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Motivation and Attrition in Adult ESL

An Ethnographic Study of College of DuPages Level 6 Class

Maddie MacMath

INTR 573: Qualitative Research

Wheaton College Graduate School, 2017

This study focused on motivation and attrition in adult ESL, primarily focusing on a level six

classroom in a Midwest community colleges ESL program. Students at the intermediate level

have significant implicit and explicit motivating factors for continuing their language study; they

also have life circumstances that compete for the same resources. By knowing and understanding

what these motivating factors are, ESL teachers can better encourage adult students in their

language study, as well as be aware of the factors that may lead to students attrition.
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Introduction

I get up earliest on Saturday mornings. In torrential rain or shine, I make the forty-five-

minute trek out to the College of DuPage (COD) for a level six ESL class that Ive been both

observing and teaching in. I have clear motivations for showing up to class; on one hand, I love

teaching and I care about the students in the class. Going makes me happy, it gives me an

intrinsic sense of fulfillment. On another hand, I do not have a choice about going if I want to

graduate from my M.A. TESOL program. My own hesitant attitude about getting up before the

sun spurred questions about each of my students: unlike me, they are not required to be here, the

class is voluntary. So, why do they show up every Saturday, giving up a significant part of their

weekend, just to improve their English? Their level six skill level means that they have

progressed beyond survival English. They may make both oral and written errors, but they are

capable of adequate communication. Instead of settling with their current skill level and letting

their English fossilize, they are choosing to learn complex grammar principles and improve their

language skill.

All this thinking prompted a hypothesis: there must be both implicit and explicit

motivation that is driving the students in this adult ESL classroom. If those factors could be

identified, they would likely hold some level of significance across the board; if we understood

more about what motivates adult ESL students, we could better tailor and develop programs that

encourage and continually draw students into that.

What explicit motivating factors, such as getting a better job or going to college, do

students cite as their ultimate goal? How significant do those factors have to be to keep students

powering through multiple ESL classes, at inconvenient times and on inconvenient days?

Additionally, I asked questions related to implicit motivations: is there anything that an ESL
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teacher can do, whether in classroom activities or atmosphere, that causes the class to be so

enjoyable that students may overlook some of the more inconvenient details, like the day or

time? These questions naturally led themselves to one more category of study, prompted by my

cooperating teacher: what are the factors that lead to students attrition with English?

Methodology

In researching the specific question of motivation, I adjusted my methodology for the

limited scope of this project. Since I only focused on one classroom, the data consisted primarily

of observation, survey, and an informal teacher interview. Committed for the entire semester, I

spent the first two Saturdays entirely focused on ethnographic observation. I took detailed field

notes and kept a methodological log to generate data and formulate the research question. The

field notes were separated into sections on strict observation and personal notes, as well as a

reflective log that was updated after every class. The goal was to obtain a general sense of

atmosphere, needs, and relationships; from that, I generated formulated my question: what

motivates students to stick with an ESL program, even if the details of it are inconvenient? While

my classroom observations were not directly related to motivation, they provided background

data on the classroom and the students, as well as data that helped inform and corroborate

information that I received from surveys and informal interviews.

To get classroom-wide data on motivation, I passed out an optional, anonymous survey to

the students. This data formed the bulk of my findings on motivation and offered emic, student-

generated language on their reasons for being in this ESL class. The survey data consisted of

responses from fourteen students, a representative sampling of the class. Students come from

several L1 backgrounds and continents, representing Myanmar, India, China, Nigeria, Eritrea,
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Albania, Mexico, Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). My informal

interactions with the students and teacher also helped to support and provide additional language

for these findings; in fact, it was an informal conversation with the teacher that prompted the

inclusion of attrition in my research. She helped shift my focus from simply looking at the

positive aspects of motivation in adult ESL to include the attrition rate and variable factors in

attrition as well.

Since my data was only based on the specifics of one classroom, I used outside research

to support and refine my hypotheses. The goal was to generate ethnographic data that could

support the existing academic studies on motivation. In combining my own research with outside

data, I intended to apply the two in methodological, practical, and principled application and

implications.

The limitations of this project cannot be overstated and are grounded in the fact that this

was a short study, conducted with few students, in one, specific classroom. Research of adult

students in another state or country might have yielded a very different demographic, and

therefore, different data on motivation. Even within the COD classes, students at different levels

also likely experience different principles and factors in their motivation. Adult ESL cannot be

reduced to variable factors, since it deals with highly unique, individual people from various

backgrounds, life stages, and skill levels. It should also be noted that there is a margin of error in

the survey data that I collected. While these students are at an intermediate level, there is the

possibility that they did not understand every question on the survey or had trouble interpreting

the intent of some of the questions.

However, again, the goal of this project was not to generate an end-all-be-all consensus

on why students might be motivated to learn English or what leads to ESL attrition; I wanted
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student-centered information on their experience in learning English as a second language and

why (or why not) they stick with it. This is also why outside research data was key and aided in

the production of this report: I was able to put my findings alongside studies with prolonged

engagement, thorough interviews, and larger sample sizes. Because motivation and attrition are

foundational to studying English they are, quite literally, what keep students going and what

cause students to drop out it is key that we have an increasing understanding of what the

contributing factors are and how we should think about it, particularly in regards to adult

education.

Context

The level six classroom that I am a part of has twenty-nine students, although you would

not know that if you came right at the start of class, which begins at 8:30am on Saturday. Most

of the students trickle in closer to 9:00am; nearly every class, someone leaves early or is absent.

The class goes until 1pm, with two, ten-minute breaks. The classroom is typical of an academic

setting: individual desks are lined in rows, fluorescent lights illuminate the room, a white board

orients attention to the front of the class, and a document camera allows for varied presentation.

Consistent across all of CODs ESL classes, the curriculum is the Ventures series; our class uses

level 4, and we typically do one unit per week, to finish the book by the end of the semester. The

class does a significant amount of grammar work, typically reviewing the grammar point from

the week before and working on two new skills introduced that day.

Before analyzing the data in regards to motivation and attrition, the survey results yielded

ethnographic, contextual information about the make-up of the class. Of the fourteen students
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who responded to the survey, the class was split evenly between married and unmarried students,

as well as students with and without children.

Married Has children Does not have children Unmarried

7 7 7 7

The mean age of the students who were surveyed was 31.2 and the median age was 29.5. A 20-

year-old student from China was the youngest student of the class, while a 55-year-old student

from Nigeria was the oldest.

Youngest age Oldest age Mean age Median age

20 55 31.2 29.5

Ten of the students had previous English study in their home country, while four students, from

China, Mexico, and Sudan, did not. Ranging from three months to two-years, nearly every

student had some level of English instruction in the United States.

Motivation in Adult ESL

The more I interact with students, the more I realize they actually have good English. They wouldnt be

in this class if they just wanted to be conversational; they have to be oriented towards something else.

Maybe higher education? Maybe a better job? (October 7, methodological log)

Motivation is the conglomeration of factors that determine and define a students desire

to learn. Why are students willing to give up half of their Saturday, every week, to sit in an early-

morning English class? Previous research has been highly focused on motivation as goals and
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reasons, while more recent studies have expanded motivation to Motivation Systems Theory

(MST), which, as one research writes, is seen as including goals, emotions, and personal agency

beliefs for individuals (Skilton-Sylvester, 2002, p. 10). Research on language learning separates

motivation into several categories: intrinsic, extrinsic, instrumental, integrative. Extrinsic

motivation is what we generally think of when we define motivation; these are the external

motivating factors, often a reward or achievement that is outside of the learner. When learning

English, this can be anything from getting a job, winning a prize, wanting a certain grade, or

earning certain feedback. Intrinsic motivations can be harder to identify, as these are the feelings

of competence and self-determination, implicit to the learner, that propel their learning. A

students natural drive, perfectionist tendencies, or enjoyment of a class would all be examples of

implicit motivation (Brown, 2007, p.172-174). Instrumental motivation highlights a desire to

learn a language to meet a certain goal, while integrative motivation is more concerned with

learning a language for the sake of integration and acceptance in culture. In an ESL setting, we

tend to see both instrumental and integrative motivation at play.

Research has proven that extrinsic motivation is a powerful tool in keeping people

focused on a goal, but that implicit motivation is necessary in generating positive feelings

towards the activity itself, which often leads to stronger commitment. If students are suffering

through an early-morning, weekend English class simply to get their GED, the likelihood that

they will become frustrated or will have competing factors lead to their attrition is much higher;

there has to be something else, even if that something else is just a deep, personal delight and

satisfaction in watching their English improve. Douglas Brown (2007, p. 173) highlights this:

An unpublished study once reported an experiment in which two matched groups of junior high

school girls were asked to teach a simple game to kindergarteners. One group was promised a

reward . . . the other group received no such promise. The results showed that the latter group did
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a better job of successfully teaching and reported greater satisfaction in doing so . . . Conclusion:

The first group was too focused on the reward, and the (presumed) intrinsic motivation in the

second group was a stronger motivator.

Motivation for language learning must go beyond explicit motivation, which we see

reflected in discrepancies among variable factors related to motivation and attrition, even with a

small sample size like this one. For example, having a family can be a significant contributing

factor in ESL attrition. Finding childcare, the demands of housekeeping, or a desire to spend time

with children in the evening or on the weekend (common times for ESL classes) often leads to a

prioritization of family over learning English. However, as the survey data suggested, family can

also be a significant motivating factor in keeping up with English language study. The explicit

motivation of providing a better life for children or an increased ability to engage with them in

English leads to implicit motivation and greater feelings of satisfaction. Learning English

becomes about long-term, practical and emotional goals; Saturday mornings away from children

in the short-term will lead to deeper relationships and competence in the future. Students from

India and Myanmar wrote the following about the motivation of their children in their

commitment to our class:

Now a days you go anywhere English very necessary. So I want to improve I am going days I

need to talk my daughter and her teachers on meeting and all.

I have to communicate with people and study and work. And also for my son, when he go to

school, I can helps with his homework or his need helps.


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When we look at motivation and attrition through the lens of identity, rather than

variables, we get a better picture as to why people choose to or not to commit to ESL classes.

The explicit motivation is not enough; it has to be supported and driven by implicit motivation.

As Ellen Skilton-Sylvester writes in her research on Cambodian womens motivation and

participation in ESL class, the question is, [h]ow do the multiple identities of students, the

social contexts of their lives in the United States, and the classroom context shape their

investment in participating in adult education programs? (2002, p.10). We need to know our

students as individuals, and that includes knowing what implicit factors are driving their explicit,

on-paper goals.

This shift in perspective on motivation makes sense in light of a consistency in my

observation data: the diligence of the students. Thrice in my September 23rd notes and twice on

October 7th, I recording something along the lines of: people are working very diligently . . .

most of the students are super eager to read what they got wrong on homework, to practice

speaking with me, to ask questions (October 7 observation notes). The students who are

committed to this class are driven by something deeper than merely being a server here in US

(student from Mexico), getting my GED (student from Sudan), having a career of early

childhood education (student from Mexico), or needing to study at college (student from

DRC). Statements like I want to be sure when Im speaking English (student from Nigeria) and

to make friends (student from China) get at some of this implicit, more self-driven, affective

motivation. One student from Albania summarizes it best, when he writes: I go to the english

class because, I feel good, and teacher and friend, are kind and friendly.

Attrition in Adult ESL

A guy just came in late.


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Im pretty sure the guy in the back in asleep.

Its after break and half the class is missing. (September 23 observations)

Multiple people are on their phones.

4 students present when I walked in (October 7 observations)

The attrition rate in adult ESL is terrible, my cooperating teacher told me, after yet

another student asked to leave early for work. While the College of DuPage has a strict two-

absence policy for Saturday ESL classes, the teachers often find it hard to be so black-and-white.

What does a teacher do with a devoted student, with clear explicit and implicit motivation, who

consistently misses class for factors that are outside of their control? In both academic and

community-based adult ESL programs, this is a common problem. Classes often happen in the

evenings or on the weekends, catering to typical work-schedules. But this means that the days

and times of adult ESL classes are less than ideal; students come tired from work, annoyed at

giving up their weekend, or struggling to find childcare. As one student from Mexico wrote in

response to the prompt, the hardest thing about English class is: is the day and also the time

because my weekend is short.

The phenomena of high attrition rates in adult ESL is not unusual; as Skilton-Sylvester

writes, [w]hen I was an adult ESL teacher, I was painfully aware that more than anything I had

control over in my classroom, what influenced teaching and learning the most, was whether

students were able to come to class (2002, p. 9). Sometimes, even the best explicit motivation,

supported by deep implicit motivation and a love for the class, is not enough to keep a student

committed. Sometimes, there are things that are outside of their control and teachers must be

aware of this.
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Devoted students who diligently do the homework and are attentive in class often have

excuses that are unavoidable. In the COD Level 6 class, the most significant reason for

missing class was work, with 42% of students surveyed citing that as a reason for being absent,

at least once. That number does not include the students who have missed part of a class or left

early on account of work. One student from Africa wrote: I missed class some time I have work

on Saturday some time we dont. One student who recorded work as being a problematic factor

in class attendance had asked to be excused from class not quite two-hours into the lesson

because of an unexpected order that had come up at work. Unpredictable jobs cause problems in

commitment to ESL class; often ESL students are refugees and immigrants who are working 2nd

or 3rd shift, blue collar jobs that arent always the most flexible when it comes to days or time

off. The motivation of a taking English classes to get a better job cant do much when a current

job is demanding overtime or weekend work.

Familial or religious obligations (for example, Hindu students during Eid or Diwali,

Buddhist students when its Vesak, Yom Kippur or Hanukkah for Jewish students, or Muslim

students during Ramadan) often can be a significant factor in class absence. One student from

India noted that she missed class once, due to her daughters first hair cut ceremony. In a

culture that tends to value success, and consequently education, over most other things, including

familial identities, this can be a point of contention with teachers of multicultural students. The

United States academic schedule does not follow the same holiday patterns of other countries

and students may miss class or be absent on days that, in their home country, they would not

have had school.

With the Cambodian students, Skilton-Sylvester (2002) studied how they related to their

ESL classes through other primary identities, namely wife, sister, daughter, mother, and
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worker. With attrition in adult ESL, the variable factors of life and that comprise a students

identity seem to go both ways. An identity as mother or father can prove to be both highly

motivating and a contributing factor in attrition; the same thing is true for an implicit

understanding of self as worker, student, or sibling. The variable that keeps students

motivated through multiple ESL levels can be the same factor that causes them to miss half a

semester and be forced to drop out. This is why knowing your students and getting to the root of

their explicit motivation is key; it is also why we need to design programs with the nuances and

challenges of the student population we are working with in mind.

Implications

It is less about the variables themselves and more about the identity of the student and

their interpretation of those variables. Half of the students in my class are married, half

unmarried; half of my students have children, half do not. Their countries, native languages, and

cultural backgrounds literally span the globe. There isnt some underlying factor or cultural

reason that we can point to and pin motivation and attrition on. It is complex and challenging,

because our students are complex and the life circumstances they face are challenging.

Factors that might lead to attrition can also be significant, explicit motivators, if viewed

through the right lens and given the right sort of support. For example, students noted

communication is one of their highest motivating factors, both explicit and implicitly they

enjoy feeling competent in talking with one another and people in their daily life. However, they

also mentioned communication as one of the hardest things in class. Nothing feels quite as de-

motivating and disheartening as not being able to engage with classmates or the teacher; students

struggle to come back when they are asked to complete something or produce language that they
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dont understand. By drawing on this as a motivating factor, teachers can build activities that

draw on what students already know, getting them to produce and perfect language they already

have, while scaffolding up to new vocabulary, patterns, or tenses. This is why assessment tools,

such as student portfolios, can be so valuable: they give students tangible encouragement and

ways of seeing their own progress so that, in the midst of challenging, attrition-inducing factors,

they can remain motivated.

Take another example: several students noted being tired and thus missing class. These

students, who are working long hours and catering to the demands of family are understandably

exhausted. Knowing that students are coming into class weary from the week can serve a two-

fold purpose: first, it motivates the teacher to come with energy and enthusiasm, despite their

own level of exhaustion. Secondly, it should shift the content and nature of the class. Students

may struggle to sit and do worksheets in a quiet classroom if they are already at risk of falling

asleep; these factors, and how they are viewed by individual students, can help teachers better

adjust to the specific goals of each student and the needs of the classroom as a whole.

While my collection of outside data on the topics of motivation and attrition in adult ESL

yielded several quality articles, I was surprised by how minimal the scope of research is on the

topic. If we understand the weight of motivation and just how significantly it contributes to a

students fortitude in learning English, as well as the variable factors that may cause certain

students to struggle or drop out, we would be better able to tailor programs, classrooms, and

goal-driven learning for the students. It is not just about highlighting their goals and explicit

motivation, we need to understand our students identities; it is the implicit factors at work that

will drive them to master the English preposition system or learn the difference between the

present perfect and the present perfect progressive.


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For something foundational to the study of second language acquisition, I would implore

further research on the topics of motivation and attrition, but in more specific, student-driven,

identity-focused ways. Having more practical, needs-based and student-centered research on

these topics would enable teachers to better meet the demands of their students and work around

some of the unique challenges in adult ESL. For decades, we have known what motivation and

attrition are; now, we need to research, study, and implement the best practices for engaging

them with our individual, unique, wonderful students.


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Appendix

Works Cited

Brown, Douglas H. (2007). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. White Plains, NY:

Pierson Education Inc.

Skilton-Sylvester, Ellen. (2002, November) Should I Stay or Should I Go? Investigating

Cambodian Womens Participation and Investment in Adult ESL Programs. Adult

Education Quarterly, Vol. 53 No. 1.

Lay Summary

Going back to school is difficult for any adult, but when that schooling is in a foreign context

and means learning a new language, the difficulties mount. Motivation, or the reasons for doing

something, is significant in the study of adult ESL; why are adults willing to study English, often

at inconvenient times and on less than ideal days, and what gives them the fortitude to stick with

it? Conversely, adult ESL also has some of the highest attrition or drop-out/absentee rates. What

are the factors that cause adults to miss, fail, or quit coming to English language classes?

What this data, corroborated by other research, has found is that motivation and attrition are less

about the motivation or attrition variables, or factors, themselves and more about their

significance to each particular student. Something could be a deeply motivating factor for

studying English or something that hinders it; it all depends on how it is perceived and

internalized by the student. This is why student identity, cultural backgrounds, and studies on
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implicit motivation are important for developing helpful, adult ESL programs that cater to the

needs of the students.

Coding System

Classroom details: This category included all notes about the context or information related to

the classroom. Things such as layout, resources, or content were included in this category. Since

the goal of the study was to focus on the students and their motivation/attrition, information

about the classroom itself could be reduced to one category.

begins with reviewing indirect questions

theres a white board and a screen and a doc cam

Teacher observations: These were observations that specifically related to the teacher her

behavior, actions, responses, and informal conversations.

She is using the time people were talking to write on the board

She gives the full answer

Student observations: These were observations that specifically related to the students their

interactions, behavior, questions, and engagement.

the class is so quiet. Even when people walked in, it was almost eerily silent.

people come in really late.

Motivation data: While most of my specific data on motivation came from outside discussions,

research, and the survey data, this category was meant to identify parts of my observation that
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would be relevant or speak to students commitment (or lack thereof) to ESL or the particular

class. For example, breaks, boredom/diligence, late/absent/leaving were all notes that were all

categorized under motivation data.

everyone is working dutifully and silently on their worksheets.

Im pretty sure the guy in the back is asleep.

I coded the data by going through my observation notes and highlighting the different features of

the notes, to make separating the context from the motivation data easier when writing the report.

Since the focus of my report was motivation and attrition data, which came primarily from

informal interactions, survey data, and outside research, I was not hyper-concerned with a

detailed coding of my observation data. Had my research focus been something that yielded

more results in my observation notes, I likely wouldve done the tedious work of transcribing

them into an electronic format for a more thorough, nuanced coding process and system. My four

categories of coding proved sufficient in separating out parts of the context that were influenced

by the teachers action, the students action, or the setting/structure of the classroom itself. This

helped me extrapolate data on motivation based on what I saw being done by the teacher and

students. As my methodological log and report both note, the emphasis with the observation data

and the formulation of the research question was emic, relevant ethnographic study. The question

on motivation came after the first two observation days, and the addition of the study of attrition

was a result of my informal interview with the teacher.

Observations

See folder for specific observation notes and methodological log


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Informal Interview: Tuesday, September 19, 2017, 5:30pm, Billy Graham Center

Observation: Saturday, September 23, 2017, 8:35am-1:05pm, College of DuPage, room H1109

Observation: Saturday, October 7, 2017, 8:30am-1:00pm, College of DuPage, room H1109

Survey Data: Saturday, October 14

Document List

Field Notebook/Observations (taken out of field notebook for ease of transport)

Methodological Log

Coding chart

Survey

Survey responses

Research report

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