Investigating Primary School Students’ Development of Interest in English Language Learning: Classroom-Related and Parental Involvement

Abstract

This study aimed to understand Indonesian primary school students' interest development in learning English by examining their school and home learning activities. A classroom-based investigation was conducted in real English classrooms to explore situation-specific factors associated with the students' interest emergence and development. Simultaneously, the homebased study was carried out to examine students' home learning activities and their parents' involvement. The growth of the students' interest was measured situationally and individually to understand a complete process of their interest development. A situational interest measure (SIQ) was tested in nine different classroom lessons spread over one academic semester (6 months). Individual interest was predicted by a repeated measure of individual interest questionnaire (IIQ) at the beginning of the study, the mid-phase and the end. 48 grade five students from two participating classes participated in the classroom-based investigation. They comprised 23 male and 25 female students. Four students, two boys and two girls, were then selected from the groups to participate in individual case studies with their respective parents. Under the general framework of multiple-cases design, texts/documents collections, questionnaires, interviews, and classroom and home observations were employed in the data collection process. N-VIVO and thematic analysis were used to interpret the qualitative data. Descriptive statistics and regression tests were used to analyse quantitative data resulting from repeated questionnaires of SIQ and IIQ. Nine situational interest factors and three individual factors were first discovered in this study. The investigation into parental involvement revealed parental practices, types of involvement and how parents contributed to the growth of their child's interests and learning associated with their English learning. The findings of this study offered insights into the relationships between school and home factors and how they influenced the growth of Indonesian primary school children's interest in learning English. The knowledge gained from this study might insinuate new approaches in English language teaching and learning by integrating students' interests and promoting parental involvement.