Scalabrin, Melissa (2025) Exploring motivation in English monolingual students for enrollment in an optional language module at one university in the United Kingdom. Doctoral thesis, Liverpool Hope University.
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Abstract
The decline in the number of students undertaking language degrees over the past decade has contributed to the lack of language capability in the United Kingdom (UK). In contrast, evidence indicates a steady interest from university students to learn a language, via integration of an optional credit-bearing language module known as the University Wide Language Programme (UWLP), in undergraduate university degree programmes.
Little is known about the initial motivational factors that contribute to a student’s choice to enroll onto this language module. In addition, when considering the critical juncture language learning in higher education (HE) is currently facing and the UKs chronic monolingualism, this optional module may provide an important pathway where the value and necessity of learning a language is increasingly recognised.
Utilising Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and its focus on three basic human needs (1) Autonomy, (2) Competence and (3) Relatedness in learning as its core theoretical framework, this study utilised a semi-structured questionnaire and Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) approach to investigate initial motivations of English monolingual students for enrollment in a UWLP module at one university in Northern England. Participants included 12 students who opted to enroll onto a UWLP module as part of their undergraduate degree programme in the 2021/2022 academic year.
Analysis revealed a series of initial motivations for enrolling onto a UWLP module such as plans to work abroad after graduating and uncovered English monolingual students’ reasons for wanting to learn a second language which included a dislike of English as a lingua franca and a desire to discard their monolingual identity; both of which have not been uncovered by literature until now. The analysis paved the way for the development of a tool- kit for professional practice.
In providing a further original contribution to this area of education, it is the intention that the developed tool-kit provides tutors involved in optional language modules (and other stakeholders including university management) an understanding of the initial motivations of English monolingual students who enroll onto these modules and propose guidance, through key recommendations, on how to support this motivation in the identified students. A second intention of the developed tool-kit is to promote the inclusion of research-based practices in HE and help tutors take ownership of their professional learning and enhance their practice for the benefit of students. The tool-kit, as a form of research-informed practice, draws on the key
2 findings of the current data as related to the core motivation elements of SDT to outline four recommendations for supporting the initial motivations of English monolingual students intending to enroll onto an optional language module.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Additional Information and Comments: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| Faculty / Department: | Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Education |
| SWORD Depositor: | eprints api |
| Depositing User: | eprints api |
| Date Deposited: | 28 May 2025 14:21 |
| Last Modified: | 28 May 2025 14:21 |
| URI: | https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/4673 |
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