Can You Motivate The Unmotivated A case study of male university

Can You Motivate The Unmotivated A of male university students in Saudi Arabia - Case Study Example Students in Saudi Arabia are faced with a lot of problems studying in a language other than their first language (L1). This phenomenon has introduced the rule of ‘No Arabic Speaking’ in the Saudi Arabia where students are prohibited from the use of L1 in everyday classroom activities, as the teachers and proponents of this rule believe that the active use of L1 may inhibit the proper and quick learning of L2. This leads to poor motivation in those students and difficulties in learning and acquiring the second language in its true spirit. So the question tends to be whether the restricted use of L1 assists in or inhibits the proper acquisition and learning of the second language, in short if it is an asset or a liability. This paper sheds some light on the motivation theories and their application with respect to the problem in discussion, and tries to review the monolingual practices in order to help such students in developing positive attitudes towards the target langu age, so that they can be highly motivated to acquire L2 in its true meaning thereby enabling them to lay a firm foundation for speaking and writing in L2. In order to evaluate the issue under consideration, we will first look at the recent research works and studies about L2 motivation as a second language (in a foreign environment) or foreign language (in a native English-speaking country). For the analysis of the problem I have selected a few articles, journals, and other related literary documents to accumulate knowledge and to establish well-grounded theoretical context and conceptual framework for the paper. So this paper can also serve as a comprehensive summary of the relevant studies which comprise, for example Cle ´ment & Gardner, 2001;... Hence, instead of restating what has already been very well described in the articles and journals selected for the anthology, I have tried to evaluate the answers to the question under study from various standpoints, highlighting their importance and trying to establish the connections with other approaches to the problem. In trying to understand the acquisition of L2 as a language we need to see it not just as a subject, but as a deeply social and cultural event; and that’s what makes language learning different from other academic subjects. The elements of language learning as a subject include the understanding of lexical terms, vocabulary and grammatical rules; whereas it is also socially bound requiring the language learner to integrate several elements of the culture of the second language (Gardner, 1979 and Williams, 1994). L2 motivation researchers have widely supported this approach, which has led to the inclusion of social and cultural dimension in the language lear ning and studies. This has also introduced the concepts of multiculturalism, language globalization, power relations between different cultures and social groups in the study of L2 motivation. This, in fact, also explains why it was the social psychologists who first initiated the researches into L2 motivation. The first comprehensive study of L2 motivated was initiated by Robert Gardner and Wallace Lambert in 1972. They viewed language learning as a means of reconciling differences between different cultures and social groups. According to them, for intercultural communication and association to take place, â€Å"motivation† to learn the language of others is the primary driving