Using the Motivation and Engagement Wheel to Examine the Interplay Between Learner Engagement, Motivation, Year Level, and Academic Achievement in an EFL Tertiary Context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1403.25Keywords:
L2 learner engagement, motivation, student achievement, academic year, Smart PLS-SEMAbstract
This study utilized Martin's (1999-2022) Motivation and Engagement Wheel (MEW) framework and its associated Motivation and Engagement Scale for University/ College (MES-UC) students to identify four typologies based on positive and negative academic engagement and motivation. It also investigated the latent factors comprising positive and negative motivation and engagement that greatly impact second language (L2) learner academic achievement and the relationship between L2 learner engagement and motivation level, on one hand, and academic year level and grade point average (GPA) on the other. Data collected from 456 female undergraduates majoring in English at a public university in Saudi Arabia were analyzed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling. The results largely supported the hypothesized effects of positive engagement, positive motivation, and negative motivation and six of their latent factors on L2 learner academic achievement. It also showed that the participants' positive engagement and motivation levels decreased as they progressed in the academic years of their program.
References
Afthanorhan, W. (2013). A comparison of partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and covariance based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) for confirmatory factor analysis. International Journal of Engineering Science and Innovative Technology, 2(5), 198-205.
Bakker, A., Sanz Vergel, A., & Kuntze, J. (2015). Student engagement and performance: A weekly diary study on the role of openness. Motivation and Emotion, 39(1), 49-62. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-014-9422-5
Bandura, A. (2006a). Adolescent development from an agentic perspective. In F. Pajares, & T. Urdan (Eds.), Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (pp.1-43). Greenwich, Connecticut: Information Age Publishing.
Bassi, M., Steca, P., Fave, A., & Caprara, G. (2007). Academic self-efficacy beliefs and quality of experience in learning. Journal of youth and adolescence, 36(3), 301-312. https://10.1007/s10964-006-9069-y
Busse, V., & Walter, C. (2013). Foreign language learning motivation in higher education: A longitudinal study of motivational changes and their causes. The Modern Language Journal, 97(2), 435-456. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2013.12004. x
Carter, C., Reschly, A., Lovelace, M., Appleton, J., & Thompson, D. (2012). Measuring student engagement among elementary students: Pilot of the Student Engagement Instrument—Elementary Version. School Psychology Quarterly, 27(2), 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029229
Chan, L., & Moore, P. (2006). Development of attributional beliefs and strategic knowledge in years 5-9: A longitudinal analysis. Educational Psychology, 26(2), 161-185. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410500344209
Christenson, S. L., Reschly, A. L., & Wylie, C. (Eds.). (2012). Handbook of Research on Student Engagement. Boston, MA: Springer US.
Coates, H. (2005). The value of student engagement for higher education quality assurance. Quality in Higher Education, 11, 25-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538320500074915
Covington, M. (2000). Goal theory, motivation, and school achievement: An integrative review. Annual Review of Psychology, 51(1), 171-200. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.171
Dewaele, J., Witney, J., Saito, K., & Dewaele, L. (2018). Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety in the FL classroom: The effect of teacher and learner variables. Language Teaching Research, 22(6), 676-697. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817692161
Dimitriadou, S., Lavidas, K., Karalis, T., & Ravanis, K. (2021). Study engagement in university students: a confirmatory factor analysis of the utrecht work engagement scale with Greek students. Journal of Well-Being Assessment, 4(3), 291-307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41543-021-00035-7
DiPerna, J., & Elliott, S. (2002). Promoting academic enablers to improve student achievement: An introduction to the mini-series. School Psychology Review, 31(3), 293-297. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2002.12086156
Dörnyei, Z. (2010). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing (2nd ed.). London, UK: Routledge.
Dotterer, A., & Lowe, K. (2011). Classroom context, school engagement, and academic achievement in early adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(12), 1649-1660. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9647-5
Eccles, J., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 109–132. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev psych.53.100901.135153
Edgar, S. (2015). Identifying the influence of gender on motivation and engagement levels in student physiotherapists. Medical Teacher, 37(4), 348-353. https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2014.948829
Egbert, J. (2020). The new normal? A pandemic of task engagement in language learning. Foreign Language Annals, 53(2), 314-319. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12452
Elphinstone, B., & Tinker, S. (2017). Use of the Motivation and Engagement Scale–University/College as a means of identifying student typologies. Journal of College Student Development, 58(3), 457-462. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2017.0034
Fredricks, J. A., & McColskey, W. (2012). The measurement of student engagement: A comparative analysis of various methods and student self-report instruments. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 763–782). Springer Science + Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_37
Fan, J., & Feng, H. (2012). A study on students’ learning motivation of EFL in Taiwanese vocational college. International Journal of Learning and Development, 2(3), 260-269. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijld.v2i3.1791
Hair, J., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed, a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19(2), 139-152. https://doi.org/10.2753/MTP1069-6679190202
Hair, J., Hult, G., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2022). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Jang, H., Reeve, J., & Deci, E. L. (2010). Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 588–600.
Körner, L., Rigotti, T., & Rieder, K. (2021). Study crafting and self-undermining in higher education students: a weekly diary study on the antecedents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), 7090. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18137090
Kosimov, A. (2021). The impact of self-efficacy in enhancing English proficiency among Uzbek high school students. British View, 6(1), 75-83.
Krause, K., & Coates, H. (2008). Students’ engagement in first-year university. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 33(5), 493-505. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930701698892
Ma, Y., & Wei, C. (2022). The relationship between perceived classroom climate and academic performance among English-major teacher education students in Guangxi, China: The mediating role of student engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 939661. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.939661
Maroco, J., Maroco, A., Campos, J., & Fredricks, J. (2016). University student’s engagement: development of the University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI). Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 29(1), 21-33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41155-016-0042-8
Martin, A. (2008). Motivation and engagement in diverse performance settings: Testing their generality across school, university/college, work, sport, music, and daily life. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(6), 1607-1612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.05.003
Martin, A. (2009). Motivation and engagement across the academic life span: A developmental construct validity study of elementary school, high school, and university/college students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 69(5), 794-824. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164409332214
Martin, F., & Bolliger, D. (2018). Engagement matters: Student perceptions on the importance of engagement strategies in the online learning environment. Online Learning, 22(1), 205-222. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v22i1.1092
Martin, A., Ginns, P., & Papworth, B. (2017). Motivation and engagement: Same or different? Does it matter? Learning and Individual Differences, 55, 150-162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2017.03.013
Martin, A. (2022). The Motivation and Engagement Scale (21st ed.). Sydney, Australia: Lifelong Achievement Group.
Mercer, S. (2019). Language learner engagement: Setting the scene. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second handbook of English language teaching (pp. 1–19). New York, NY: Springer.
Mercer, S., & Dörnyei, Z. (2020). Engaging language learners in contemporary classrooms. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Palos, R., Maricu-toiu, L, & Costea, I. (2019). Relations between academic performance, student engagement and student burnout: A cross-lagged analysis of a two-wave study. Studies in Educational Evaluation. 6, 199-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2019.01.005
Pomerantz, E., Moorman, E., & Litwack, S. (2007). The how, whom, and why of parents' involvement in children's academic lives: More is not always better. Review of Educational Research, 77(3), 373-410. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430305567
Ramayah, T., Cheah, J., Chuah, F., Ting, H., & Memon, M. (2018). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using smartPLS 3.0. An updated guide and practical guide to statistical analysis. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Pearson.
Senaviratna, N., & Cooray, T. (2019). Diagnosing multicollinearity of logistic regression model. Asian Journal, 5(2), 1-9.
Shi, J., Tu, D., Wang, S., Lv, Z., & Zhao, L. (2011). Annual report of national college education survey 2009. Tsinghua Journal of Education, 32(4), 9-23. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajpas/2019/v5i230132
Tilfarlioğlu, F., & Cinkara, E. (2009). Self-efficacy in EFL: difference among proficiency groups and relationship with success. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 3(2).
Teuber, Z., Tang, X., Salmela-Aro, K., & Wild, E. (2021). Assessing engagement in Chinese upper secondary school students using the Chinese version of the schoolwork engagement inventory: energy, dedication, and absorption (CEDA). Frontier Psychology, 12, 638189. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.638189
Varasteh, H., Ghanizadeh, A., & Akbari, O. (2016). The role of task value, effort-regulation, and ambiguity tolerance in predicting EFL learners’ test anxiety, learning strategies, and language achievement. Psychological Studies, 61(1), 2-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-015-0351-5
Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychology Review, 92(4), 548-573. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.92.4.548
Wong, K. (2013). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) techniques using SmartPLS. Marketing Bulletin, 24(1), 1-32.
Wu, Z. (2019). Academic motivation, engagement, and achievement among college students. College Student Journal, 53(1), 99-112.
Wurf, G., & Croft-Piggin, L. (2015). Predicting the academic achievement of first-year, pre-service teachers: the role of engagement, motivation, ATAR, and emotional intelligence. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 43(1), 75-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2014.932328
Yin, H., & Wang, W. (2016). Undergraduate students’ motivation and engagement in China: an exploratory study. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(4), 601-621. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1037240
Yu, S., Zhou, N., Zheng, Y., Zhang, L., Cao, H., & Li, X. (2019). Evaluating student motivation and engagement in the Chinese EFL writing context. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 62, 129-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2019.06.002
