ―study abroad‖ is not especially associated with the material benefits which
studying abroad entails but rather with the actual experience of leaving the hometown and
travelling to another country. Therefore, the students at this age initially perceive studying
abroad as a means of travelling and communicating, they probably do not give much
consideration to the very process of learning and the benefits which studying abroad might
bring.
Unlike the factor Interest in Anglo/American culture defined by Yashima (2000), in
which all items reflected the respondents‘ interest in and desire for identification with
Anglo-American cultures considered by Yashima (2000) to be most similar one with

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Gardner‘s integrative orientation, in this study, the factor labelled cultural interest has
been identified, which shows the respondents‘ interest in cultures of native speakers/their
countries as well as in those of non-native speakers/their countries. The fact that Greek
respondents desire to learn through English more things about native speakers as well as
non-native speakers of English, their cultures, customs and ways of living clearly indicates
that the respondents have a broader international outlook and are not attached to native
speaker norms to the extent that it has initially been expected, based on the findings of
other relevant studies (see sections 3.3 and 3.4).
The factor labelled instrumental motivation has the lowest mean scores in the subset
(see Table 6.8), which means that the respondents are motivated to learn English for
utilitarian reasons most of all. Thus, in this case, such a finding falls in line with those of
other studies that in many FL contexts instrumental motivation can be a better predictor of
success in L2 learning (e.g. Dörnyei, 1990, Oxford & Shearin, 1994, Warden & Lin,
2000).
One item within the factor instrumental motivation (see 6.20) [I want to attain an
English language proficiency certificate] is worth a special consideration as it renders
quite interesting results. The calculated frequencies show that the vast majority of
respondents (around 90%) strongly agree or agree to this statement. If we look at another
item within the subscale instrumental attitudes [I believe if I have any English language
certificate I will be more successful in future (see Table 5.1)], which is also strongly
agreed upon by the vast majority of the respondents, it becomes clear that the Greek EFL
students attach tremendous importance to the attainment of an English language
proficiency certificate. This statement is, of course, verified by the extremely high number
of students who attend private FLCs (see section 7.2), as well as the fact that the vast
majority of the respondents report having had first EFL experience in private FLCs, which
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are strictly exam-oriented and guarantee attainment of a proficiency certificate on the
completion of the relevant courses. This immense popularity of private FLCs has been
extensively discussed in section 5.2., and the findings of the study corroborate this fact.
The findings of the qualitative study have also revealed the respondents‘ ―excessive‖
desire to attain a certificate as an end in itself, in the majority of cases. In this case, it is
obvious that the role of parents is substantial as in the majority of cases it is the parents‘
strong desire that their children attain a proficiency certificate. Of course, the parents‘
desire is not groundless and is rooted in the wider socio-educational setting, in which the
existence of a proficiency certificate is a huge advantage and a key to a good job and
promotion.
As presented in 6.2.3, there is not a significant difference between the eastern and
the western parts of Thessaloniki with regard to the attendance at private FLCs, a finding
which implies that Greek parents, irrespective of their educational background and socio-
economic state, send their children to private FLCs with the aspiration of a better future for
their children. With respect to the popularity of private FLCs, Nikolaou (2004, p. 70),
postulates the ―Greek EFL patient‖, in which he discusses the reasons that FLCs have
become so popular and so favoured; Nikolaou (2004, p. 70) very precisely states: ―The
―paper-chase for qualifications‖ mentality of the Greek society has led to the
institutionalisation of EFL exams, especially the Cambridge ones. The backwash effect of
this obsession with certificates on FL instruction is obvious. FLCs (…) operate more like
any other profit-making business rather than as educational institutions‖. This view is
perhaps the best way to describe the EFL situation in Greece. The findings of the
qualitative and the quantitative studies, indeed, substantiate whatever has been said by
Nikolaou (2004) about the EFL situation in Greece.

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The existence of the factor external pressure in the motivational subset shows that
external factors such as the feeling of competitiveness with classmates and the desire to
fulfil parents‘ expectations can also be strong predictors of success in FL learning. What is
more, many interviewees (the older ones) respond that they initially started learning
English because it was their parents‘ wish but later on they develop their own internal
stimuli for learning English.
It is would be quite insightful and interesting to interpret the attitude/motivational
variables identified in this research within Dörnyei‘s L2 Motivational Self System (see
3.5). It becomes clear that the identified variables can fit in this novel motivational
framework.
For instance, the factor international travel and communication ideally fits in with
Dörnyei‘s Ideal L2 Self as it can be argued that the learners‘ projection of their future ideal
L2 selves entails communication with both NSs and NNSs of English, travelling to
different countries and making friends with different people; in other words, integrating
into global community. The factor cultural interest can also be identified with the Ideal L2
Self because in their idealized vision of their future selves the learners learn about different
nations and cultures through English.
The factors external pressure and parental encouragement can be identified with
Dörnyei‘s Ought-to L2 Self and are readily interpretable. The learners may visualize their
Ought-to L2 selves as being influenced by their parents, peers and the society. Ought-to L2
Self could be a strong incentive for the learners to be able to meet the expectations of
others and to avoid possible negative outcomes. Even the factor parental encouragement,
which entails positive meaning, can be closely related to Ought-to L2 Self as learners may
feel obliged to meet their parents‘ expectations for the sense of duty and gratitude for
support and encouragement.

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The factors school-related attitudes and general attitudes towards learning English
harmonically fit in the L2 Learning Experience component of L2 Motivational Self System
because they entail attitudes and motivation directly linked with their language learning
experience.
At first sight, it may seem that it is difficult to interpret instrumental motivation
within this motivational framework. In this respect, Dörnyei (2009) argues that: ―In our
idealized image of ourselves we naturally want to be professionally successful and
therefore instrumental motives that are related to career enhancement are logically linked
to the ideal L2 self‖ (p. 28). Nevertheless, everything is not that clear-cut with this matter
and the factor instrumental motivation needs special treatment. Dörnyei suggests that in
this case, promotion/prevention aspects of instrumentality will provide a better perspective
and help situate instrumental motivation within the L2 Self System. Therefore, the factor
instrumental motivation will be split into i) instrumental motivation with promotion focus,
which will include items associated with knowledge acquisition, career/education
advancement, aspirations, accomplishment and will become part of Ideal L2 Self, and ii)
instrumental motivation with prevention focus which entails the desire not to fail an exam,
to meet the expectations of the parents and in this particular case, the need to attain a
language proficiency certificate and will be included into Ought-to L2 Self component of
L2 motivation.
The above discussion shows that Dörnyei‘s L2 Motivational Self System provides a
wide perspective and rich ground for enquiry and what is more important, will help to
investigate attitude/motivational variables with respect to self and identity.
An attempt has been made first of all to answer and to substantiate the three research
questions and to establish the extent to which the students‘ age, gender and proficiency
level could affect their attitudes and motivation. Second, the impact of factors extracted
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from attitude/motivational subsets on the students‘ attitudes and motivation is recounted.
Consequently, it would be extremely worthwhile to draw together the findings of the study
presented in this chapter and to delineate the attitude/motivational and socio-educational
profiles of the respondents.
7.6 Outlining the Profile of Greek EFL Students Aged 12 and 15
Before proceeding to suggestions and pedagogical implications, it would be very
informative to outline the motivational and, more generally, socio-educational profile of
Greek EFL students aged 12 and 15 and to reveal their distinctive characteristic features.
First of all, it should be pointed out that the respondents of this study show a very
high rate of EFL instruction onset outside the formal education, more specifically, in
private FLCs (about 55% of the sample), and in the majority of cases the age of EFL onset
either at school or at private FLC ranges from 6 to 9 years old. What is more, around 80%
of the respondents during the time the research was conducted received regular EFL tuition
outside the school (either FLCs or private lessons). Therefore, two assumptions could be
made; first, it becomes clear that Greek students start learning English considerably early,
and second, the private FLCs remain the number one choice for EFL instruction. This fact
again takes us back to the discussion of the ―wild‖ popularity of private FLCs and the
chase for English proficiency certificates in Greece, a phenomenon which has been
discussed extensively above and in 5.2.2.
With regard to the second foreign language learnt by the respondents, German is the
most preferred second foreign language followed by French, and this finding is completely
in line with the data on Greece provided by Eurobarometer (2012b).
The questionnaire contains an item which enquires into the language of
communication at home. It has not been the purpose of the research to deal with
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differences between the Greek students and those of non-Greek origin or other related
issues; the only purpose is to present a simple account of the number of those who speak
an L1 other than Greek on one hand. Nevertheless, the results show that the vast majority
of students of non-Greek origin prefer to report Greek as the only language of
communication at home and very few among them mention the mother tongue they speak
at home (for results see section 7.2.).
Sometimes, none of the questionnaires collected from a particular class contain any
report of the respondents‘ native languages, even though the researcher is aware that at
least thirty percent of the students in class are non-Greeks. This observation can be
explained in many ways by making reference to different social and psychological factors,
but it falls outside the scope of this study to investigate the underlying reasons for such
behaviour. Nevertheless, this issue remains an interesting vein of investigation and it
would be quite edifying to examine why the students of different L1s purport to
communicate in Greek rather than in their L1 at home. It might be fear or the desire for
assimilation. Perhaps it is a desire to please the Greek teachers/researcher and friends or an
attempt to be accepted more easily by the society. This issue is for sociolinguists to
consider and, therefore, is not covered in this thesis.
The quest to explore this issue among studies on bilingualism in Greece shows that
this issue has been researched. The findings of Tsokalidou‘s (2008) study, for example, are
strikingly similar to the findings of the present study, that in the majority of cases, the
bilingual students refer to Greek as the language of communication at home and avoid
mentioning their L1.
It is believed and suggested that this issues could be explored more profoundly by
applying an ethnographic approach and the obtained data are sure to render insightful
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findings with regard to the bilingual or sometimes even trilingual children of immigrant
families in Greece.
With regard to parents‘ proficiency in English, of course, it becomes clear that, in
general, parents have adequate English language, with mothers being a little ahead of
fathers (for details see 6.2). Nevertheless, the results show that significant differences in
proficiency levels exists between parents, both fathers and mothers, from eastern and
western parts of Thessaloniki. It could be assumed, that residents of the eastern part of the
city have a higher educational background and more prestigious and better-paid jobs, all
factors which presuppose adequate knowledge of English. In contrast residents of the
western part of the city fall into the category of working middle-class, which presupposes a
lower educational background, particularly with regard to knowledge of English.
Moreover, the vast majority of residents in this area are immigrants to Greece; most of
them lack even adequate knowledge of Greek, let alone knowledge of English.
The same significant difference exists between the respondents from eastern and
western Thessaloniki in relation to their proficiency level, a finding which presumes that
the parents‘ socio-educational background and language proficiency impact their
children‘s proficiency level as well. Although no statistical differences have been observed
in the rate of private FLC attendance between the two cohorts, differences between the
students‘ proficiency levels still existed, a fact which might be explained by the quality of
EFL instruction provided by private FLCs, better-paid and more specialised educators,
better equipment and conditions or others reasons that have not yet been explored.
In order to finalise the respondents‘ profile, it should be pointed out that the vast
majority of the respondents rate their self-perceived language competence and self-
perceived language learning efficacy considerably high. This finding shows that they
consider themselves quite proficient language users and effective language students in
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comparison with others. The results of the QPT test however show that the majority of
respondents are at A2 level, which is adequate in the case of young students but
unsatisfactory in the case of the older students (see 5.2. and 6.2.). Therefore in this case,
the self-perceived language proficiency is much higher than their actual language
proficiency.
In conclusion, we can describe the EFL students within this sample in the following
way: Greek EFL students aged 12 and 15, though manifesting significant age-related
differences between them, can be generally characterised as being highly motivated to
learn English predominantly for instrumental reasons but at the same time showing an
increased interest in cultures of different nations as well as being motivated to learn
English to be able to travel to different countries and communicate with different people.
Greek EFL students seem to accept and incorporate EIL-related features into their
language learning as they do not distinguish and prioritise the native speakers of English
and countries where English is a mother tongue. English is perceived as a tool for success,
better educational level, and career, as well as for international travel and communication.
An outstanding idiosyncratic feature of Greek EFL students is their unprecedented desire
for attainment of an English language proficiency certificate and the high rate of
attendance to private FLCs. What is more, the male population of the sample manifest an
exceptional awareness and frequent use of ICT and attach great importance to the role of
English for ICT use, the fact that brings us to conclusion that in this sample we have come
across the representatives of Net Generation or digital natives as they are sometimes called
with special reference to boys. Another outstanding feature characteristic of Greek EFL
students is the parental influence on the students‘ attitudes and motivation and this
pressure reflects a wider social phenomenon in Greece, where the parental role in their
children‘s lives is undoubtedly immense and influential.

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Finally, what remains to answer is the central question posited in the title of the
thesis – English as a foreign or as an international language? It becomes evident that the
Greek EFL context is open to EIL; it is fostered by the national curriculum, open to the
society (for details see 5.2) and the results of this study have shown that EIL is gradually
being incorporated into the Greek EFL students‘ perceptions of English. Such an
assumption is primarily based on the emergence of factors which reject the ―exclusively
NS-oriented‖ model and seek a wider international model. Of course, it cannot be
explicitly and definitely stated that in the Greek context English functions as an
international language but at the same time, it becomes evident that English does not
function merely as a foreign language either. Consequently, there is an obvious openness
towards EIL in the Greek socio-educational context and the results of the study have come
to confirm that the students‘ acknowledge the role of English as a language of international
communication and are motivated to learn it for this purpose.
In this chapter, the main findings of the study have been discussed and some suggestions
put forward. The most important finding is that age is the most influential independent
variable which affects the students‘ attitudes and motivation. The most outstanding finding
is that the students explicitly exhibit international posture and this was mainly manifest
through the emergence of a factor labelled international travel and communication, which
entails both native speakers of English and non-native speakers and NS countries and NNS
countries respectively. The findings also ascertain that in the case of English, the students‘
attitudes and motivation are gender-neutral, a finding which once again shows that
English is perceived as a life skill and a tool for international communication.

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CHAPTER 8
CONCLUSION, PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
8.1 Introduction
This chapter will present several suggestions and pedagogical implications, summarise the
main findings of the research in relation to the posited research questions as well as
recommend some possible directions for further investigation in this field.
8.2 Suggestions for Increasing Students’ Attitudes and Motivation and Raising EIL-
awareness
After having presented and discussed the results and the findings of the study, some
suggestions on how to increase the students‘ attitudes and motivation will be presented in
this section. Of course, these recommendations are only of an informative and insightful
character but they can also serve as guidelines for policy makers and educators on issues
related to Greek EFL students‘ attitudes and motivation to learn English; they can also
function as a reliable source of reference due to the fact that the number of the sample was
large enough to be considered generally applicable.
8.2.1 Improving the Learning Conditions (equipment, materials, resources, syllabi, etc.)
In a synopsis of the findings of quantitative and qualitative studies, it is believed that it is
possible to increase the students‘ motivation to learn English and to enhance their positive
attitudes towards English by improving the language learning conditions. This suggestion
is made based on the general dissatisfaction of students with the overcrowded classrooms,
lack of additional materials, teaching aids and technology, and boredom during the lessons.
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We should always keep in mind that in the majority of cases, the students express
their dissatisfaction with learning English at school by contrasting it with their experience
of learning English at private FLCs. Definitely, the conditions in private FLCs and
ordinary state schools are incomparable. Therefore, an attempt should be made to improve
the existing learning conditions and, more specifically, to:
 Increase the number of hours of English language instruction per week;
 Decrease the number of students per class;
 Equip the classrooms with at least a laptop with a projector (an interactive board, if
possible), a printer and a scanner, so that the students could be involved in different
activities by using the technology and feeling the tangible advantages of knowing
English and using it for ICT use;
 Provide the English language classrooms with additional books, journals, materials,
teaching aids, etc.;
If the following recommendations are followed, it is believed that the students will
become more involved and motivated and will start to attach greater importance to English
language instruction at school, in the same way as they are motivated to learn English in
private FLCs.
8.2.2 Applying a Differentiated Teaching Method in the Classroom
The results show that the male and female students manifest distinct motivational patterns
– boys being more motivated to learn and use English for ICT and girls being more
motivated to learn English for reading books, listening to music, travelling and
communicating, etc. Therefore, it is suggested that the teachers can apply a differentiated
teaching method in their classrooms. For example, boys (and those girls who show an
interest in ICT) can be moved to their interest zone in the classroom, sit in pairs or in
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groups around PCs and be given tasks which will entail ICT use. They can be assigned to
browse for information, to prepare a Power Point presentation and/or, to create a weekly
class newspaper by using MS Publisher, for example. Older students can be encouraged to
create blogs and to start blogging and so many more activities that can be done with the
help of a computer and the Internet. And, of course, all these activities should entail an
active use of English. This can be done as an out-of-class project.
Students who are not much interested in ICT (girls predominantly) can be grouped in
their interest zones, where they can be assigned to read newspaper articles and to write
reviews on them, or to prepare a handmade poster, or a weekly class newspaper, to listen
to songs and to learn the lyrics and/or to write poems and songs. Another group of students
who share a common interest can be assigned to complete some grammar exercises or read
some texts from the course book and discuss them (these activities correspond to those
who prefer to cling to course-books and to dwell on them). These recommendations refer
predominantly to the older and more proficient learners. Nonetheless, English teaching to
younger learners as well could be organised in the same way.
It should be underlined that the differentiated teaching method is particularly
encouraged in the coursebook Think Teen for the LSS (discussed in 5.3.) as well as in the
coursebook for the 6th Grade of PS as a means of gaining better language learning
outcomes. Nevertheless, this method should turn from a guideline in the course book into a
real teaching practice. Therefore, teachers should themselves understand how the method
is implemented and how it could be employed, and then use it to be able to reach better
outcomes. For this purpose, teachers could be helped through training seminars.
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8.2.3 Focus on the Integrity of FL Instruction in PS and LSS
The findings of the study show that the younger students are much more motivated than
the older ones. This implies that the students start to lose their motivation and positive
attitudes from the first grade of the LS school onwards. Therefore, the teachers,
researchers and policy-makers should focus their attention on that particular period and
find ways of sustaining the students‘ initial motivation.
One thing that is obvious is that in the current educational system there is lack of
integrity in FL instruction in PS and LSS and this deficiency is perhaps one of the main
reasons that students start losing their motivation and positive attitudes. It must be noted
for justification that the new Unified Curriculum for foreign languages (see section 5.2.2)
makes an attempt to integrate FL learning throughout the primary, lower and upper
secondary schools, and two important points to make here are that, first, learners‘ language
adequacy is defined according to their proficiency level and not their grade (i.e. learners
will be streamed according their proficiency level and not grade), and, second, it directly
links language learning at school with language certification, more precisely with the
National Foreign Language Exam System (Κξαηηθό Πηζηνπνηεηηθό Γισζζνκάζεηαο),
which is another strong impetus for the students to get involved more actively into the
language learning process at school.
These are two important steps which are believed to improve the FLL situation at
school greatly and, consequently, to increase the students positive attitudes and motivation.
In particular, it is assumed that if FL instruction at school sufficed for sitting the National
Foreign Language Exam and attaining a proficiency certificate, it would increase the
students‘ and parents‘ confidence in the FL instruction at school and decrease the
overwhelming influence of FLCs.

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What is more, the teachers‘ awareness should be raised about recent empirical
studies on students‘ attitudes and motivation; they must be aware that the students start to
lose their motivation around 13-14 years old, therefore the teachers as well as the policy-
makers should focus their attention much more on students of that age and to find means to
preserve the initial motivation that they had in the PS.
8.2.4 Raising the Students’ Awareness on Issues Related to EIL
It is suggested that the students should be aware of EIL-related issues. More specifically,
they must be exposed to different varieties of English and, become aware of the main
differences that exist as well as the issues that boost or hinder mutual intelligibility. In
addition they should be encouraged to understand and communicate adequately with
people with different L1s all over the world. The findings of the study show that the
students have already incorporated the concept of EIL into their perceptions of English,
thus, it will be very challenging and productive to help the students to develop a better
understanding and more positive attitudes towards EIL. It will definitely be very
productive if English language teaching methodology diverge from the N-bound pedagogy
and moved towards C-bound pedagogy (Sifakis & Sougari, 2003a; 2004a) (discussed in
4.9), as it is believed that within the framework of the C-bound approach, students will
learn English more effectively and will be able to use it for their international and
intercultural communication.
The main purpose of education in the 21 st century is to prepare knowledgeable
world citizens with a wider international outlook and ways of thinking. Students should be
informed about the benefits that knowledge of English will bring; they must at the same
time be informed about the dangers of losing their national identities, cultures and
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gradually languages. Therefore, students must be taught how to appreciate and preserve
the local and to integrate into the international.
Since there are no specific coursebooks on EIL available, teachers should be
encouraged to use authentic materials taken predominantly from the Internet to foster the
students‘ interest in EIL and in learning English in general. The abundance of materials
will make the students discover new things every day, find something that would interest
them and, simultaneously, involve them in the process of English language learning.
8.3 Main Conclusions
Since the sample size was considerably great and the results could be generalised
regarding the target population (i.e. learners of the sixth grade of PS and the third grade of
LSS in the city of Thessaloniki), it is possible to make reference to the examined target
group as Greek-speaking EFL learners aged 12 and 15, whose socio-educational profile
has been delineated in 7.2. With regard to the three research questions concerning age,
gender and language proficiency, the following conclusions could be drawn:
1. The results indicate that significant age-related differences exist between the two
cohorts, in which the younger learners display more positive attitudes and stronger
motivation across almost all attitude/motivation variables. This assumption has
been made on the basis of the findings of the quantitative study and supported by
the findings of the qualitative study as well. This is a common trend in research
literature and the findings do not break the stereotypes.
2. Unlike the common belief that language learning is perceived more as a female
subject and that girls outperform boys, the findings of the research show that the
learners‘ attitudes and motivations are to a great extent gender-neutral. This

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finding is very insightful and essential particularly with regard to English, which is
now perceived by everyone irrespective of gender as an international language and
a basic life skill. Another interesting finding with regard to gender is that boys are
extremely motivated to learn English for ICT use and the Internet to such a great
extent that they have been characterised by the researcher as digital natives or web
Residents.
3. With regard to the impact of the proficiency level on the learners‘ attitudes and
motivation, the results indicate that more proficient learners show more positive
attitudes towards English and learning English and are more motivated to learn it
for instrumental needs as well as for their personal enjoyment. More proficient
learners are, in general, more critical about learning English at school and void of
parental influence. More proficient learners prove to be more self-confident and
enjoy learning and using English.
4. The fourth research question, which has also been posited in the title of the
dissertation, is, perhaps, the most intricate one, to which it is very difficult to give a
definite answer or to come to a precise conclusion. The brief review on the Greek
EFL context show that the Greek socio-educational context is open to the concept
of EIL since English is certainly used as a means of international communication
on a daily basis in the Greek society on various levels and, what is more important,
EIL is being fostered on the level of educational policy-making. Furthermore, the
results of the quantitative and the qualitative studies suggest that the Greek EFL
learners have incorporated the notion of EIL into their perception of English and, in
many cases, use English as an international language especially in the media and
on the Internet. The emergence of the factor international travel and

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communication itself shows that the learners have already diverged from the strict
NS-oriented norms. Therefore, it could be assumed that the Greek socio-
educational context can no longer be defined as an EFL context. It can be
characterised as an evolving EIL context, an assumption which is made with a little
caution, however.
5. With regard to the question of whether English is perceived as a foreign language
or an international language, the results of the study indicate that English is
perceived and in many cases used as an international language by the learners in
their everyday lives. Therefore, it is believed that language learning would be more
successful and more enjoyable and language teaching more effective if the
language teaching was appropriate to EIL or, at least, some EIL-related elements
were incorporated into teaching practices.
Of course, a statement that English is an international language would carry a
superficial character, because one should realise that behind EFL there stands a long
tradition of research, practice and a plethora of teaching methods and materials. In
contrast, EIL is a novel concept which lacks empirical verification, teaching methods and
available materials, and, therefore, even if we acknowledge that in this particular context
EIL should be promoted, we would still ground the English language instruction to a great
extent on EFL teaching methodologies and materials. Nevertheless, EIL still has a long
way to go and it is believed that it could be gradually incorporated into the teaching
practices by the teachers themselves and by the policy makers on a larger educational
scale.
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8.4 Drawbacks and Problems Encountered
Although every researcher makes all possible endeavours to conduct his/her research as
effectively as possible, they very often confront certain obstacles and problems. This
research was carefully designed and conducted and has reached its aims. Nevertheless,
some difficulties and drawbacks should be pointed out.
1. The official permission from the Ministry was granted at the end of February and,
thus, the researcher had only three months to organise and conduct the research before
the school year ended. The organisation entailed countless telephone calls,
appointments with the headmasters, negotiations with the teachers to be able to enter
their classrooms and the actual conduct of the research. Because of restricted time,
the researcher was deprived of the possibility of analysing the survey responses more
profoundly in order to gain a clearer understanding and better insight into the matter
and later on to conduct the interviews. Therefore, only a preliminary analysis of the
quantitative data had been performed before the interviews, which followed almost
immediately after the survey phase. This shortcoming deprived the researcher of
getting a deeper insight into the matter by having the complete picture of the results at
hand and, based on the findings of the quantitative study, of conducting more in-depth
interviews. Therefore, the research was based much more on the quantitative study
and the interviews provided merely a supportive and enlightening character.
2. Unfortunately, at the end of May or even earlier, the learners within both cohorts
were getting prepared for their farewell parties and performances at schools, activities
which entailed countless rehearsals during the lessons and after them and, thus, the
researcher missed out on many valuable hours and opportunities, especially during the
qualitative data collection. It was extremely difficult to gather whole groups together
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as they were busy with their final exams as well as the farewell parties. It can certainly
be stated that the main restriction and obstacle of the study was the inauspicious
timing of the research.
3. With regard to the PS learners, the researcher stumbled upon a serious obstacle as, in
accordance with the official permission, the research could be conducted only after
receiving the authorised parents‘ consent forms. In many cases, only six or seven
learners out of twenty provided the signed consent forms which meant that the
researcher either carried out the research with that small number of learners or
cancelled it until an adequate number of learners brought in the signed consent forms.
The researcher had to visit the same school more than four times to collect a sufficient
number of consent forms and to conduct the research.
4. The researcher was granted one academic hour per class, which was insufficient for
the learners to fill in the questionnaire and the placement test. That was the reason that
many questionnaires (around 200 across both cohorts) were excluded as they were
invalid. The learners, in the majority of cases, did not manage to finish the placement
test in time and just handed it in incomplete or in certain cases, the learners were more
interested in the placement test and omitted the questionnaire. Very often, the
researcher asked the teacher who had the next lesson to grant a quarter of an hour so
that the learners could complete the questionnaire and the test. The greatest share of
the burden was placed on the LSS learners, who had to complete Part I and Part II (60
questions) of the placement test.

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8.5 Suggestions for Further Research
After the results have been presented and discussed, assumptions have been made and
conclusions have been drawn, we can now envisage clearly future possible directions in
which the research could be conducted to gain a better understanding of learners‘
(especially young learners‘) attitudes and motivation to learn English and their
interrelation with EIL. Therefore, a few suggestions could be made:
 A more detailed ethnographic inquiry into the issue of the learners‘ attitudes and
motivation and their interrelation with EIL would provide a better understanding of
the matter. What is more, there should be more personal and exemplified data on the
learners‘ perceptions of EIL and their desire to learn English as an international
language. The present research is much more grounded on the quantitative data and it
is believed that it would be much more complete and substantiated if it were
supported by richer ethnographic data. More specifically, it is recommended that long
semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions could be employed to render
interesting data especially on EIL-related issues.
 Given the fact that motivation is not static and has a temporal dynamic character, it
would be very informative and interesting to observe the changes (predominantly,
age-related changes) in the learners‘ attitudes and motivation. In this particular study
it was not possible to trace the same sample later on to examine the extent to which
their attitudes and motivation have changed because after leaving the
primary/secondary school the learners scatter around and attend different LS or upper
secondary schools. Therefore, it is suggested that the sample could be chosen in a way
that it could be traced later on, a process which would enable the researcher to
examine the changes in the learners‘ attitudinal/motivational patterns. It would be

255
better if students of the third or the fourth grade of PS were examined so that they
would remain in the same school for a couple of years. In essence, what is suggested
is longitudinal research, which would help to examine changes in learners‘ attitudes
and motivation on a more profound level.
 It would be a very interesting vein of investigation if some practical issues were
covered. For example, an attempt could be made to design a course/lesson of EIL and
implement it on an experimental basis and later on to use pre- and post-tests to
measure the changes that have been affected by the experimental course and,
afterwards, to contrast the results of the experimental group with those of the control
group. Such a study would reveal how effective a special EIL course could be, how it
can affect the learners‘ attitudes and motivation and, in general, what the form and
content of a supposed EIL lesson could be. Of course, it must be admitted that this
suggestion is rather far-fetched but an attempt could be made to realise it initially on a
small scale.
 The results show that it was possible to trace digital natives within the examined
sample; therefore, it is suggested that it would be very informative to delve into this
issue deeper and to investigate it thoroughly. If forthcoming studies also identify a
substantial number of digital natives in the Greek EFL context, it would become
mandatory to adjust teaching pedagogy and methodology to the needs of the N-gen
representatives. What is more important, programmes should be designed which
would help the digital immigrant teachers understand their learners and appropriate
their teaching practices to their digital native learners‘ needs. If the number of digital
natives is really great and their expectations of ELL are quite different from the
previous generations, this phenomenon may become a serious issue which could spur
256
the policy makers to re-theorise ELT methods, principles and practices and to move
towards EIL as an acceptable variety teachable in FL contexts, and afterwards to
move even further – from EIL to EDLF (English as Digital Lingua Franca) or a
similar model. Consequently, it can be concluded that this is a serious and very novel
vein of investigation which would likely provide quite innovative and significant
findings.
This chapter has provided the main conclusions with regard to the research questions,
made reference to the drawbacks and those problems that were encountered during the
research and presented some suggestions for further research.
Instead of an epilogue…….
Like many other similar studies, this study has been conducted with the only aspiration to
make a tiny contribution in the field of Applied Linguistics, more specifically, ELT
pedagogy and, in this case, ELT pedagogy in Greece. It is a common belief that attitudes
and motivation are the golden key to success in language attainment and proficiency, and,
therefore, studies like this one will shed light and help the educators and policy makers
understand what learners think, how positive or negative their attitudes are and how highly
they are motivated to learn English, and, based on the findings, to find ways of
appropriating language teaching methods to learners‘ needs and expectations. It is believed
that this work will prompt other researchers to investigate these issues in a more profound
manner and, predominantly, from an ethnographic perspective. My ultimate goal has been
257
to find out what learners think about English, how strong their motivation is and what
could be done to make English language learning more effective, pleasant and positive so
that every learner irrespective of age, gender or capabilities could have the chance to learn
English and use it as a passkey to a brighter future.

258
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context. Modern Language Journal 86, 54-66.
Yashima, T. (2009). International posture and the ideal L2 Self in the Japanese EFL
context. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.) Motivation, language identity and L2 self
(144-164), Multilingual Matters.
Yashima, T., Zenuk-Nishide, L., & Shimizu, K. (2004). Influence of attitudes and affect on
L2 communication: A study of Japanese high school students. Language Learning,
54-1, 119-152.
Young, T. J. and Walsh, S. (2010). Which English? Whose English? An investigation of
―non-native‖ teachers' beliefs about target varieties. Language, Culture and
Curriculum, 23(2), 123-137.
Greek Sources
Θενδώξνπ, Δ. (1986). Η επίδξαζε θνηλσληνινγηθώλ παξακέηξσλ ζηελ εθκάζεζε ησλ
μέλσλ γισζζώλ από ηνπο καζεηέο ηνπ Γεκνηηθνύ. Τα Εκπαιδεςηικά, 41, 88-97.
Κνπηζνγηάλλεο, Γ. (2011). Εθηβικέρ ππακηικέρ τηθιακού γπαμμαηιζμού και ηαςηόηηηερ.
Κέληξν Διιεληθήο Γιώζζαο: Θεζζαινλίθε. /Koutsoyiannis, D..
Παπαρξήζηνπ, Δ. (2013). Σηάζειρ, δεξιόηηηερ και ανηιλήτειρ απένανηι ζηιρ ΤΠΕ: η
πεπίπηυζη ηυν καθηγηηών αγγλικήρ γλώζζαρ, ηυν μαθηηών και ηυν διεςθςνηών ηυν
ζσολικών μονάδυν Ππυηοβάθμιαρ εκπαίδεςζηρ ηηρ Θεζππυηίαρ, Αζήλα.
Φ.Δ.Κ. 1028/24, Αζήλα, Τπνπξγείν Δζληθήο Παηδείαο θαη Θξεζθεπκάησλ.
Φ.Δ.Κ. Σεύρνο Β‘ αξ. θύιινπ 119/2-02-2006, Αζήλα, Τπνπξγείν Δζληθήο Παηδείαο θαη
Θξεζθεπκάησλ.
292
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APPENDIX I
PILOT QUESTIONNAIRE
IN GREEK AND IN ENGLISH

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Code __________
ΔΡΩΣΗΜΑΣΟΛΟΓΙΟ
ΚΙΝΗΣΡΑ ΚΑΙ ΢ΣΑ΢ΔΙ΢ ΑΠΔΝΑΝΣΙ ΢ΣΗΝ ΜΑΘΗ΢Η ΣΗ΢ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΗ΢ ΓΛΩ΢΢Α΢
Σν εξσηεκαηνιόγην απηό είλαη κέξνο κίαο έξεπλαο ζρεηηθά κε ηα θίλεηξα θαη ηηο ζηάζεηο ησλ
ειιελόθσλσλ καζεηώλ απέλαληη ζηελ κάζεζε ηεο αγγιηθήο γιώζζαο.
Σν εξσηεκαηνιόγην είλαη Ανώνσμο θαη Δμπιζηεσηικό. Γελ ππάξρνπλ ζσζηέο ή ιάζνο
απαληήζεηο. Γελ ρξεηάδεηαη λα γξάςεηο ην όλνκα ζνπ. Μόλν απάληεζε εηιηθξηλά ζηηο παξαθάησ
εξσηήζεηο.
΢ε απηή ηελ ελόηεηα ζα ήζεια λα κάζσ ηηο απόςεηο ζνπ ζρεηηθά κε ηελ αγγιηθή γιώζζα
Βάιε έλα Υ ή  ζε έλα θνπηάθη
ζίγοσρος/η
Γεν είμαι
Καθόλοσ
Απόλσηα
Αρκεηά
Λίγο
Πηζηεύεηο όηη
1. ε γλώζε ηεο αγγιηθήο είλαη απαξαίηεηε γηα ηε ρξήζε ηνπ Η/Τ θαη
ηνπ δηαδηθηύνπ;
2. ε γλώζε ηεο αγγιηθήο ζα ζε βνεζήζεη λα θάλεηο θίινπο από

πνιιέο μέλεο ρώξεο;
3. ε γλώζε ηεο αγγιηθήο ζα ζε θάλεη πην κνξθσκέλν/ε;
4. ηα αγγιηθά είλαη ε βαζηθή γιώζζα επηθνηλσλίαο κεηαμύ

αλζξώπσλ από δηαθνξεηηθέο ρώξεο;
5. μέξεηο θαιά ηα αγγιηθά ζα είζαη πην πεηπρεκέλνο ζηε δσή (ζην

επάγγεικα, ζηηο πξνζσπηθέο ζρέζεηο, ζηελ επηθνηλσλία);
6. ε γλώζε ηεο αγγιηθήο είλαη πνιύ ζεκαληηθή γηα ην κέιινλ ζνπ;
7. νη πεξηζζόηεξεο ηαηλίεο θαη ηα πεξηζζόηεξα ηξαγνύδηα έρνπλ σο

γιώζζα ηα αγγιηθά;
8. ε ππεξβνιηθή ρξήζε ησλ αγγιηθώλ ζηελ Διιάδα επεξεάδεη ηε

γιώζζα πνπ κηιάο ζην ζπίηη (Διιεληθή, Αιβαληθή, θ.ά.);
9. είλαη ζεκαληηθό λα γλσξίδεηο αγγιηθά γηα λα επηθνηλσλείο κε ηνπο

θπζηθνύο νκηιεηέο αγγιηθώλ;
10. είλαη ζεκαληηθό λα γλσξίδεηο αγγιηθά γηα λα επηθνηλσλείο κε

ηνπο κε θπζηθνύο νκηιεηέο αγγιηθώλ;
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11. είλαη ζεκαληηθό λα γλσξίδεηο αγγιηθά γηα λα ηαμηδεύεηο ζε άιιεο

ρώξεο θαη επείξνπο (π.ρ. Κίλα, Πεξνύ, Ρσζία, Αθξηθή);
Απόςεηο ζρεηηθά κε ηελ εθκάζεζε ησλ αγγιηθώλ ζην ζρνιείν
΢ημείφζε ηη ζηάζη ζοσ επάνφ ζηα παρακάηφ
ζίγοσρος/η
΢σμθφνώ
΢σμθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γεν είμαι
απόλσηα
απόλσηα
12. Πξνζπαζώ πξαγκαηηθά λα κάζσ ηα αγγιηθά όζν δπλαηόλ
θαιύηεξα
13. Απνιακβάλσ ηα καζήκαηα ησλ αγγιηθώλ
14. Πξνζπαζώ λα ρξεζηκνπνηώ ηα αγγιηθά όζν δπλαηόλ

πεξηζζόηεξν αθόκα θαη έμσ από ηελ ηάμε (κε ηνπο θίινπο, ζην
δηαδίθηπν, θ.ά.)
15. Οη γνλείο (θαη άιινη ζπγγελείο) κνπ κε βνεζνύλ (π.ρ. ζηελ
πξνεηνηκαζία ζην ζπίηη) ώζηε λα κάζσ αγγιηθά θαιά
16. Πξνηηκώ λα αθηεξώλσ πεξηζζόηεξε ώξα δηαβάζκαηνο ζε άιια
καζήκαηα πάξα ζηα αγγιηθά
17. Η κειέηε ησλ αγγιηθώλ είλαη βαξεηή
18. Σα αγγιηθά πξέπεη λα δηδάζθνληαη από ηελ πξώηε ηάμε ηνπ

δεκνηηθνύ
19. Σα αγγιηθά είλαη έλα από ηα πηα ζεκαληηθά καζήκαηα ζην
ζρνιηθό πξόγξακκα
20. Θα κάζαηλα αγγιηθά αθόκε θαη αλ δελ ήηαλ ζην ζρνιηθό
πξόγξακκα
21. Δίκαη γεληθά ηθαλνπνηεκέλνο/ε κε ην βηβιίν θαη ηα άιια κέζα
κε ηα νπνία καζαίλνπκε ηα αγγιηθά ζην ζρνιείν
22. Δίκαη γεληθά ηθαλνπνηεκέλνο/ε κε ηε δαζθάια/ην δάζθαιν κνπ
ησλ αγγιηθώλ θαη κε ηηο κεζόδνπο δηδαζθαιίαο ηεο/ηνπ
23. Σα αγγιηθά είλαη εύθνιε γιώζζα λα καζαίλεηο
ζίγοσρος/η
΢σμθφνώ
΢σμθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γεν είμαι
απόλσηα
απόλσηα
Πες ηη γνώμη ζοσ ζτεηικά με ηα παρακάηφ
24. H Ακεξηθή είλαη κηα ρώξα εθζπγρξνληζκνύ θαη πξνόδνπ
25. Οη Ακεξηθαλνί είλαη επγεληθνί

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26. Η Ακεξηθή είλαη έλαο πξννξηζκόο γηα πνιινύο λένπο από ηελ
Διιάδα γηα ζπνπδέο θαη δνπιεηά
27. Οη Ακεξηθαλνί είλαη κνξθσκέλνη θαη ελεκεξσκέλνη
28. Η Μεγάιε Βξεηαλία είλαη κηα ρώξα εθζπγρξνληζκνύ θαη
πξνόδνπ
29. Οη Βξεηαλνί είλαη επγεληθνί
30. Η Μεγάιε Βξεηαλία είλαη έλαο πξννξηζκόο γηα πνιινύο λένπο
από ηελ Διιάδα γηα ζπνπδέο θαη δνπιεηά
31. Οη Βξεηαλνί είλαη κνξθσκέλνη θαη ελεκεξσκέλνη
΢ε ασηή ηη ενόηηηα ενδιαθέρομαι για ηοσς δικούς ζοσ λόγοσς να μαθαίνεις αγγλικά.
Μαθαίνφ αγγλικά επειδή...
ζίγοσρος/η
΢σμθφνώ
΢σμθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γεν είμαι
απόλσηα
απόλσηα
32. Σα αγγιηθά ζα είλαη πνιύ ρξήζηκα γηα νπνηνδήπνηε
κειινληηθό κνπ επάγγεικα
33. Θέισ λα ζπνπδάζσ ζην εμσηεξηθό (π.ρ. Αγγιία, Ακεξηθή)
34. Θέισ λα απνθηήζσ θάπνην δίπισκα (π.ρ. ην First Lower
Certificate of Cambridge, Proficiency, PALSO) ζηα αγγιηθά
35. Πηζηεύσ όηη ζα κάζσ πεξηζζόηεξα πξάγκαηα γηα ηνπο
αγγιόθσλνπο ιανύο (π.ρ. Άγγινπο, Ακεξηθαλνύο), ηνλ
πνιηηηζκό θαη ηνλ ηξόπν δσήο ηνπο
36. Πηζηεύσ όηη ζα κάζσ πεξηζζόηεξα πξάγκαηα γηα ηνπο
δηαθνξεηηθνύο ιανύο (π.ρ. Κηλέδνπο, Οπθξαλνύο,
Βξαδηιηάλνπο), ηνλ πνιηηηζκό θαη ηνλ ηξόπν δσήο ηνπο
37. Σα αγγιηθά είλαη ππνρξεσηηθό κάζεκα ζην ζρνιηθό
πξόγξακκα
38. Μνπ αξέζνπλ ηα αγγιηθά σο μέλε γιώζζα
39. Όινη νη θίινη θαη ζπκκαζεηέο κνπ ηα καζαίλνπλ
40. Γηα λα κείλνπλ ηθαλνπνηεκέλνη νη γνλείο κνπ

41. Θέισ λα ηαμηδεύσ ζηηο αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο (π.ρ. Αγγιία,
Ηλσκέλεο Πνιηηείεο)
42. Θέισ λα ηαμηδεύσ θαη λα επηθνηλσλώ ζηα αγγιηθά ζηηο κε
αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο (π.ρ. Γεξκαλία, Ιζπαλία, Ιαπσλία)
43. Καηαλνώ ην ζεκαληηθό ξόιν πνπ έρνπλ ηα αγγιηθά ζην
ζύγρξνλν θόζκν
44. Θέισ λα επηθνηλσλώ κε ηνπο θπζηθνύο νκηιεηέο ησλ αγγιηθώλ
45. Θέισ λα επηθνηλσλώ κε κε θπζηθνύο νκηιεηέο κέζσ αγγιηθώλ
46. Θέισ λα ςάρλσ πιεξνθνξίεο ζην δηαδίθηπν

297
47. Ποζό ζημανηικό είναι για ζένα
Καθόλοσ
Αρκεηά
Πολύ
Να κηιάο αγγιηθά κε βξεηαληθή πξνθνξά όζν γίλεηαη θαιύηεξα;
Να κηιάο αγγιηθά κε ακεξηθάληθε πξνθνξά όζν γίλεηαη θαιύηεξα;
Να κηιάο αγγιηθά ζσζηά θαη θαζαξά, δηαηεξώληαο ηε Διιεληθή ζνπ

πξνθνξά;
Να κηιάο αγγιηθά αξθεηά θαζαξά γηα λα ζε θαηαιαβαίλνπλ εύθνια νη

ζπλνκηιεηέο ζνπ ρσξίο θακία ηνληζκέλε πξνθνξά;
Να κηιάο θαη λα γξάθεηο αγγιηθά ρσξίο ιάζε γξακκαηηθήο;
48. Η ικανόηηηα μοσ ζτεηικά με ηα παρακάηφ είναι:
Καθόλοσ
Αρκεηά
Μέηρια
Καλή
Πολύ
καλή
καλή
Λίγη
Καηαλόεζε γξαπηνύ ινγνύ (κπνξώ λα δηαβάδσ θαη λα
θαηαιαβαίλσ ζηα αγγιηθά)
Καηαλόεζε πξνθνξηθνύ ινγνύ (κπνξώ λα αθνύσ θαη λα
θαηαλνώ ζηα αγγιηθά)
Παξαγσγή γξαπηνύ ινγνύ (Μπνξώ λα γξάθσ θαη λα
εθθξάδνκαη ζηα αγγιηθά)
Παξαγσγή πξνθνξηθνύ ινγνύ (Μπνξώ λα κηιάσ θαη λα
εθθξάδνκαη ζηα αγγιηθά) ζίγοσρος/η
Γεν είμαι
Απίθανο
Αρκεηά
Πόζν πηζαλόλ είλαη ζην κέιινλ λα

Πολύ
49. ζπκκεηέρεηο ζε εζεινληηθέο απνζηνιέο ζην εμσηεξηθό;
50. ζπνπδάδεηο ζην εμσηεξηθό;
51. λα εξγάδεζαη ζε κηα δηεζλή νξγάλσζε θάπνπ ζην εμσηεξηθό;

52. λα κνηξαζηείο ην δσκάηηό ζνπ κ‘ έλαλ αιινδαπό;
53. λα ρξεζηκνπνηείο ηα αγγιηθά σο βαζηθό κέζσ επηθνηλσλίαο;
54. λα κεηαλαζηεύεηο ζε κία αγγιόθσλε ρώξα;
55. λα κεηαλαζηεύεηο ζε κία κε-αγγιόθσλε ρώξα;

298
56. Ποια από ηα παρακάηφ ζε έτοσν βοηθήζει να βεληιώζεις ηα αγγλικά ζοσ; Βάλε Χ ή
ζε όζα κοσηάκια θέλεις.
 Σαμίδηα ζε αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο
 Γηάβαζκα ζηα αγγιηθά
 Παξαθνινύζεζή ηαηληώλ θαη θηλνπκέλσλ ζρεδίσλ ζηα αγγιηθά
 Δπηθνηλσλία κε αγγιόθσλνπο (πξνζσπηθά, κέζσ δηαδηθηύνπ)
 Μαζήκαηα ζην ζρνιείν
 Μαζήκαηα ζηα θξνληηζηήξηα
 Ιδηαίηεξα καζήκαηα αγγιηθώλ
 Πξνζπάζεηα θαη απηνδηδαζθαιία
 Άιιν________________________
57. Ποιες από ηις παρακάηφ δραζηηριόηηηες κάνεις για να βεληιώζεις ηα αγγλικά ζοσ;
Βάλε Χ ή  ζε όζα κοσηάκια θέλεις.
 Γηαβάδσ βηβιία ζηα αγγιηθά
 Βιέπσ ηαηλίεο ζηα αγγιηθά ρσξίο λα δηαβάδσ ηνπο ππνηίηινπο ζηα ειιεληθά
 Βιέπσ θηλνύκελα ζρέδηα ζηα αγγιηθά
 Γηαβάδσ ηα αγαπεκέλα κνπ θόκηθο ζηα αγγιηθά
 Μηιάσ αγγιηθά κε ηνπο μέλνπο (π.ρ. ηνπξίζηεο)
 Γξάθσ γξάκκαηα ζηα αγγιηθά ζε θίινπο πνπ δνπλ ζην εμσηεξηθό
 Αθνύσ ηξαγνύδηα ζηα αγγιηθά θαη πξνζπαζώ λα θαηαιάβσ ηα ιόγηα
 Υξεζηκνπνηώ ηα αγγιηθά ζην δηαδίθηπν
 Παίδσ παηρλίδηα ζηα αγγιηθά
 Άιιν__________________________
58. Αν είτες επιλογή, ηι θα διάλεγες φς ακοσζηική δραζηηριόηηηα ζηο μάθημα ηφν

αγγλικών;
Βάλε Χ ή ζε ένα κοσηάκι.
 Να αθνύσ πεξηζζόηεξν νκηιία θαη δηαιόγνπο κεηαμύ Βξεηαλώλ ή/θαη Ακεξηθαλώλ

 Να αθνύσ νκηιία θαη δηαιόγνπο ζηα αγγιηθά κεηαμύ αλζξώπσλ δηαθνξεηηθώλ
εζληθνηήησλ πνπ ηα αγγιηθά δελ είλαη ε βαζηθή ηνπο γιώζζα
 Να αθνύσ νκηιία θαη δηαιόγνπο κεηαμύ Διιήλσλ θαη άιισλ αγγιόθσλσλ
59. Αν είτες επιλογή, ηι θα διάλεγες φς αναγνφζηική δραζηηριόηηηα ζηο μάθημα ηφν

αγγλικών;
 Να δηαβάδσ θείκελα ζηα αγγιηθά ζρεηηθά κε ηελ Αγγιία ή/θαη ηελ Ακεξηθή, ηελ ηζηνξία
ηνπο, ηελ ηξόπν δσήο θαη ηε λννηξνπία ησλ αλζξώπσλ.
 Να δηαβάδσ θείκελα ζηα αγγιηθά ζρεηηθά κε ηηο δηαθνξεηηθέο ρώξεο ηνπ θόζκνπ, ηελ
ηζηνξία ηνπο, ηελ ηξόπν δσήο θαη ηε λννηξνπία ησλ αλζξώπσλ.
 Να δηαβάδσ θείκελα ζηα αγγιηθά ζρεηηθά κε ηελ Διιάδα, ηελ ηζηνξία ηεο, ηα δηαθνξεηηθά
κέξε θαη δηάθνξα γεγνλόηα πνπ ζπκβαίλνπλ
60. Αν είτες επιλογή, ηι θα διάλεγες φς δραζηηριόηηηα ζτεηική με ηο γραπηό λόγο ζηο

μάθημα ηφν αγγλικών;
 Να ςάρλσ πιεξνθνξίεο (π.ρ. δηαδίθηπν, εγθπθινπαίδεηα) θαη λα γξάθσ ζηα αγγιηθά γηα
ηνπο Βξεηαλνύο θαη/ή Ακεξηθάλνπο, ηηο ρώξεο, ηηο παξαδόζεηο, ηε λννηξνπία ηνπο.
άιιεο ρώξεο, ηηο παξαδόζεηο, ηε λννηξνπία ησλ ιαώλ ηηο.
299
 Να ςάρλσ πιεξνθνξίεο (π.ρ. δηαδίθηπν, εγθπθινπαίδεηα) θαη λα γξάθσ ζηα αγγιηθά

πεξηζζόηεξν γηα ηελ Διιάδα θαη Έιιελεο
61. Αν είτες επιλογή, ηι θα διάλεγες φς ομιληηική δραζηηριόηηηα ζηο μάθημα ηφν

αγγλικών;
 Να ζπδεηώ ζηα αγγιηθά πεξηζζόηεξν γηα ηα δεηήκαηα ζρεηηθά κε ηηο αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο
θαη ηνπο αγγιόθσλνπο ιανύο (π.ρ. Αγγιία, Ακεξηθή, Απζηξαιία)
 Να ζπδεηώ ζηα αγγιηθά πεξηζζόηεξν γηα ηα παγθόζκηα δεηήκαηα, γεγνλόηα θαη ό, ηη είλαη
επίθαηξν θαη ελδηαθέξνλ γηα ζαο
 Να ζπδεηώ ζηα αγγιηθά πεξηζζόηεξν γηα ζέκαηα θαη γεγνλόηα ζρεηηθά κε ηελ Διιάδα
Βάλε Χ ή ζηο καηάλληλο κοσηάκι και απάνηηζε ζηις παρακάηφ ερφηήζεις
62. Δίζαη  Αγόξη  Κνξίηζη;

63. Πόζν ρξνλώλ είζαη; _____________
64. ΢ε πνηα ηάμε είζαη; ______________
65. Πνύ άξρηζεο λα καζαίλεηο αγγιηθά;
 ΢ρνιείν  Φξνληηζηήξην  Ιδηαίηεξα  Αιινύ_________
66. Πόζα ρξόληα ζπλνιηθά καζαίλεηο αγγιηθά; _______
67. ΢ε πνηα ειηθία άξρηζεο λα καζαίλεηο αγγιηθά;_____
68. Σώξα παξαθνινπζείο καζήκαηα αγγιηθώλ ζε θάπνην Φξνληηζηήξην;  Ναη 
Όρη
69. Αλ Ναη, ζε πνηα ηάμε _____
70. Σώξα παξαθνινπζείο θάπνηα ηδηαίηεξα καζήκαηα;  Ναη  Όρη
71. Γεύηεξε μέλε γιώζζα πνπ καζαίλεηο_________________
72. Γιώζζα επηθνηλσλίαο ζην ζπίηη; ______________
73. Γλώζε αγγιηθήο (κπακπάο):
 Πνιύ θαιά  Αξθεηά Καιά  Καιά  Όρη θαιά  Καζόινπ
74. Γλώζε αγγιηθήο (κακά):
75. ΢ε ζύγθξηζε κε ηνπο ζπκκαζεηέο κνπ, ην επίπεδν ησλ αγγιηθώλ κνπ είλαη:
 Πνιύ θαιό  Αξθεηά Καιό  Καιό  Όρη θαιό
76. ΢ε ζύγθξηζε κε ηνπο ζπκκαζεηέο κνπ, κειεηώ:
 Πάξα πνιύ  Αξθεηά  Λίγν  Καζόινπ
΢Δ ΔΤΥΑΡΙ΢ΣΩ ΠΟΛΤ ΓΙΑ ΣΗΝ ΢ΤΜΜΔΣΟΥΗ ΢ΣΗΝ ΔΡΔΤΝΑ ΑΤΣΗ ΚΑΙ

ΓΙΑ ΣΙ΢ ΔΙΛΙΚΡΙΝΔΙ΢ ΑΠΑΝΣΗ΢ΔΙ΢ ΢ΟΤ
300
Code __________
QUESTIONNAIRE
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION TO LEARN ENGLISH
The present questionnaire is part of a research, which investigates Greek learners‘ attitudes and
motivation to learn English. This questionnaire is strictly confidential and anonymous. There
are no correct or wrong answers; there is no need to put your name down. You are kindly asked
to answer to the following questions.
In this part, I would like to learn about your attitudes towards English
Put an Υ or a  in one square
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Strongly
Not sure
Agree
Agree
Do you believe that
1. the knowledge of English is indispensable for computer use and the
Internet?
2. the knowledge of English will help you make friends with people of
different nationalities?
3. the knowledge of English will make you more educated?
4. English is the basic language of communication for people who
come from different countries?
5. if you know English well, you will be more successful in life (career,
personal relations, communication)?
6. the knowledge of English is very important for your future?
7. the majority of films and songs are in English?

8. an extended use of English in Greece affect your mother tongue
(Greek, Albanian, etc.)?
9. it is important to know English to be able to communicate with
Native speakers of English?
10. it is important to know English to be able to communicate with
Non-native speakers of English?
11. it is important to know English in order to travel to other countries
(e.g. China, Peru, Russia, Africa)?
Attitudes towards learning English at school

Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Strongly
Not sure
Agree
Agree
Tell us about your opinion about the following
12. I try really hard to learn English better

13. I enjoy my English language lessons
14. I try to use English as much as possible outside the classroom as
well (with friends, on the Internet, etc.)
15.My parents (and/or other relatives) help me to prepare better for
my English lessons at home
301
16. I try to dedicate more time to other subjects rather than English
17. Learning English is boring
18.English should be introduced from the first grade of primary
school
19.English is one of the most important school subjects
20.I would have learnt English even if it were not included in the
school curriculum
21.I am generally satisfied with the English course book and other
materials that are used at school
22.I am generally satisfied with the English language teacher and
his/her teaching methods
23. English is an easy language to learn
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Strongly
Not sure
Agree
Agree
Tell your opinion about the following
24. The USA is a country of technology and progress
25. The Americans are polite

26. The USA is a destination for many young Greeks for work and
studies
27. The Americans are educated and well-informed
28. The UK is a country of technology and progress
29. The English people are polite

30. The UK is a destination for many young Greeks for work and
studies
31. The English people are educated and well-informed
In this part we would like to know about your reasons for learning English
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Not sure
Strongly
Agree
Agree
I learn English because
32. English will be very useful in whatever profession I choose in

the future
33. I want to study abroad (e.g. UK, USA, etc.)
34. I want to attain an English language proficiency certificate (e.g.,
First Certificate of Cambridge, Proficiency, PALSO)
35. I will learn through English more about the native speakers (e.g.
the British, the Americans), their customs and ways of living
36. I will learn through English more about different nations (e.g.
Chinese, Ukrainians, Brazilians), their customs and ways of
living
302
37. English is a compulsory school subject

38. I like English as a foreign language
39. My friends and classmates learn English
40. To please my parents
41. I want to travel to the native-speaking countries (e.g. UK, USA)
42. I want to travel to the non-native-speaking countries (e.g.
Germany, Spain, Japan)
43. I realise the important role of English nowadays in the world
44. I want to communicate with the native speakers of English
45. I want to communicate with the non-native speakers of English
46. I want to browse the Internet
47. How important is it for you
Enough
At all
Very
To speak in English with a British accent as much as possible?
To speak in English with an American accent as much as possible?
To speak in English clearly and correctly while retaining your Greek accent?
To speak in English clearly enough to be intelligible to your interlocutor (with

your own accent)?
To speak and write in English without any grammar mistakes?
Very good
Not good
Not good
Average
enough
Good
at all
48. How good are you in the following?
Reading skills (I can read and understand in English)
Listening skills (I can listen to and understand English)
Writing skills (I can write and express my thoughts in English)
Speaking skills (I can speak and express myself in English)

Impossible
Not sure
Possible
In future, how possible is it for you to…

possible
Very
enough
49. participate in voluntary missions abroad?

50. study abroad?
303
51. work in an international organization abroad?

52. share your room with a foreigner?
53. use English as a basic tool for your daily communication?
54. migrate to a country where English is a mother tongue?
55. migrate to a country where English is not a mother tongue?
56. Which of the following have helped you to improve your English? Put an Χ or a in the
square next to your answer.
 Travelling to countries where English is a mother tongue
 Reading in English
 Watching films and cartoon in English
 Communication (personal, via the Internet) with people for whom English is a mother
tongue
 English classes at school
 English classes at private foreign language centre
 Private English classes
 Endeavour and self-instruction
 Other ________________________
57. Which of the following do you use to improve your English? Put an Χ or a in the
square next to your answer.
 I read books in English
 I watch films in English without reading Greek subtitles
 I watch cartoons in English
 I read my favourite comics in English
 I speak English with foreigners (e.g. tourists)
 I write letters in English to my friends who live abroad
 I listen to songs in English and try to understand the meaning
 I use English on the Internet
 I play games in English
 Other __________________________
58. If given a choice, which listening activity would you prefer?

Put an Χ or a in a square next to your answer.
 Dialogues among native speakers

 Dialogues in English between Non-native speakers of English
 Dialogues in English between Greeks and other Non-native speakers of English
59. If given a choice, which reading activity would you prefer?
 To read texts regarding the USA, the UK, their history, customs and ways of living
 To read texts in English about different countries, their people, traditions and ways of
living
 To read texts in English about Greece, its history, culture, and different events that happen
in Greece
60. If given a choice, which writing activity would you prefer?

304
 To seek information (e.g. with the help o the Internet, encyclopaedia) and to write more
about the British and/or the Americans, their countries, traditions and culture
about different countries, people, traditions and culture
about Greece and the Greek people
61. If given a choice, which speaking activity would you prefer?
 To discuss in English more topics about the Native speakers of English and countries
(Britain, America, Australia)
 To discuss in English more topics about global events, and current international affairs
 To discuss in English more topics about Greece
Put an Χ or a in the square next to your answer

62. Are you a  Boy or a  Girl ?
63. How old are you? _____________
64. Which grade do you attend at school? ______________
65. Where did you start learning English?
 School  FL Centre  Private lessons  Other_________
66. How many years have you been learning English? _______
67. At what age did you start learning English? _____
68. Do you currently attend a class in a private FL centre?  Yes  No
69. If yes, which class? _____
70. Do you currently attend private English lessons?  Yes  No
71. Which is your second foreign language? _________________
72. Which is the language of communication at home? ______________
73. Father‘s knowledge of English:
 Very good  Good enough  Good  Not good  Bad
74. Mother‘s knowledge of English:
 Very good  Good enough  Good  Not good  Bad
75. In comparison with your classmates, your level of English icsis
 Very good  Good enough  Good  Not good
76. In comparison with your classmates, I study
 Very hard  Hard enough  Not hard  Not hard at all
THANK YOU FOR TAKING PART IN THIS RESEARCH AND FOR YOUR SINCERE
RESPONSES!
305
APPENDIX ΙΙ
MAIN QUESTIONNAIRE
306
ΔΡΩΣΗΜΑΣΟΛΟΓΙΟ
ΚΙΝΗΣΡΑ ΚΑΙ ΢ΣΑ΢ΔΙ΢ ΑΠΔΝΑΝΣΙ ΢ΣΗΝ ΔΚΜΑΘΗ΢Η ΣΗ΢ ΑΓΓΛΙΚΗ΢ ΓΛΩ΢΢Α΢
Σν εξσηεκαηνιόγην απηό είλαη κέξνο κίαο έξεπλαο ζρεηηθά κε ηα θίλεηξα θαη ηηο ζηάζεηο ησλ
καζεηώλ απέλαληη ζηελ εθκάζεζε ηεο αγγιηθήο γιώζζαο.
Σν εξσηεκαηνιόγην είλαη Ανώνσμο θαη Δμπιζηεσηικό. Γελ ππάξρνπλ ζσζηέο ή ιάζνο

απαληήζεηο. Γελ ρξεηάδεηαη λα γξάςεηο ην όλνκα ζνπ. Μόλν απάληεζε εηιηθξηλά ζηηο παξαθάησ
εξσηήζεηο.
Για ηις ερφηήζεις 1-50, βάλε Χ ή  ζε ENA κοσηάκι και ζημείφζε καηά πόζο ζσμθφνείς με
ηην κάθε πρόηαζη
ζίγοσρος/η
΢σμθφνώ
΢σμθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γεν είμαι
απόλσηα
απόλσηα
΢ε ασηή ηην ενόηηηα θα ήθελα να μάθφ ηις απόυεις ζοσ
ζτεηικά με ηην αγγλική γλώζζα
1. Η γλώζε ηεο αγγιηθήο είλαη απαξαίηεηε γηα ηε ρξήζε ηνπ

Η/Τ
2. Η γλώζε ηεο αγγιηθήο είλαη απαξαίηεηε γηα ηε ρξήζε ηνπ
δηαδηθηύνπ θαη ησλ παηρληδηώλ
3. Η γλώζε ηεο αγγιηθήο ζα κε βνεζήζεη λα θάλσ θίινπο από
πνιιέο μέλεο ρώξεο
4. Πηζηεύσ όηη ε γλώζε ηεο αγγιηθήο ζα κε θάλεη πην
κνξθσκέλν/ε
5. Tα αγγιηθά είλαη ε βαζηθή γιώζζα επηθνηλσλίαο κεηαμύ
αλζξώπσλ από δηαθνξεηηθέο ρώξεο
6. Αλ μέξσ θαιά ηα αγγιηθά ζα είκαη πην πεηπρεκέλνο/ε ζηε
δσή (ζην επάγγεικα, ζηηο πξνζσπηθέο ζρέζεηο, ζηελ
επηθνηλσλία)
7. Πηζηεύσ όηη αλ έρσ θάπνην δίπισκα (π.ρ. First Certificate of
Cambridge, Proficiency, PALSO) ζηα αγγιηθά ζα είκαη πην
πεηπρεκέλνο ζην κέιινλ
8. Οη γνλείο κνπ ζεσξνύλ όηη ε γλώζε ηεο αγγιηθήο είλαη πνιύ
ζεκαληηθή γηα ην κέιινλ κνπ
9. Οη πεξηζζόηεξεο ηαηλίεο θαη ηα πεξηζζόηεξα ηξαγνύδηα πνπ
κνπ αξέζνπλ έρνπλ σο γιώζζα ηα αγγιηθά
10. Η ππεξβνιηθή ρξήζε ηεο αγγιηθήο ζηελ Διιάδα επεξεάδεη
ηε γιώζζα πνπ κηιάκε ζην ζπίηη (Διιεληθή, Αιβαληθή, θ.ά.)
11. Σα αγγιηθά είλαη εύθνιε γιώζζα (π.ρ. γξακκαηηθή,
πξνθνξά)
ζίγοσρος/η
΢σμθφνώ
΢σμθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Απόυεις ζτεηικά με ηην εκμάθηζη ηφν αγγλικών ζηο ζτολείο

Γεν είμαι
απόλσηα
απόλσηα
12. Πξνζπαζώ πξαγκαηηθά λα κάζσ ηα αγγιηθά όζν ην δπλαηόλ

θαιύηεξα
307
13. Δίκαη ζίγνπξνο όηη ζα κάζσ ηα αγγιηθά θαιά

14. Οη γνλείο κνπ κε ελζαξξύλνπλ λα κάζσ αγγιηθά
15. Απνιακβάλσ ηα καζήκαηα ησλ αγγιηθώλ
16. Πξνζπαζώ λα ρξεζηκνπνηώ ηα αγγιηθά όζν γίλεηαη
πεξηζζόηεξν αθόκε θαη έμσ από ηελ ηάμε (κε ηνπο θίινπο, ζην
δηαδίθηπν, θ.α.)
17. Οη γνλείο (θαη άιινη ζπγγελείο) κνπ κε βνεζνύλ (π.ρ. ζηελ
πξνεηνηκαζία ζην ζπίηη) ώζηε λα κάζσ αγγιηθά θαιά
18. Ο δάζθαινο / H δαζθάια ησλ αγγιηθώλ κε ελζαξξύλεη λα
κάζσ αγγιηθά
19. Πξνηηκώ λα αθηεξώλσ πεξηζζόηεξε ώξα δηαβάζκαηνο ζε άιια
καζήκαηα παξά ζηα αγγιηθά
20. Η κειέηε ησλ αγγιηθώλ είλαη βαξεηή
21. Σα αγγιηθά πξέπεη λα δηδάζθνληαη από ηελ πξώηε ηάμε ηνπ
δεκνηηθνύ
22. Σα αγγιηθά είλαη έλα από ηα πηα ζεκαληηθά καζήκαηα ζην
ζρνιηθό πξόγξακκα
23. Θα κάζαηλα αγγιηθά αθόκε θαη αλ δελ ήηαλ ζην ζρνιηθό
πξόγξακκα
24. Δίκαη γεληθά ηθαλνπνηεκέλνο/ε κε ην βηβιίν θαη ηα άιια κέζα
κε ηα νπνία καζαίλνπκε ηα αγγιηθά ζην ζρνιείν
25. Δίκαη γεληθά ηθαλνπνηεκέλνο/ε κε ηε δαζθάια/ην δάζθαιν
κνπ ησλ αγγιηθώλ θαη κε ηηο κεζόδνπο δηδαζθαιίαο ηεο/ηνπ
26. Αξέζεη ζηνπο θίινπο κνπ λα καζαίλνπλ αγγιηθά
΢ε ασηή ηην ενόηηηα ενδιαθέρομαι για ηοσς δικούς ζοσ λόγοσς ζίγοσρος/η
΢σμθφνώ
΢σμθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γεν είμαι
απόλσηα
απόλσηα
προκειμένοσ να μάθεις αγγλικά
Μαθαίνφ αγγλικά επειδή...
27. Σα αγγιηθά ζα είλαη πνιύ ρξήζηκα γηα νπνηνδήπνηε

κειινληηθό κνπ επάγγεικα
28. Θέισ λα ζπνπδάζσ ζην εμσηεξηθό (π.ρ. Αγγιία, Ακεξηθή)
29. Θέισ λα πάξσ θάπνην δίπισκα (π.ρ. ην Κξαηηθό
Πηζηνπνηεηηθό Γισζζνκάζεηαο, ην First Lower Certificate of
Cambridge, Proficiency, Palso) ζηα αγγιηθά
30. Θα κάζσ πεξηζζόηεξα πξάγκαηα γηα ηνπο αγγιόθσλνπο ιανύο
(π.ρ. Άγγινπο, Ακεξηθαλνύο), ηνλ πνιηηηζκό θαη ηνλ ηξόπν
δσήο ηνπο κέζα από ηα αγγιηθά
31. Θα κάζσ πεξηζζόηεξα πξάγκαηα γηα ηνπο δηαθνξεηηθνύο
ιανύο (π.ρ. Κηλέδνπο, Γεξκαλνύο, Βξαδηιηάλνπο), ηνλ
πνιηηηζκό θαη ηνλ ηξόπν δσήο ηνπο κέζα από ηα αγγιηθά
32. Σα αγγιηθά είλαη ππνρξεσηηθό κάζεκα ζην ζρνιηθό
πξόγξακκα
33. Μνπ αξέζνπλ ηα αγγιηθά σο μέλε γιώζζα
34. Όινη νη θίινη θαη ζπκκαζεηέο κνπ καζαίλνπλ αγγιηθά
35. Δίλαη επηζπκία ησλ γνληώλ κνπ
36. Θέισ λα ηαμηδεύσ ζηηο αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο (π.ρ. Αγγιία,
Ηλσκέλεο Πνιηηείεο)
308
37. Θέισ λα ηαμηδεύσ ζηηο κε αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο (π.ρ. Γεξκαλία,

Ιζπαλία, Ιαπσλία)
38. Καηαλνώ ην ζεκαληηθό ξόιν πνπ έρνπλ ηα αγγιηθά ζην
ζύγρξνλν θόζκν
39. Θέισ λα επηθνηλσλώ κε Άγγινπο, Ακεξηθαλνύο, Απζηξαινύο,
θιπ. γηα ηνπο νπνίνπο ηα αγγιηθά είλαη ε κεηξηθή/βαζηθή ηνπο
γιώζζα
40. Θέισ λα επηθνηλσλώ κε αλζξώπνπο γηα ηνπο νπνίνπο ηα
αγγιηθά δελ είλαη ε κεηξηθή/βαζηθή ηνπο γιώζζα (π.ρ.
Γεξκαλνύο, Γάιινπο, θιπ.)
41. Θέισ λα ςάρλσ πιεξνθνξίεο ζην δηαδίθηπν
ζίγοσρος/η
΢σμθφνώ
΢σμθφνώ
απολύηφς
απολύηφς
Γιαθφνώ
Γιαθφνώ
Γεν είμαι
Πες ηη γνώμη ζοσ ζτεηικά με ηα παρακάηφ
42. Οη Δλσκέλεο Πνιηηείεο (Ακεξηθή) είλαη κηα ρώξα

εθζπγρξνληζκνύ θαη πξνόδνπ
43. Οη Ακεξηθαλνί είλαη επγεληθνί
44. Η Ακεξηθή είλαη έλαο πξννξηζκόο γηα πνιινύο λένπο από ηελ
Διιάδα γηα ζπνπδέο θαη δνπιεηά
45. Οη Ακεξηθαλνί είλαη κνξθσκέλνη θαη ελεκεξσκέλνη
46. Η Μεγάιε Βξεηαλία (Η Αγγιία) είλαη κηα ρώξα
εθζπγρξνληζκνύ θαη πξνόδνπ
47. Οη Βξεηαλνί (Οη Άγγινη) είλαη επγεληθνί
48. Η Μεγάιε Βξεηαλία είλαη έλαο πξννξηζκόο γηα πνιινύο
λένπο από ηελ Διιάδα γηα ζπνπδέο θαη δνπιεηά
49. Οη Βξεηαλνί (Οη Άγγινη) είλαη κνξθσκέλνη θαη ελεκεξσκέλνη
Καθόλοσ
Αρκεηά
Πολύ
50. Πόζο ζημανηικό είναι για ζένα
Να κηιάο αγγιηθά κε βξεηαληθή πξνθνξά όζν γίλεηαη θαιύηεξα;
Να κηιάο αγγιηθά κε ακεξηθάληθε πξνθνξά όζν γίλεηαη θαιύηεξα;

Να κηιάο αγγιηθά ζσζηά θαη θαζαξά, δηαηεξώληαο ηελ Διιεληθή ζνπ
πξνθνξά;
Να κηιάο αγγιηθά αξθεηά θαζαξά γηα λα ζε θαηαιαβαίλνπλ εύθνια νη
ζπλνκηιεηέο ζνπ (κε ηε δηθή ζνπ πξνθνξά);
Να κηιάο αγγιηθά ρσξίο ιάζε γξακκαηηθήο;
Να επηθνηλσλείο κε άιινπο κε αγγιόθσλνπο νκηιεηέο αθόκε θαη αλ θάλεηο
θάπνηα γξακκαηηθά ιάζε;
Να γξάθεηο αγγιηθά ρσξίο ιάζε γξακκαηηθήο;
309
Για ηις ερφηήζεις 51-52, βάλε Χ ή ζε Ο΢Α κοσηάκια θέλεις.
51. Ποιες από ηις παρακάηφ δραζηηριόηηηες κάνεις για να βεληιώζεις ηα αγγλικά ζοσ;
 Γηαβάδσ βηβιία ζηα αγγιηθά
 Βιέπσ ηαηλίεο ζηα αγγιηθά ρσξίο λα δηαβάδσ ηνπο ππόηηηινπο ζηα ειιεληθά
 Βιέπσ θηλνύκελα ζρέδηα ζηα αγγιηθά
 Γηαβάδσ ηα αγαπεκέλα κνπ θόκηθο ζηα αγγιηθά
 Μηιάσ αγγιηθά κε ηνπο μέλνπο (π.ρ. ηνπξίζηεο)
 Γξάθσ γξάκκαηα ζηα αγγιηθά ζε θίινπο πνπ δνπλ ζην εμσηεξηθό
 Αθνύσ ηξαγνύδηα ζηα αγγιηθά θαη πξνζπαζώ λα θαηαιάβσ ηα ιόγηα
 Υξεζηκνπνηώ ηα αγγιηθά ζην δηαδίθηπν
 Παίδσ παηρλίδηα ζηα αγγιηθά
 Άιιν__________________________
52. Ποια από ηα παρακάηφ ζε έτοσν βοηθήζει να βεληιώζεις ηα αγγλικά ζοσ;

 Γηάβαζκα ζηα αγγιηθά
 Παξαθνινύζεζε ηαηληώλ θαη θηλνπκέλσλ ζρεδίσλ ζηα αγγιηθά
 Δπηθνηλσλία κε αγγιόθσλνπο (πξνζσπηθά, κέζσ δηαδηθηύνπ)
 Μαζήκαηα ζην ζρνιείν
 Μαζήκαηα ζηα θξνληηζηήξηα
 Ιδηαίηεξα καζήκαηα αγγιηθώλ
 Πξνζπάζεηα θαη απηνδηδαζθαιία
 Σαμίδηα ζε αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο (π.ρ. Μεγάιε Βξεηαλία, Ηλσκέλεο Πνιηηείεο)
 Άιιν________________________
Για ηις ερφηήζεις 53-56, βάλε Χ ή  ζε ΔΝΑ κοσηάκι.
53. Αν είτες επιλογή, ηι θα διάλεγες φς ακοσζηική δραζηηριόηηηα ζηο μάθημα ηφν

αγγλικών;
 Να αθνύσ πεξηζζόηεξν νκηιία θαη δηαιόγνπο κεηαμύ Βξεηαλώλ ή/θαη Ακεξηθαλώλ
 Να αθνύσ νκηιία θαη δηαιόγνπο ζηα αγγιηθά κεηαμύ αλζξώπσλ δηαθνξεηηθώλ
εζληθνηήησλ πνπ ηα αγγιηθά δελ είλαη ε βαζηθή ηνπο γιώζζα (π.ρ. Γεξκαλώλ, Ρώζσλ,
Κηλέδσλ, Βξαδηιηαλώλ, θ.α.)
 Να αθνύσ νκηιία θαη δηαιόγνπο κεηαμύ Διιήλσλ θαη άιισλ αγγιόθσλσλ
54. Αν είτες επιλογή, ηι θα διάλεγες φς αναγνφζηική δραζηηριόηηηα ζηο μάθημα ηφν

αγγλικών;
 Να δηαβάδσ θείκελα ζηα αγγιηθά ζρεηηθά κε ηελ Αγγιία ή/θαη ηελ Ακεξηθή, ηελ ηζηνξία
ηνπο, ηνλ ηξόπν δσήο θαη ηε λννηξνπία ησλ αλζξώπσλ.
 Να δηαβάδσ θείκελα ζηα αγγιηθά ζρεηηθά κε ηηο δηαθνξεηηθέο ρώξεο ηνπ θόζκνπ, ηελ
ηζηνξία ηνπο, ηνλ ηξόπν δσήο θαη ηε λννηξνπία ησλ αλζξώπσλ.
 Να δηαβάδσ θείκελα ζηα αγγιηθά ζρεηηθά κε ηελ Διιάδα, ηελ ηζηνξία ηεο, ηα δηαθνξεηηθά
κέξε θαη δηάθνξα γεγνλόηα πνπ ζπκβαίλνπλ
55. Αν είτες επιλογή, ηι θα διάλεγες φς δραζηηριόηηηα ζτεηική με ηο γραπηό λόγο ζηο

μάθημα ηφν αγγλικών;
ηνπο Βξεηαλνύο θαη/ή Ακεξηθάλνπο, ηηο ρώξεο, ηηο παξαδόζεηο, ηε λννηξνπία ηνπο.
άιιεο ρώξεο, ηηο παξαδόζεηο, ηε λννηξνπία ησλ ιαώλ ηεο.
310
 Να ςάρλσ πιεξνθνξίεο (π.ρ. δηαδίθηπν, εγθπθινπαίδεηα) θαη λα γξάθσ ζηα αγγιηθά

πεξηζζόηεξν γηα ηελ Διιάδα θαη ηνπο Έιιελεο
56. Αν είτες επιλογή, ηι θα διάλεγες φς προθορική δραζηηριόηηηα ζηο μάθημα ηφν
αγγλικών;
 Να ζπδεηώ ζηα αγγιηθά πεξηζζόηεξν γηα δεηήκαηα ζρεηηθά κε ηηο αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο θαη
ηνπο αγγιόθσλνπο ιανύο (π.ρ. Αγγιία, Ακεξηθή, Απζηξαιία)
 Να ζπδεηώ ζηα αγγιηθά πεξηζζόηεξν γηα ηα παγθόζκηα δεηήκαηα, γεγνλόηα θαη ό, ηη είλαη
επίθαηξν θαη ελδηαθέξνλ
 Να ζπδεηώ ζηα αγγιηθά πεξηζζόηεξν γηα ζέκαηα θαη γεγνλόηα ζρεηηθά κε ηελ Διιάδα
Βάλε Χ ή  ζηο καηάλληλο κοσηάκι

57. Δίζαη  Αγόξη  Κνξίηζη;
58. Πόζν ρξνλώλ είζαη; _____________
59. ΢ε πνηα ηάμε είζαη; ______________
60. Πνύ άξρηζεο λα καζαίλεηο αγγιηθά;
 ΢ρνιείo  Φξνληηζηήξην  Ιδηαίηεξα  Αιινύ_________
61. Πόζα ρξόληα ζπλνιηθά καζαίλεηο αγγιηθά; _______
62. ΢ε πνηα ειηθία άξρηζεο λα καζαίλεηο αγγιηθά;_____
63. Σώξα παξαθνινπζείο καζήκαηα αγγιηθώλ ζε θάπνην Φξνληηζηήξην;  Ναη  Όρη
64. Αλ Ναη, ζε πνηα ηάμε _______________________________
65. Σώξα παξαθνινπζείο θάπνηα ηδηαίηεξα καζήκαηα;  Ναη  Όρη
66. Γεύηεξε μέλε γιώζζα πνπ καζαίλεηο
 γαιιηθά  γεξκαληθά  ηηαιηθά  άιιε: ______
67. Γιώζζα επηθνηλσλίαο ζην ζπίηη  ειιεληθά  άιιε: _____________________
68. Ο κπακπάο κνπ μέξεη αγγιηθά:
69. Η κακά κνπ μέξεη αγγιηθά:
70. ΢ε ζύγθξηζε κε ηνπο ζπκκαζεηέο κνπ, ην επίπεδν ησλ αγγιηθώλ κνπ είλαη:
 Πνιύ θαιό  Αξθεηά Καιό  Καιό  Όρη θαιό
71. ΢ε ζύγθξηζε κε ηνπο ζπκκαζεηέο κνπ, κειεηώ:
 Πάξα πνιύ  Αξθεηά  Λίγν  Καζόινπ
311
QUESTIONNAIRE
ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION TO LEARN ENGLISH
The present questionnaire is part of a research, which investigates Greek learners‘ attitudes and
motivation to learn English. This questionnaire is strictly confidential and anonymous. There
are no right or wrong answers; there is no need to put your name down. You are kindly asked to
answer to the following questions
For questions 1-50, put an Χ or a  in ONE square and mark to what extent you agree or
disagree with the following
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Strongly
Not sure
Agree
Agree
In this section, I would like to learn about your attitudes
towards English
1. The knowledge of English is indispensable for computer use
2. English is indispensable for the Internet and gaming
3. The knowledge of English will help me make friends with

people of different nationalities
4. The knowledge of English will make me more educated
5. English is the basic language of communication for people

from different countries
6. If I know English well I will be more successful in life

7. I believe if I have any English language certificate (e.g.
First Certificate of Cambridge, Proficiency, PALSO), I will
be more successful in future
8. My parents believe that knowledge of English is very
important for my future
9. The majority of films and songs that I like are in English
10. An extended use of English in Greece affect my native

language (Greek, Albanian, etc)
11. English is an easy language to learn (e.g. Grammar,
pronunciation)
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Strongly
Not sure
Agree
Agree
Your attitudes towards learning English AT SCHOOL
12. I try really hard to learn English better
13. I am sure I will learn English well
14. My parents encourage me to learn English

312
15. I enjoy my English language lessons
16. I try to use English as much as possible outside the

classroom as well (with friends, on the Internet, etc.)
17. My parents help me to prepare for my English lessons at
home
18. My teacher encourages me to learn English
19. I try to dedicate more time to other subjects rather than to

English
20. Learning English is boring
21. English should be introduced from the first grade of primary

school
22. English is one of the most important school subjects
23. I would have learnt English even if it were not in the school
curriculum
24. I am generally satisfied with the English course book and
other materials that we have at school
25. I am generally satisfied with the English language teacher
and his/her methods
26. My friends like to learn English
In this section, I would like to learn about your reasons
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Not sure
Strongly
for learning English.
Agree
Agree
I learn English because….
27. English will be very useful in whatever profession I choose

in the future
28. I want to study abroad (e.g. UK, USA, etc.)
29. I want to attain an English language proficiency certificate
(e.g. First Certificate of Cambridge, Proficiency, PALSO)
30. I will learn through English more about the native speakers
of English (e.g. Americans, British), their culture and ways of
living
31. I will learn through English more about different nations (e.g.
Chinese, Germans. Brazilians), their culture and ways of
living
32. English is a compulsory school subject
33. I like English as a foreign language
34. My friends and classmates learn English
35. It is my parents‘ wish

36. I want to travel to the native-speaking countries (e.g. UK,
USA, Australia, etc.)
37. I want to travel to the non-native-speaking countries (e.g.
Germany, Spain, Japan etc.)
313
38. I realise the important role of English nowadays in the world

39. I want to communicate with the English, Americans,
Australians etc. for whom English is a native language
40. I want to communicate with people for whom English is not a
native language (e.g. Germans, French, etc.)
41. I want to browse the Internet for information
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Strongly
Not sure
Agree
Agree
Tell me, please, your opinion about the following
42. The USA (America) is a country of technology and progress
43. The Americans are polite

44. The USA is a destination for many young Greeks for work
and studies
45. The Americans are educated and well-informed
46. The UK (England) is a country of technology and progress
47. The English people are polite

48. The UK is a destination for many young Greeks for work
and studies
49. The English people are educated and well-informed
Enough
At all
Very
50. How important is it for you to
speak in English with a British accent as much as possible?
speak in English with an American accent as much as possible?
speak in English clearly and correctly while retaining your Greek accent?
speak in English clearly enough to be intelligible to your interlocutor
(with your own accent)?
speak in English without any grammar mistakes?
to communicate in English with other non-native speakers sometimes

even if mistakes are made?
write in English without any grammar mistakes
314
For questions 51-52, put an Χ or a  in more than one square of your choice.
51. Do you use any of the following in order to improve your English?
 I read books in English
 I watch films in English without reading Greek subtitles
 I watch cartoons in English
 I read my favourite comics in English
 I speak English with foreigners (e.g. tourists)
 I write letters in English to my friends who live abroad
 I listen to songs in English and try to understand the meaning
 I use English on the Internet
 I play games in English
 Other __________________________
52. Which of the following have helped you improve your English?
 Reading in English
 Watching films and cartoons in English
 Communication (personal, via the Internet) with people for whom English is a native
language
 English classes at school
 English classes at a private foreign language centre
 Private English classes
 Endeavour and self-instruction
 Travelling to countries where English is a native language (e.g. the UK, the USA)
 Other ________________________
For questions 53-56, put an Χ or a  in only ONE square next to your answer.
53. If given a choice, which listening activity would you prefer?

 To listen to dialogues in English among the British and Americans
 To listen to dialogues in English among people of different nationalities for whom English
is not a native language (e.g. Germans, Russians, Chinese, Brazilians, etc.)
 To listen to dialogues in English between Greeks and other people of different nationalities
for whom English is not a native language
54. If given a choice, which reading activity would you prefer?

 To read texts in English regarding the USA, the UK, their history, customs and ways of
living
 To read texts in English about different countries, their people, traditions and ways of
living
 To read texts in English about Greece, its history, culture, and different events that happen
in Greece
55. If given a choice, which writing activity would you prefer?

 To seek information (e.g. with the help of the Internet, an encyclopedia) and to write in
English about the English and/or Americans, their countries, their people, traditions and
culture
English about different countries, people, traditions and culture
315
English about and the Greek people
56. If given a choice, which speaking activity would you prefer?

 To discuss in English more topics about countries where English is a native language and
their people (e.g. The UK, the USA, Australia)
 To discuss in English more topics about global events, and current international affairs
 To discuss in English more topics about Greece
Put an Χ or a in the square next to your answer

57. Are you a  Boy or a  Girl?
58. How old are you? _____________
59. Which grade do you attend? ______________
60. Where did you start learning English?
 School  FL Centre  Private lessons  Other_________
61. How many years have you been learning English? _______
62. At what age did you start learning English? _____
63. Are you currently following tuition at a private foreign language centre?
 Yes  No.
64. If yes, which class? _____
65. Do you currently attend private English lessons?  Yes  No.
66. If you are currently learning another foreign language, please state which one.
 French  German  Italian  Other: ____
67. Language of communication at home  Greek  other: _________________
68. My father knows English:
 Very well  Well enough  Well  Not well  Not at all
69. My mother knows English:
 Very well  Well enough  Well  Not well  Not at all
70. In comparison with my classmates, my level of English is
 Very good  Good enough  Good  Not good
71. In comparison with my classmates, I study
 Very hard  Hard enough  Not hard  Not hard at all
316
APPENDIX ΙΙΙ
TABLES
Table 4.1 Top ten languages used in the web, 2011

(http://www.Internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm)
Top Ten Languages Used in the Web
( Number of Internet Users by Language )
TOP TEN Growth
Internet Internet World Population
LANGUAGES Internet Users in Internet
Penetration Users for this Language
IN THE by Language (2000 -
by Language % of Total (2011 Estimate)
INTERNET 2011)
English 565.004.126 43.4 % 301.4 % 26.8 % 1.302.275.670
Chinese 509.965.013 37.2 % 1.478.7 % 24.2 % 1.372.226.042
Spanish 164.968.742 39.0 % 807.4 % 7.8 % 423.085.806
Japanese 99.182.000 78.4 % 110.7 % 4.7 % 126.475.664
Portuguese 82.586.600 32.5 % 990.1 % 3.9 % 253.947.594
German 75.422.674 79.5 % 174.1 % 3.6 % 94.842.656
Arabic 65.365.400 18.8 % 2.501.2 % 3.3 % 347.002.991
French 59.779.525 17.2 % 398.2 % 3.0 % 347.932.305
Russian 59.700.000 42.8 % 1.825.8 % 3.0 % 139.390.205
Korean 39.440.000 55.2 % 107.1 % 2.0 % 71.393.343
TOP 10
1.615.957.333 36.4 % 421.2 % 82.2 % 4.442.056.069
LANGUAGES
Rest of the
350.557.483 14.6 % 588.5 % 17.8 % 2.403.553.891
Languages
WORLD TOTAL 2.099.926.965 30.3 % 481.7 % 100.0 % 6.930.055.15
Table 6.26 The effect of proficiency level on the dependent variable cultural interest
Factor QPT N M SD T(df)=statistics p
MOTIVATION A1+A2 900 5.40 2.035 t(1138)=

0.916
Cultural Interest B1+B2 240 5.42 2.034 -0,105
Table 6.35a Learners‘ attitudes towards their accent and grammar in terms of age
Age N M SD p
0-13 500 1.69 .706
speak with a British accent as much as possible? <.001

14-17 642 2.06 .721
0-13 500 1.98 .731
speak with an American accent as much as possible? .518

14-17 642 2.01 .733
0-13 500 1.74 .802 <.001

speak in English clearly and correctly while retaining
317
your Greek accent? 14-17 642 1.95 .818
0-13 500 1.54 .694

speak in English clearly enough to be intelligible to .812
your interlocutor (with your own accent)? 14-17 642 1.53 .677
0-13 500 1.40 .614
Speak in English without any grammar mistakes? .852

14-17 642 1.41 .613
0-13 500 1.91 .651

To communicate in English with other non-native .083
speakers sometimes even if mistakes are made 14-17 641 1.84 .681
0-13 500 1.37 .605

write in English without any grammar mistakes .361
14-17 641 1.41 .626
Table 6.36a Learners‘ attitudes towards their accent and grammar in terms of gender
Gender N M SD p
Male 573 1.93 .754

speak with a British accent as much as possible? .102
Female 566 1.86 .718
Male 573 2.03 .746

speak with an American accent as much as possible? .069
Female 566 1.95 .717
Male 573 1.75 .789

speak in English clearly and correctly while retaining your
<.001
Greek accent?
Female 566 1.97 .830
Male 573 1.54 .672

speak in English clearly enough to be intelligible to your
.957
interlocutor (with your own accent)?
Female 566 1.54 .697
Male 573 1.48 .657

Speak in English without any grammar mistakes? <.001
Female 566 1.33 .556
Male 572 1.86 .659 .588

To communicate in English with other non-native speakers
318
sometimes even if mistakes are made Female 566 1.88 .677
write in English without any grammar mistakes Male 573 1.43 .643
.019
Female 565 1.35 .587
Table 5.36b. Learners’ attitudes towards their accent and grammar in terms of proficiency
level
QPT N M SD p
A1+A2 901 1.90 .740

Speak in English with a British accent as much as possible? .742
B1+B2 241 1.88 .727
Speak in English with an American accent as much as A1+A2 901 2.00 .742
.716
B1+B2 241 1.98 .692
possible?
speak in English clearly and correctly while retaining your A1+A2 901 1.79 .804
<.001
B1+B2 241 2.11 .820
Greek accent?
speak in English clearly enough to be intelligible to your A1+A2 901 1.56 .696
.016
B1+B2 241 1.44 .631
interlocutor (with your own accent)?
A1+A2 901 1.44 .632
Speak in English without any grammar mistakes? <.001
B1+B2 241 1.27 .514
To communicate in English with other non-native speakers A1+A2 900 1.91 .667
<.001
B1+B2 241 1.71 .651
sometimes even if mistakes are made
A1+A2 901 1.42 .639
write in English without any grammar mistakes
B1+B2 240 1.29 .516 .005
319
APPENDIX IV
INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE

320
ΔΡΩΣΗ΢ΔΙ΢
1. ΢νπ αξέζνπλ ηα αγγιηθά;
2. Πνηνο είλαη ν βαζηθόο ιόγνο πνπ καζαίλεηο αγγιηθά;
3. ΢νπ αξέζεη ε δηθή ζνπ πξνθνξά ζηα αγγιηθά; (Γηα πνην ιόγν;)
4. Πόζν ζεκαληηθό είλαη λα μέξεηο ηα αγγιηθά γηα ην κειινληηθό ζνπ επάγγεικα;
5.Πνηα είλαη ε γλώκε ζνπ γηα ην κάζεκα αγγιηθώλ ζην ζρνιείν;
6. Πνηα είλαη ε γλώκε ζνπ γηα ηελ παξαθνινύζεζε αγγιηθώλ ζην θξνληηζηήξην;
7. Πνιινί λνκίδνπλ όηη ε κειέηε αγγιηθώλ είλαη βαξεηή. Πνηα είλαη ε δηθή ζνπ άπνςε;
8. Έρεηο γλσζηνύο/θίινπο από αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο (π.ρ. Αγγιία, Ακεξηθή, Καλαδά, θιπ)
9. Έρεηο γλσζηνύο/θίινπο από κε αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο (π.ρ. Κίλα, Γεξκαλία, Ρσζία, ΢εξβία,
θηι.)
10. Πόζν ζπρλά ρξεζηκνπνηείο αγγιηθά έμσ από ην ζρνιείν ή ην θξνληηζηήξην (π.ρ. κε
ηνπξίζηεο, ζην Ιληεξλέη, κε ηνπο θίινπο, θηι.);
11. Ση γλώκε έρεηο ζρεηηθά κε ην ξόιν πνπ έρνπλ ηα αγγιηθά ζηνλ θόζκν;
12. Θεσξείο όηη ηα βηβιία πξέπεη λα πεξηέρνπλ πιεξνθνξίεο (πρ. ηελ ηζηνξία, ην
πνιηηηζκό, θιπ.) ζρεηηθά κε αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο (πρ. Αγγιία, Απζηξαιία, Ακεξηθή); Αλ
λαη, ηη πιεξνθνξίεο;
13. Θεσξείο όηη ηα βηβιία πξέπεη λα πεξηέρνπλ πιεξνθνξίεο (πρ. ηελ ηζηνξία, ην
πνιηηηζκό, θιπ.) ζρεηηθά κε κε αγγιόθσλεο ρώξεο (πρ. Γαιιία, Βξαδηιία, Γεξκαλία, θιπ.);
Αλ λαη, ηη πιεξνθνξίεο;
321
QUESTIONS
1. Do you like English?
2. Which is your main goal for learning English?
3. Do you like your English accent? Why?
4. How important is it for you to know English well for your future career?
5. What is your opinion about the English lessons at school?
6. What is your opinion about the English lessons at the private foreign language schools?
7. Many people believe that learning English is boring at school. What is your opinion
about this?
8. Do you have friends/acquaintances from countries where English is spoken as a mother
tongue (e.g. the UK, the USA, Canada, etc.)?
9. Do you have friends/acquaintances from countries where English is spoken as a
foreign language (e.g. Germany, China, Russia, Serbia, etc.)?
10. How often do you use English outside the classroom on a daily basis (listening to
music, watching films, browsing the Internet, talking to foreigners/tourists)?
11. What is your opinion about the role that English plays today in the world?
12. Do you believe that English teaching materials should primarily focus upon the NSs
and countries where the NSs of English live? Why?
13. Do you believe that English teaching materials should contain topics about different
countries and nations? Why?

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LEARNERS' ATTITUDES AND MOTIVATION TO

LEARN ENGLISH: ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN OR AS

A thesis submitted for the degree of

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Nina and Yanna,

for their unconditional love, patience, understanding and support

English language learning.

were a 71-item attitude/motivation questionnaire, which explored learners‘ attitudes

concise questionnaire used for the short semi-structured interviews.

of the learners‘ attitudes and motivation.

In conclusion, suggestions for future research and a number of pedagogical

to the three members of my supervisory committee:

Professor Angeliki Psaltou-Joycey, the second member of my supervisory

to my doctoral work; and

consideration and research.

I would also like to thank:

classrooms as well as all the students who participated in this research.

 The State Scholarship Foundation (IKY), for funding my PhD studies.

 The Research Committee, for granting me the Excellence Research Scholarship.

 The Pedagogical Institute, for granting permission to carry my research in state

primary and secondary schools;

understanding and support.

LIST OF TABLES xii

LIST OF FIGURES xiv

5.2.1 ELT in the Greek National Curriculum 129

6.5.3 Cultural Interest in Students’ Motivation to Learn English 185

CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

students‘ attitudes and motivation in terms of gender and age

Figure 2.1 Gardner‘s conceptualisation of the integrative motive 20

1.1 Rationale for Carrying Out the Present Study

influential individual difference variables which predict success or failure in L2 learning

from different theoretical perspectives (which will be thoroughly covered in Chapters 2

development of English into a language of international communication (EIL) has brought

identity, attitudes towards EIL and motivation to learn it.

general lines, attitudinal/motivational patterns among Greek English as a Foreign

language proficiency level on attitude/motivation factors will be examined. In relation to

are more motivated and, more specifically, manifest different attitudinal/motivational

1963; Lukmani, 1972; Spolsky, 1969).

incorporate EIL-related issues into their English language learning (ELL).

undertaken to investigate the interrelation of such multidimensional and complicated

motivation and EIL considerably under-researched and open to investigation.

The present study, as contextualised within the Greek socio-educational milieu,

into their ELL.

of this study to young learners of English in the Greek EFL context.

Primary school learners in particular.

1.2 Research Questions

following research questions have been posited:

attitudes and motivation to learn English?

 Research Question 2. For the whole sample, do differences in learners’ levels of

learners’ attitudes and motivation to learn English?

 Research question 4. For the whole sample, is English perceived as a foreign or as an

international language by Greek learners?

Consequently, the research findings will provide comprehensive answers to the

educational context, and more specifically, in Greek state schools.

1.3 Layout of the Thesis

The thesis consists of eight chapters:

substantiated by highlighting the scarcity of related studies in the Greek context,

attitudes and motivation. A reference is made to Gardner‘s Socio-Educational Model as the

calls for a ―motivational renaissance‖ and revision of the Socio-Educational Model. A

Chapter three discusses the interrelation of L2 attitudes/motivation and globalisation,

considered to be the most influential variables regarding L2 attitudes and motivation. In

recent trends and approaches in motivational theories related to the overwhelming

phenomenon of globalisation and the development of English into an international

concept of EIL, which is, as a result, discussed in the next chapter.