Waseda University · Psychology
Professor W. L. Quint Oga-Baldwin's research lab specializes in second language motivation, particularly focusing on young language learners in elementary education contexts. The lab investigates how gender, teacher practices, and the strategic use of students’ first language influence motivation, engagement, and the development of self-regulated learning. Central to the lab’s work is the application of self-determination theory to understand how psychological needs—competence, autonomy, and relatedness—are met in foreign language classrooms to foster long-term language learning success.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Students' gender can have subtle long-term effects on students' motivation, engagement, and ultimate achievement in learning a new language. Given the current focus on motivation in primary and secondary schools in many Asian countries, understanding both boys' and girls' orientations toward learning English may offer insight into students' future trajectories. In this study, we sought to demonstrate the differences in students' motivational profiles originating from their gender. Using a sample
Abstract Teachers of young learners often seek guidance on how best to engage and motivate their students. In this study, we aimed to document engaging teacher practices in the context of foreign language classes in Japanese elementary schools. We surveyed 16 public elementary school foreign language classes in western Japan using quantitative (questionnaire; external rating) and qualitative (naturalistic observation) tools grounded in self-determination theory. Classes were sorted into three gr
The use and appropriate amount of students’ own language (OL) in foreign language classes remains a subject of debate. While exclusive new language (NL) use may not necessarily always benefit all learners, especially young language learners (YLLs), overuse of the students’ OL may not provide the same range of communicative experiences as greater NL exposure. This article reports on measures by which teachers of elementary-age YLLs use the students’ OL in a systematic fashion to create an optimal
According to self-determination theory, the need to experience competence is one of a well-recognized trio of basic psychological needs, alongside the need for autonomy and relatedness. Although often assessed at the activity level, the need for competence is met situationally when learners feel able to understand and affect the world around them. In language learning, this means the feeling of success firstly in the comprehension and then in the use of the new language. This situated, contextua
This study investigated the impact of various types of oral feedback on self-regulated language learning. The participants were 114 s-year high school students. A mixed-methods approach was used for data collection, including: (1) a questionnaire reporting retrospective perceptions of feedback received in lower secondary school; (2) a questionnaire recording current feedback experiences in high school; and (3) a follow-up questionnaire ranking ideal feedback types and assessing the perceived fre
Abstract Al-Hoorie et al. (2024: Studies in Second Language Acquisition , 1–23) illuminate a validation crisis within the second language (L2) Motivational Self System (L2MSS), revealing empirical flaws in its current measurement. Their analysis indicates a persistent lack of discriminant validity among the system’s constructs, issuing a fundamental challenge in distinguishing the concepts. These findings, echoing previous concerns, underscore a pressing need for theoretical refinement and metho
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