THE ROLE OF MOTIVATION IN THE ACQUISITION OF PHONETIC SOUNDS

THE ROLE OF MOTIVATION IN THE ACQUISITION OF PHONETIC SOUNDS

Abstract

Motivation is really significant in improving students’ pronunciation learning. As a result, the researcher’s claim is that motivation is required to study and acquire a second or foreign language because most successful second language learners are motivated to do so. As a result, this study emphasizes the role motivation plays in the acquisition of phonetic sounds among Ebonyi State University students. The researcher investigates the concept of motivation, explains certain motivation theories as they relate to language learning, and discusses the different types of motivation – intrinsic, extrinsic, integrative, and instrumental. The data was studied using a 7-item questionnaire presented to apparently 120 students but recovered 113 copies from students at Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki’s Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies. The findings demonstrated that using rewards, employing competent phonetic lecturer(s), and having a well-structured and functional phonetic laboratory improves students’ pronunciation learning. It was also observed that the students’ L1 hampers the acquisition of phonetic sounds, and that learning to pronounce words has long-term benefits.

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER ONE

Language is a highly essential phenomenon in everyone’s life. We convey our thoughts, sentiments, desires, likes, dislikes, and so on to people in our society on a regular basis using language (spoken, written, or signed).

O’Grady (2011:1) emphasizes and acknowledges the utility of language by saying:

Language is vital to everything human. It is used in taking, thinking, reading, writing, and listening. It is a part of our communities’ social structures; it strengthens the emotional relationship between a parent and a kid; and it serves as a channel for literature and poetry. Language is more than just a part of us; it defines us.

Given the foregoing, it is critical to emphasize unequivocally that language embraces all human actions. It is a necessary tool for members of a speech community to communicate with one another. Nnamdi-Eruchalu (2012:1) correctly states that without language, man cannot relate to his surroundings.

As a result, Edward Sapir (1921:8) emphasizes in Lyons (2009:3) that “language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires through voluntarily produced symbols.” This suggests that every normal human being is born with the aptitude to learn a language. According to Noam Chomsky (1975), as quoted in Agbedo (2009:20), and Nnamdi (2012:19), this natural (innate) ability is known as the Language Acquisition Device (LAD). Similarly, Oates (1972:127) asserts in Ajisafe (2009:1) that “the acquisition of the ability to use language is one of the most impressive pieces of learning that an individual achieves in the course of his life.”

Language-related issues have piqued the interest of scholars from a variety of disciplines, including linguistics, psychology, sociology, philosophy, rhetoric, literary criticism, and so on. Among these subjects, we shall focus on linguistics in this essay. According to Nnamdi-Eruchalu (2012:8), linguistics is interested in the historical study of written language, as well as the study of spoken language and its description at a given point in time. The term “historical linguistics” refers to this branch of linguistics. This discipline (linguistics) encompasses both micro linguistics (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics) and macro linguistics (applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, historical linguistics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, comparative linguistics, and so on). Among these, we will focus on one component of microlinguistics — “phonetics” — in this study.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of motivation in the acquisition of phonetic sounds — a case study of Ebonyi State University students in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

1.1 THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND

According to Ajisafe (2009:2), “motivation is an important psychological construct that initiates and influences learning and performance, and thus is very important in language learning and acquisition.” As a result, according to Ajisafe (2009), one of the primary similarities and variations between how a First Language (L1) and a Second Language (L2) or extra languages are learned is the level or degree of motivation. According to Ajisafe (2009), it is a condition that governs how quickly or well a language is learned/acquired. Umaru (2008:31) distinguishes between “acquisition” and “learning”. Umaru (2008) defines acquisition as the “unconscious incorporation of target language structure resulting from exposure to and interaction with target language speakers in genuine communicative contexts.” Learning, on the other hand, entails “conscious incorporation of target language rules, which is facilitated by explicit presentation of these rules compiled with feedback in the form of error correction.” According to Yule (1996:191) and Agbedo (2009:74), the process of acquisition is “subconscious and effortless,” whereas the process of learning is “conscious and effortful.”

Although the distinction exists, as seen above, we will consider both (acquisition and learning) to mean the same thing in this work, hence the use of language learning/acquisition.

The importance of motivation cannot be overstated, since Morgan, King, Weisz, and Schopler (1993:303) believe that “motivation refers to the driving and pulling forces that result in persistent behavior directed toward specific goals.” Based on the foregoing, one might conclude that motivation causes recurring/repeated behavior. Hockenbury & Hockenbury (2000:306) agree with Morgan et al (1993), stating that “Motivation refers to the forces acting on or within an organism to initiate and direct behavior.” Motivation can be both internal and external. It is internal if the behavior comes from within an individual, and external if the desire/behavior comes from without and acts on the individual.

According to Bassett-Jones and Lloyd (2005:920), “motivation is concerned with how behavior is initiated, energized, sustained, directed, and terminated, as well as what kind of subjective reaction is present in the organism while all of this is going on.” Although Young (2000:1) believes that motivation can be defined in a variety of ways depending on who you ask – ask someone on the street, and you may get a response like “it is what drives us” or “it is what makes us do the things we do,” the truth is that motivation is geared towards achieving a desired goal, and every human being is compelled to exhibit a specific behavior/attitude depending on whether the motivation is positive or negative.

Positive motivation, according to the FREE Online Courses on Motivation, inspires people to accomplish their task in the best way possible in order to improve their performance. This implies that higher performance is rewarded with better facilities and incentives. For example, a parent might tell his kid, “If you study hard and get good grades in your exams, I’ll buy you a new bicycle.” Negative motivation strives to control illegal behavior by instilling fear (penalty) in individuals.

As previously said, phonetics is a component of language that cannot be ignored, particularly in the context of this research. Phonetics is defined as “the study of language sound production, the quality of sound produced in terms of the phonetic environment in which they occur, and the perception of such sounds” by Ogayi (2005:1). Nwankwegu and Nwodc (2012) assert that “phonetics is that which describes how sounds are produced (articulated); how they travel in the air as sound waves; and how they are perceived through air.”

Because phonetics involves the production, transmission, and perception of sounds, correct pronunciation of sounds is a prerequisite for effective communication in English, as in any other language. It is a behavior that every normal human being should aspire for on a daily basis in order to develop excellent communication between members of our community and the larger society.

Interestingly, Johnson and Kozikowska (2009) investigated the significance of phonetics knowledge and concluded:

“Phonetics is a vital tool for learning and teaching foreign languages.” It improves the ability to hear, understand, and make various sounds. It promotes proper sound pronunciation. When employed incorrectly, it can lead to confusion and, in extreme cases, full communication breakdown between speakers from two or more different language backgrounds. Phonetics is a source of information for phonology. Although these two are closely related, understanding phonology without a good understanding of phonetics is nearly impossible, because phonetics feeds phonology with data, which is then used in exploring a language’s sound patterns. It allows you to express (transcribe) words the way they are spoken in order to communicate with the rest of the world.”

Motivation is required for the acquisition of phonetic sounds. “iii second language learning, as in every other field of human learning, motivation is the crucial force that determines whether a learner embarks on a task at all, how much energy he devotes to it, and how long he perseveres,” Yusuf (2006:36) correctly states. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of motivation in the acquisition of phonetic sounds among Ebonyi State University students in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

1.2 THE PROBLEM’S STATEMENT

Over the years, it has been observed that the majority of students graduate from university without having learned or mastered the use of phonetic sounds. Against this backdrop, the researcher intends to study the function of motivation in these English language learners’ acquisition of phonetic sounds.

Even students of Linguistics and Literary Studies struggle with phonetic sound acquisition to varied degrees. As a result, it is our responsibility to investigate the root causes of such challenges and propose viable solutions to improve students’ capacity to acquire phonetic sounds of the English language.

1.3 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVES

The goals of this project are as follows:

1. Examine the function motivation plays in the acquisition of phonetic sounds as it relates to the students in the context of this activity.

2. learn about the problems pupils have in learning phonetic sounds.

3. investigate the significance of L learners’ mastery of phonetic sounds (pronunciation).

1.4 THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE

This effort will be critical in educating both students and teachers to adopt a motivated approach toward the acquisition of phonetic sounds.

It will allow English language learners to work hard to learn phonetic sounds.

It would also help to change the mindset of lecturers and students to be (positive motivators) rather than (negative motivators) in order to improve language acquisition.

1.5 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH

This effort would aim to answer the following questions.

Is motivation important in pronunciation learning?

ii. How important is motivation in language learners’ acquisition of phonetic sounds?

1.6 DESCRIPTION AND LIMITATION

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of motivation in the acquisition of phonetic sounds among Ebonyi State University students, more specifically those in the Department of Linguistics and Literary Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The Department is divided into four (4) sections: Linguistics, Igbo, French, and English Literature. We will not dive into the concept of motivation as it pertains to students in other fields inside or outside of the previously mentioned institution.