A Self-Worth Perspective on Vocabulary Acquisition

Adrian LEIS Miyagi University of Education

Matthew WILSON Miyagi University

A SELF-WORTH PERSPECTIVE ON

VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

JASELE NATIONAL CONFERENCE AUGUST 23, 2015 KUMAMOTO, JAPAN

DiscussionConclusions

Pedagogical Implications Results

ProcedureSubjects

Research QuestionThe Study

Literature ReviewIntroduction

A SELF-WORTH PERSPECTIVE ON VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

IntroductionLiterature ReviewThe Study Research Question Subjects Procedure ResultsPedagogical ImplicationsConclusionsDiscussion

Martin COVINGTON


the protection of a sense of ability is the

student’s highest priority (1992, p. 17)


Carolyn DWECK


It is not always the people who

start out the smartest who

end up the smartest (2006, p. 5)


Adrian LEIS


Your only rival is the you of yesterday

I strongly recommend teachers do not give

class averages to students (2014, p. 92)


80 50


class average

70

Student A Student B


80 50


idio-comparative scores

95 35

Student A Student B

previous test51- 51+



Are there any advantages in giving class averages

to students?



• 52 Second-year students at a Japanese university

• No English majors, but observations suggest the students are rather motivated to learn English



Give-Average Group

Idio-comparative Group

Control Group

Pretest

Pretest

Pretest

Week 1

Posttest

Posttest

Posttest

Week 8Weeks 2 ~ 7

Weekly tests with students given class averages

Weekly tests with students given individual results




Group N Mean 95%CI

Idio-comparative

17 23.47 [19.74, 27.50]

Class Average 19 24.89 [22.15, 29.72]

Control 16 12.56 [10.62, 14.51]Note. Max.: 60; F (2, 49) = 19.95, p < .001, η2 = .45; Follow-up Turkey Test showed no significant difference (p = .77) between the Idio-comparative and Class Average groups.

Statistics for the Posttest in the Present Study



Avoid giving the class average to students after tests in order to create a feeling in the classroom that the teacher is not comparing students, but only considering the progress each individual student is making in the course



• No salient statistical advantage in giving students the average, but theoretically, the idio-comparative score seems to be more effective

Main Finding

Limitations• Lack of time - the study was not long enough• Age of students - previous studies discussed in the literature review

focused on younger learners. Has the Fixed Mindset been fossilized into older students?

• Lack of interviews - Like Dweck & Reppucci (1973) using interviews may be advantageous

Future Directions• Lack of research of the Self-worth Theory in the Japanese EFL context• More research is required considering the above limitations



Weeks 2 ~ 7Pretest 1 Week 8

Give-Average

Idio-comparative

Control Group

Pretest

Pretest

Pretest

Posttest

Posttest

Posttest

Weekly tests with students given class averages

Weekly tests with students given individual results

REFERENCES


Covington, M. (1992). Making the grade: A self-worth perspective on motivation and school reform. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Covington, M. (1998). The will to learn. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.

Dweck, C.S., & Reppucci, N.D. (1973). Learned helplessness and reinforcement responsibility in children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 25(1), 109-116.

Hoppe, F. (1930). Untersuchungen zur Handlungs – und Affektpsychologie IV [Psychological studies of action and affect IV: Success and failure]. Erfolg und Misserfolg Psychologische Forschung, 14, 1-63.

Leis, A. (2014). The self-confidence and performance of young learners in an EFL environment: A self-worth perspective. JES Journal, 14. 84-99.

Mueller, C. M. & Dweck, C. S. (1998). Praise for intelligence can undermine children’s motivation and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 75(1), 33-52.

PICTURES BORROWED FROM THESE SITES

Picture URL

http://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/martin-v-covington

https://psychology.stanford.edu/cdweck

APPENDIXN Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis 95%CI

Idio-comparative

Pre 17 14.06 3.80 0.31 0.55 [12.41, 16.34]

Post 17 23.47 7.07 0.76 0.55 [19.74, 27.50]

Class Average

Pre 19 13.95 4.17 -0.67 0.03 [12.25, 16.38]

Post 19 24.89 6.96 -0.04 0.53 [22.15, 29.72]

ControlPre 16 12.75 3.79 0.54 -0.66 [10.73, 14.77]

Post 16 12.56 3.65 -0.12 0.57 [10.62, 14.51]


A SELF-WORTH PERSPECTIVE ON

VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

Adrian LEIS Miyagi University of Education

Matthew WILSON Miyagi University

[email protected]@myu.ac.jp

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME

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A Self-Worth Perspective on Vocabulary Acquisition