Daži diasporas skolēnu latviešu valodas mācīšanās motivācijas aspekti
Authors:   Latviešu valodas aģentūra, Krastiņa Linda , Anspoka Zenta ,   Latvijas Universitāte. Pedagoģijas, psiholoģijas un mākslas fakultāte
Published: December 2024

The topicality of the problem stems from the results of a study conducted by the Latvian Language Agency in 2022 about the diaspora students’ attitude towards the Latvian language and its acquisition, the motives for learning it using the ClassFlow education platform.

The aim of the article is to analyse the main motives that determine the need of diaspora students to learn Latvian.

The research methodology is based on theories of motivation (Cherry 2019; Garleja 2001), theories of pedagogy and psychology (Over 2016; Āboltiņa 2014; Svence 1999) on the motivation of young children and adolescents to learn. Empirical data was obtained by performing a content analysis of questionnaire results as well as the pedagogical process of diaspora students. The obtained data was ranked.

The study reveals that students’ learning motivation is a complex issue, as it is based on biological, emotional, social, and cognitive aspects. This can be addressed if the student's learning motives are made clear. The individual and often subjective stimuli of each student must also be considered.

The most important learning motives of diaspora students are awareness of belonging to Latvia and Latvian people, opportunity to visit Latvia (visit relatives, friends, travel, participate in summer camps), plan or desire to return to Latvia in the near or distant future, use of Latvian language in the family, and the personal significance of the environment and its connection with real life, the teacher’s personality and his professionalism.

Among the respondents, 49 % indicate the need to communicate with relatives and friends in Latvia as the most motivating factor. These include trips to visit relatives or friends in Latvia on holidays, participation in summer camps in Latvia, as well as remote communication with relatives and friends in Latvia via telephone or other means of communication. A quarter of the surveyed students (25 %) justify learning Latvian by associating themselves and / or their parents with Latvia, Latvian nationality, Latvian language, Latvian citizenship. Quite a significant part of the respondents (17 % of the students) answered that it is their parents’ wish for them to learn Latvian, or they do not know why they are studying at all.

22 % of students mention facing various difficulties in learning Latvian as a foreign language as a motivation lowering factor, since for many of them Latvian is no longer their native language, and it is not used or used very little in their family. Learning grammar is difficult, especially suffixes, pronunciation and spelling, long vowels and punctuation, pronunciation, and spelling of two consonants, as well as the difference in alphabet. Students often confuse the language they are learning with other languages they know. 10 % of students point to the high total workload of general education, after school education, Latvian language lessons and other responsibilities.

In order to promote the learning motivation of diaspora students, Latvian language teachers should pay more attention to issues like the correspondence of the curriculum to the precisely tested level of the student's language acquisition, his/her age and interests, diversified teaching methodology, immediate feedback and necessary support.