Motivation for second language learning: a case study of Kivunjo in Tanzania

There is a concern over the preservation of minority languages in the world and in Tanzania in particular as Pointed out by a number of different scholars. One way to ensure that a language survives is for it to have people transmitting it from one generation to the other and its acquisition or learning by new speakers as a second language. This study explored the factors which motivate Kivunjo people whose Kivunjo is not their first language to learn Kivunjo as their second language and investigate their level of Kivunjo competence and then establish the relationship between the type of motivation and observed proficiency. The study was a case study in design and was therefore confined to Kivunjo speaking community. Data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and C-tests. A total of three research questions guided the study. The findings revealed that a) there were L2 learners of that Language and were motivated variously, some were intrinsically motivated and others extrinsically motivated. b) the learners' competence is not homogeneous both within and between the three groups studied c) the respondents who were motivated by all four motivational categories performed better; and d) there was strong correlation between motivational factors and the observed level of competence although duration of exposure proved to also account for learner variability. It has been recommended that further studies be carried out a) to seek the direction of the observed correlation; b) to measure phonological and semantic level competence of Kivunjo language competence, and c) on other Tanzanian minority Bantu languages.