英語學習條件式意圖量表之結構:試題反應理論之取向

Abstract

英語教育者與研究者一般都會同意，如果能提升學生學習英語的動機，學生在學習過程中能更加主動積極，英語學習的效果也會有顯著提升。但由於「動機」為一複雜且多面向的概念，無法用單一定義了解它的全貌，因此學者們逐漸轉而研究它的子概念與組成要素。 「意圖」即為動機的組成因子與來源之一，意圖在心理學領域被分為「目標意圖」與「條件式意圖」兩個部份。但過去的研究結果顯示，如果只擁有目標意圖，個人在朝目標努力的過程中，可能會因為外在因素干擾，而造成無法達成目標的結果，但如果個人同時擁有條件式意圖，達成目標的機率則會大幅提升。就英語學習而言，如果學生能具備條件式意圖，英語學習的目標應該也會較容易實現。 因此，本研究目的為探討台灣中學生英語學習條件式意圖之結構，藉由設計出一個同時具有信度和效度的量表，用以測量學生所具備的英語學習條件式意圖，將有助於瞭解學生的心理傾向和學習行為，所得到的資訊可增進英語學習的效果。 本研究以試題反應理論(IRT)的Rasch模式驗證此量表的品質，研究結果顯示，此量表為一單向度的量表，影響學生答題的唯一變項即為個別學生所具備條件式意圖之程度；而經過差異試題功能(DIF)的檢定，也證實即使學生來自不同族群或性別，所具備條件式意圖程度相同的個人，在答題的選擇上，機率也為相同，因此本研究之量表確為一有效測量學生英語學習條件式意圖之量表。 此研究結果可供台灣英語教育者用以瞭解學生英語學習的意圖與行為，未來研究者也可就本研究之基礎上持續探討學生條件式意圖與英語學習成果的關係，以期能有益於學生達成英語學習的目標。Teachers and researchers of second language acquisition (SLA) generally agree if students possess the motivation for language learning, they are likely to reach their learning goals. However, “motivation” is such a complex and multi-faceted concept that no single definition can describe and explain it completely. Therefore, researchers gradually turn to examine its components and sub-concepts. “Intention”, as one of the motivational sources, has attracted researchers’ attention in the field of psychology, and it can be divided into “goal intention” and “implementation intention”. In traditional theories of goal-striving, goal intention was regarded as the most important factor to determine whether a goal can be achieved. However, the empirical evidence in the past indicated that even with strong goal intention, one may eventually fail to attain their goals due to some implementation problems. Therefore, researchers have recognized it takes implementation intention to come into play so that one’s goal may be accomplished. Accordingly, with implementation intention, English learners’ learning goals may be more likely to be attained as well. The present study aims to understand the structure of high school students’ implementation intentions for English learning by developing a valid and reliable scale to measure them. With the information of the results, students’ learning inclinations and behaviors can be understood. The present scale of implementation intentions for English learning is validated with the Rasch measurement model based on Item Response Theory (IRT). The results show that the scale is unidimensional, and the only variable affecting students’ responses is the level of implementation intentions of each student. Additionally, there is no differential item functioning existing in the scale, which means the items of the scale do not discriminate students of different gender or educational level. The results provide evidence that the present scale is valid and well-designed. The implications and significance of the present research are, for teachers, it can function to measure and understand students’ implementation intentions for English learning, both in class and after class; it also serves as a preliminary foundation for researchers to continuously probe into the issue in the future.