The Influence of Goal Orientationsand Language Experiences on the Behaviors
of Japanese University Students Learning English
as a Foreign Language
Akira NAKAYAMA, Neil HEFFERNAN
Ehime University

negative judgment of his or her competence（PG-

Introduction
In

educational

practice, it

negative）. Based on what kind of goals an individual

seems

impossibleforstudent

has, Goal

Theory

can

be

used

to

make

teachers to access the mental organization which enables

predictions about the studentʼs learning behavior andtheir students to acquire their native language, but it islearning

possible for them to manipulate the affective variables oforientations are also thought to be a relatively stablemotivation and anxiety, the cognitive variables of beliefs

human trait extracted from beliefs. This is also known

and strategy, and other past language experiences,

as the theory of intelligence. This theory encapsulates

which in turn, can contribute to their L （second

the ideas oflanguage） and

According to Dweck（

FL （foreign

language） learning.

Particularly, in FL settings, Japanese learners of English

thatoutcome （ Dweck,）. In

incremental theory

andaddition, goal

entity theory.

）, the former refers to the idea

intelligence is malleable （p.

）and the latteras a foreign language（EFL）lack the exposure ofrefers to the idea thatauthentic materials of English, and thus may consider it

and the individual studentʼs theory of intelligence appear

necessary for them to maintain their will to study

to orient him or her toward different goals. Since Goal

English, when compared to learners in an L

context.

Theory assumes that the studentʼs theory of intelligence

Hence, the present study investigates the relationshiphas been internalized in his or her infancy, somewhat

among the aforementioned variables, and their impact

like a personality trait（cf. Dweck, C. S.,

on learning behaviors within a framework of Goal

P. R.,

Theory（Dweck,）to construct a model of those）,; Pintrich,）, which is relatively stable over the course ofa personʼs lifetime, the dilemma of
the chicken or the egg ?

variables from an educational psychological perspective.

intelligence is fixed （p.

which came first,

can be avoided by adopting

Goal Theory. The premise being that goal orientations
are thought to come first, or at least before the other

Review of the Literature

variables of learning beliefs, anxieties, and strategies,
which, on the other hand, easily change because they

Goal Theory in Educational Psychology
In Goal Theory（Dweck,）, individual behaviors

are unstable.

are thought to be rational and economic in order toachieve certain goals. Goals set by an individual
influence his or her choice of strategy, methodology, andprocess toward those goals. According to Dweck（）,

Affective and Cognitive factors in L2 and EFL
Most research on affective variables in language
learning （e. g., Kondo & Yang,; Liu & Jackson,

there are two types of goal orientations : Learning Goal

）has dealt with the role of motivation and the（LG）and Performance Goal（PG）. The former refers todebilitative role of anxiety, but has denied the direct

the orientation to increase competence and understandrelationship between affective variables and proficiency.

something new, and the latter refers to the orientation

Conversely, several studies on cognitive variables of

to gain positive judgment（PG-positive）, or to avoid

learning

大学教育実践ジャーナル 第 号

strategies（Gardner, Tremblay, &Masgoret,Akira NAKAYAMA, Neil HEFFERNAN; Kubo,）have indicated that strategy use has

experiences that have had an impact upon how Japaneseboth positive and negative impacts on proficiency,

university students

depending on the socio-cultural and educational contexts

framework of Goal Theory. A second purpose is towhere the target language is taught or learnt. For andelineate the implications for practice and further

L environment, Gardner et al.（learn

English ;allwithinthe）examined a latent

research. This study assumes that the types of goalfactor model called the Socio-Educational Model andorientations students possess, and their past language

reported an integrative motivation toward the target

experiences will influence their types of beliefs, theirlanguage, and that the L community had a significant

level of anxiety, and their behaviors. In short, thispositive impact on L

study

achievement. Alternatively, inthe context ofanproposed

Orientation-Appraisal

the

EFL

environment, Kubo（）

Model, which

aims

at

examiningthefollowing

researchquestions :． Can we predict language learning beliefs, anxiety,indicated that motivation had a significant positiveand behaviors based on studentsʼ goal orientations ?

impact on the strategy factor and, in turn, the strategy． Can we predict language learning beliefs, anxiety,had a significant impact on EFL achievement. The

and behaviors based on past language experiences ?

contribution of Kubo（）ʼ s model was that it showed

how this strategy perspective might play a much greater

Methods

role in the EFL classroom in Japan than in the L
context of North America. However, neither of thesemodels disregards the role of learner beliefs. Regarding

Participants
There were three hundred and seventy five（male :

language learning and the strategies they used, Yangthe current study. All were non-English majors at a（Japanese national university in the Kanto area. All）reported that studentsʼ beliefs were related to, female :;the relationship of college EFL learnersʼ beliefs aboutcertain types of learning strategies, and claimed learnerparticipants

beliefs might be one factor that influences learning

compulsory English classes. Ranging in age frombehaviors. Therefore, the current study examines thewere）participants who took part infreshman, andyears（ ．％ were under

wereenrolledinto）, the majority of theroles and interactions among those variables with aparticipants（ ．％）had never visited a foreign country,

special focus on the variable of learner beliefs.

and．％ of them began toelementarystudyschool（ELES）. Further,English

．％

of

in
the

participants studied English outside the classroom for

Language Experience
Even though past language experience such as

more than one hour a week.

overseas experience in a country where the target
language is spoken is considered to be one of the mostimportant factors for being a successful language learner

Instruments
There were a total of

items（except for qualitative）, the previous

and open-ended questions）on the questionnaire given tomodels lacked some variables of past experience and thethe participants, all of which, except the ones related toinfluence of these variables still remains unexamined.

age, majors（Falk & Kanach,; Wilkinson,

English learning in elementary schools in Japan is
another type of past language experience. Researchersandaccompanied by aEnglish-learning

background, were-point Likert scale ranging fromstrongly disagree to strongly agree.

positive

Goal Orientation Scale. In order to assess the studentsʼ

outcomes from learners who have experienced this typelevels and types of goal orientations, a revised version ofof learning. Thus, the present study also examines thethe Mokuhyo Tassei Keikou Shakudo, which is translated

impacthere as Goal Orientation Scale was used. The original（Higuchi,; Kuniyoshi,

ofoverseas）haveexperience

found

and

learning

inelementary school.

version of the Mokuhyo Tassei Keikou Shakudo developed
by Hayamizu, Ito, and Yoshizaki（）, was designed

for younger Japanese studentsʼ goal orientations in

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to examine the affective

accordance with the basic tenets of Goal Theory. For

cognitive

the purpose of the current study, the original version

variables of beliefs and strategy, and past language

was modified in ways that would make it morevariablesofmotivation

andanxiety, the

大学教育実践ジャーナル 第 号

The Influence of Goal Orientations and Language Experiences on the Behaviors
of Japanese University Students Learning English as a Foreign Language

appropriate

forJapanese

university

revised version consisted of

students. The

items, each of which

B , and B ）, and Beliefs about Effort（B , B , andB ）.

stated a possible reason for achievement or learning.
Based on the framework of Dweck（
G , G , and G in Table

）
, the

items ofwere related to learning goal（LG） orientation, and

items

were

relatedtoAnxiety Scales. In order to assess participantsʼ anxiety
in English learning, the Language Learning Anxieties
Scale developed by Mori（of）was used. It consisted

items on anxiety in English language learning in

performance goal（PG）orientation（G , G , and G wereJapan : Future Use Anxiety（A , A , and A ）and In

related to avoiding negative judgment and G , G , andClass Anxiety（A , A , and A ）.

G were related to gaining positive judgment）in Table .
Strategy

Inventory. In

order

to

assesshowtheparticipants utilized Organization strategy（S , S , andProcedure
The questionnaires were administrated to general

S ）, Guess strategy（S , S , and S ）, Repeating strategy

education English classes toward the end of the（S , S , and S ）, Imaging strategy（S , S , and S ）,semester of theand Media strategy（S , S , and S ）for studying

filled out a consent form and completed the survey invocabularyinareadingandgrammarclass,-

minutes at the end of one lesson. Of

Metacognitive strategy（S , S , and S ）, and Social

questionnaires, only

strategy（S , S , and S ）, the strategy inventory

discarded because they were incomplete.

（Nakayama,collected

could be used ; the others were）was used. It is a revised version of

SILL developed by Oxford（）and consisted ofResults

items, each involving a statement describing strategy
use.

Item Analysis

Beliefs Inventory. First, in order to assess participantsʼ
beliefs

about

Englishlearning, antoshow the descriptive statistics, theversionresults of factor analysis for checking the reliability ofthe scales（cf., principal factor analysis with Varimax）for North American learners of foreign languages

Rotation）, and the value of Cronbachʼs α. For further

was used. It consisted of

EFL

Tables）of the BALLI developed by Horwitz（Nakayama,（ndacademic year. The students

items on beliefs about

language learning in Japan : Beliefs about Excellent
Pronunciation（B , B , andB ）, Traditional

EnglishLearning Beliefs（B , B , and B ）, and Self-confidence

analysis, those items which scored more than.

in

Cronbachʼs α were summed.
First, from Table, the internal consistency of eachfactor in the goal orientation scale was determined.

Beliefs（B , B , and B ）. Second, in order to assess

Three factors were extracted andgeneral learning beliefs, Uekiʼs（）scale was usedvariance can be explained by this factor solution. From．％ of the total

without modification. It consisted ofitems on GeneralTable

we can infer that the participants tended to

Learning Beliefs : Beliefs about Learning Environment

study because they enjoyed the increase in competence（B , B , and B ）, Beliefs about Good Learners（B ,they demonstrated, and they also gained both an

Table

大学教育実践ジャーナル 第 号． Descriptive Statistics of Goal Orientation Scale（N=）

Akira NAKAYAMA, Neil HEFFERNAN
Table． Descriptive Statistics of Learning Strategy（N=）

understanding of new ideas and a positive outlook on

items of S

learning English.

further statistical analysis.

and S

were summed up and used forFrom Table , the internal consistency of each factor

From Table , the internal consistency of each factor

in the Strategy inventory was found, with the exception

in beliefs was found, except for Beliefs about Excellent

of Repeating strategy. Seven factors were extracted,

Pronunciation, Beliefs about Learning Environment, andandBeliefs．％ of the total variance can be explained by thisfactor solution. It is inferred from Table

that theabout

extracted, andGood

Learners. Six

factors

were．％ of the total variance can beparticipants, as a whole, tended to use Organization

explained by this factor solution. It is inferred fromstrategy, Guess strategy and Imaging strategy, and also

Tabletended not to use Repeating strategy, Media strategy,

self confident and believed that making an effort is

Metacognitive strategy, and Social strategy（the mean

important in language learning.

average of those strategy variables was ＜addition, since item Sthat the participants, as a whole, tended to feel

． ）
. In

From Table , the internal consistency of each factor

in the Metacognitive strategy

in Learning Anxiety was found. Two factors were

showed a high factor loading in two factors, only two

extracted, and．％ of the total variance can be
大学教育実践ジャーナル 第 号

The Influence of Goal Orientations and Language Experiences on the Behaviors
of Japanese University Students Learning English as a Foreign Language
Table

Table

． Descriptive Statistics of Learning Beliefs（N=）． Descriptive Statistics of Learning Anxiety Scale（N=）

explained by this factor solution. It is inferred fromvariables

Table

overseas experience , and English learning in a formalthat the participants tended to feel anxiety atofPG

negative ,

LG ,

PG

positive ,the prospect of using English abroad in the future asclassroom setting during elementary school（ELES）.

opposed to feeling anxiety in the classroom.

These results are discussed in relation to the researchquestions below.

Categorical Regression Analysis
As Tabledemonstrates, the results of ANOVA for

Discussion

examining whether the regression formulae（equations）
for predicting whether dependent variables are adequate

Research Question 1 : Can we predict language learning

or not were significant, which means that it is possible tobeliefs, anxiety, and behaviors based on students’ goal

predict those dependent variables by the independent

orientations ?

大学教育実践ジャーナル 第 号

Akira NAKAYAMA, Neil HEFFERNAN
Table． Summary of Categorical Regression Analysis for Variables Predicting Behaviors, Beliefs, and Anxiety（N=）

Note. *p＜． ; **p＜． ; ***p＜．

First, concerninglearnerbeliefs, Self-confidence

concerned, eventhoughonlyroughly

％

of

the

Beliefs were positively affected by LG and negatively

participants had some overseas experience, the positive

affected by PG-positive, and that supports the different

impact of overseas experience was found in the threeroles of LG and PG orientations in Goal Theory. That is,

strategies of Organization strategy, Guess strategy, andthose who have LG would be more confident in theMedia strategy and the studentsʼ average time of

studying the target subject（i. e., English）. Traditional

learning English outside the classroom, while ELES had

English Learning Beliefs and Beliefs about Effort were

no impact on all the strategies, except for Media

positively affected by PG-negative and PG-positive.

strategy. Self-confidence beliefs were also affected by

Next, regarding anxiety, all the anxiety factors wereoverseas experience. Anxiety was negatively affected

positively affected by PG-negative and PG-positive.

by overseas experience.

Third, regarding the participantsʼ behaviors, their use of
all strategies and the studentsʼ average time of learning

Conclusion

English outside the classroom is positively affected by
LG. Those who have LG orientation tend to use all ofthestrategies

presented

in

this

study. Since

Three important findings can be extracted from thepresent study.

Organization strategy and Guess strategy are negatively

First, the results of the categorical regression analysis

affected by PG-negative, those who avoid negative

reveal that we can predict Japanese EFL learnersʼ self-

judgment of their own competence tend not to use them.

confidence and the uses of strategies from their LG

On the other hand, those who want to gain positivescores. Specifically, they are more likely to try to learn

judgment tend to use media strategy, metacognitive

English in varied ways, while using different strategies

strategy, and social strategy because those strategies

than the students who score high in PG orientations.

were positively affected by PG-positive.

Next, the results show that the studentsʼ experienceswith ELES would not help us to predict their use of

Research Question 2 : Can we predict language learning

strategies in the future, the average time of learning

beliefs, anxiety, and behaviors based on past language

English outside class when they became university

experiences ?

students, and their anxiety（or self-confidence）level. In

As far as the results of the present study are

fact, MEXT（The Japanese Ministry of Education）from
大学教育実践ジャーナル 第 号

The Influence of Goal Orientations and Language Experiences on the Behaviors
of Japanese University Students Learning English as a Foreign Language

theacademic year, English language teaching inelementary schools was officially be implemented. As

,

−

.

Tremblay, P. F.,&

Masgoret, A.（nary Journal of Study Abroad,
Gardner, R. C.,）.

far as the results of this study are concerned, ELES

Towards a full model of Second Language Learning : Anexperience may not necessarily increase studentsʼ self-

empirical investigation. The Modern Language Journal,

confidence in using English later on in life. Therefore,thegovernment

shouldinvestmore

effortintodeveloping the contents and teaching methodology in
ELES in order to support studentsʼ will to study English.
Last, the results indicate that we can predict the

−

iii,

,

.

Hayamizu, T., Ito, A., & Yoshizaki, K.（）. Chuugakuseino tassei mokuhyou keikou［Junior high school studentsʼ
tendencies of achievement goals］. Bulletin of Division of,

Education of Nagoya University,
Higuchi, T.（−.

）. Soki eigo kyoiku no susume［Advantages

studentsʼ use of multi-media tools（e. g., TV and movies）

of teaching English to children］. The English Teachers’

from their overseas experience. In addition, we canMagazine,also expect that these same students would have lessHorwitz, E. K.（

anxiety about using English abroad in the future. As

languagecan be seen from the results, self-confidence beliefs were

Learnerpositively affected by their overseas experiences, while

Englewood Cliffs, NJ,

studentsʼ future use anxiety was negatively affected bytheir overseas experiences. This indicates that themore overseas experience a student has, the more selfconfidence they gain, and they feel less anxious about
using English in the future. The self-confidence thatemerged from their overseas experience possibly works

（ ）
, −

）. Surveying

learning. In
Strategies

Kondo, S., &invalidity.
Kubo, N.（−out, therearedifficult to generalize the strategy inventory which
would include those specific and uniquestrategies.

Another feasible interpretation is that the frequency ofusing a certain strategy would not guarantee theincrease（or decrease）of the results on standardized
language tests. For example, when students use acertain strategy repeatedly, without really using theirintellect, they will learn nothing. This is an issue that

and

performance. Japanese,Mori, M.（−

Unpublished

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Akira NAKAYAMA, Neil HEFFERNAN
Additional Notes
This work was supported by MEXT Japan, KAKENHI（No.
）. Grant-in-Aid for young scientists （B）. This
article is based on the poster presentation given at ALAA
in Wollongong（July
（July

th

-

st

- rd）and at ALAA

in Sydneyth）, Australia.

大学教育実践ジャーナル 第 号