Gardner's Socio-Educational Model

Gardner’s 2006 Socio-educational Model of Second Language Acquisition

This model has been revised over the years. Consequently, it has several versions which were devised in 1979, 1983, 1985, 2000, 2006, 2007, and 2008. There are slight differences between different versions. As stated above, the socio- educational model assumes that learning a second language is different from learning another school subject because it takes a significant amount of time, and that in any given time period different individuals attain different levels of proficiency. But in the new model proposed by Gardner (2006), he has emphasized motivation as key tenet in second language acquisition. Diagram 3 Basic scheme of Gardner’s 2006 Socio-educational model of second

Not only that even subsequent personality traits (here included under ‘cultural context’) can also influence student‘s levels of motivation as well as probably the possible role of mitigation in learning another language. Additionally, the nature of the educational setting could also have an effect. The quality of instruction, the teacher, the curriculum, lesson plans, etc., could all have an impact on the student‘s motivation to learn the language. These variables can play vital roles but their influence is arbitrated by the individual. Gardner (2006b) elucidates, “One can have a high quality of instruction, but the actual success of this instruction depends upon how it is received by the student. Some students will profit from the quality of instruction more than others, and the extents of these differences are dependent on characteristics of the students.” (Gardner 2006b, p.

In this version, integrativeness and attitudes toward the learning situation are both correlated variables that help forming the basis of the motivation to learn a second language. According to this version motivation and aptitude are two variables that have an influence on language achievement. This figure also displays that an instrumental orientation (instrumentality) could also support motivation in an uneven way. Language achievement and language anxiety have reciprocal influences on each other, indicating that language anxiety develops in individuals as a consequence of experiences in the classroom and then has negative effects on subsequent language acquisition.

The figure below (Diagram 2.4) also comprises of some measures from the AMTB that evaluates all of the affective constructs. These constructs have been discussed in detail in the following section.

The Constructs of the Socio-educational