Table of Contents -- List of Tables 13 -- List of Figures 15 -- List of Abbreviations 17 -- Chapter 1 Introduction 19 -- 1.1 The rationale for this thesis 19 -- 1.2 Overview of chapters 21 -- Chapter 2 German Studies in Australian Universities: From its Beginnings to the 21st Century 25 -- 2.1 Introduction 25 -- 2.2 The beginnings of German in Australian universities 25 -- 2.3 The first half of the 20th century 27 -- 2.4 From 1945 until the 1960s 27 -- 2.5 The 1970s and 1980s 29 -- 2.6 The 1990s 30 -- 2.7 The new millennium 31 -- 2.8 German Studies at the beginning of the 21st century 33 -- 2.8.1 Amalgamations of disciplines 33 -- 2.8.2 Beginners' courses 33 -- 2.8.3 Electives: from 'Language and Literature' to German Studies 34 -- 2.8.4 Alliances with other disciplines 36 -- 2.9 Summary 36 -- Chapter 3 A Review of Former Surveys on German Studies Students in Australia and Relevant Models of Language Learning Motivation 39 -- 3.1 Introduction 39 -- 3.2 A review of former surveys on the profile and language learning motivation of Australian university students learning German 40 -- 3.2.1 A general overview of the three studies 40 -- 3.2.1.1 Objectives 40 -- 3.2.1.2 Survey instruments 41 -- 3.2.1.3 Participants, data collection and analysis 42 -- 3.2.2 The main results of the three studies 43 -- 3.2.2.1 Demographic information 44 -- 3.2.2.2 German ancestry 44 -- 3.2.2.3 Previous language study 44 -- 3.2.2.4 Previous visits to a Germanspeaking country 44 -- 3.2.2.5 Career objectives 45 -- 3.2.2.6 Preferred language skills 45 -- 3.2.2.7 Motives for studying German 45 -- 3.2.3 Critique of the three studies 47 -- 3.3 A review of relevant models of motivation in language learning 49 -- 3.3.1 What is language learning motivation? 49 -- 3.3.2 The concept of integrative and instrumental motivation 50 -- 3.3.3 Critique of Gardner's model 53.

3.3.3.1 Confusing terminology 54 -- 3.3.3.2 Dominance of integrative and instrumental orientation 54 -- 3.3.3.3 Ambiguity of integrative and instrumental orientation 55 -- 3.3.3.4 Too much focus on the role of integrative orientation 55 -- 3.3.3.5 Second language vs. foreign language learning 55 -- 3.3.3.6 Integrative motivation in a global world 56 -- 3.3.3.7 Motivation is important, not orientations 56 -- 3.3.3.8 Motivation is not static but dynamic 57 -- 3.3.4 The process model of language learning motivation 57 -- 3.3.5 Critique summary 58 -- 3.4 Scope for a new theoretically informed study 59 -- 3.4.1 What is the profile of the current population of Australian German Studies students? 60 -- 3.4.2 What are the reasons of Australian university students for studying German? 60 -- 3.4.3 What expectations do Australian university students have with regard to their German courses? 62 -- 3.5 Summary 63 -- Chapter 4 Methodology 65 -- 4.1 Introduction 65 -- 4.2 Methodological approach 65 -- 4.3 Questionnaire design 66 -- 4.4 Participants and data collection 71 -- 4.5 Data analysis 73 -- 4.6 Summary 74 -- Chapter 5 The Profile of Australian German Studies Students 77 -- 5.1 Introduction 77 -- 5.2 Demographic data 79 -- 5.2.1 Age 80 -- 5.2.2 Gender 80 -- 5.2.3 Ethnicity 81 -- 5.2.4 Native language 83 -- 5.3 Language learning history 87 -- 5.3.1 Pre#university learning of German 87 -- 5.3.1.1 German at school 87 -- 5.3.1.2 Learning German outside school 88 -- 5.3.1.3 Visits to German#speaking countries 89 -- 5.3.2 Languages other than German 90 -- 5.4 University study 91 -- 5.4.1 Degree overview 91 -- 5.4.2 Respondents' study of German at university 94 -- 5.4.3 Other languages at university 98 -- 5.5 Summary and discussion 99 -- Chapter 6 The Motivation of Australian University Students to Learn German 105 -- 6.1 Introduction 105.

6.2 The reasons for studying German 106 -- 6.2.1 A general overview of Australian undergraduates' motives for studying German 106 -- 6.2.2 The fundamental reasons of Australian undergraduates for studying German 108 -- 6.2.3 Changes in student motivation since 1987 111 -- 6.3 Relationships between the reasons 112 -- 6.3.1 Correlations between the three fundamental reasons 113 -- 6.3.2 Correlations between the twentysix reasons 114 -- 6.3.3 Correlation changes since 1987 118 -- 6.4 Differences in the motivation of the various subgroups 118 -- 6.4.1 Gender 119 -- 6.4.2 First language 120 -- 6.4.3 German#speaking family background 121 -- 6.4.4 Visits to a Germanspeaking country 121 -- 6.4.5 Universities 122 -- 6.4.6 Language levels 122 -- 6.4.7 Complete beginner at university 122 -- 6.4.8 Degrees 123 -- 6.4.9 German major 124 -- 6.5 Links between learning German and career plans 124 -- 6.6 Additional motives for studying German 126 -- 6.7 Summary 127 -- Chapter 7 The Main Interests of Australian University Students with regard to their German Courses 131 -- 7.1 Introduction 131 -- 7.2 The main areas of interest with regard to course topics 131 -- 7.2.1 Preferred language skills 131 -- 7.2.2 Topics and areas of interest 132 -- 7.3 Relationships between the areas of interest 133 -- 7.3.1 Relationships with the fundamental motives for learning German 134 -- 7.3.2 Relationships between the areas of interest 135 -- 7.4 Differences in areas of interest between the various subgroups 137 -- 7.4.1 Gender 137 -- 7.4.2 First language 138 -- 7.4.3 German at secondary school 138 -- 7.4.4 Visits to a Germanspeaking country 138 -- 7.4.5 Universities 138 -- 7.4.6 Language levels 139 -- 7.4.7 Degrees 139 -- 7.4.8 Compulsory language study 140 -- 7.4.9 German major 141 -- 7.5 Additional areas of interest 141 -- 7.6 Summary 142.

Chapter 8 Discussion of the Motivation of Australian University Students to Learn German 143 -- 8.1 Introduction 143 -- 8.2 Three motivational factors versus Gardner's dichotomy 143 -- 8.3 The three motivational factors 148 -- 8.3.1 Factor 1: A general interest in the German language and culture paired with a joy and an appreciation of learning languages 148 -- 8.3.2 Factor 2: The wish to communicate in a Germanspeaking country while working, studying or travelling 150 -- 8.3.3 Factor 3: German is an important (business) language that could bring professional advantages 150 -- 8.3.4 The dominance of factor 1 151 -- 8.3.5 The diverse motivation of Australian university students learning German 152 -- 8.4 A strong relationship between language and culture 153 -- 8.5 The relationship between the student profile and the motives for studying German 155 -- 8.5.1 Motivation in relation to language level 155 -- 8.5.2 Motivation in relation to first language 156 -- 8.5.3 Motivation in relation to degrees 157 -- 8.5.4 Other differences 159 -- 8.6 Students' preferred areas of interest 159 -- 8.7 Summary 160 -- Chapter 9 Conclusion 163 -- 9.1 Introduction 163 -- 9.2 New and comprehensive data 163 -- 9.3 New representative data on the German Studies student population 164 -- 9.4 More than two motivational factors for studying German 165 -- 9.5 An increasingly diverse student population 166 -- 9.6 Challenges and opportunities for future course design 168 -- 9.7 Future research 173 -- Appendices 175 -- Questionnaire 175 -- Letter to German Studies programs 179 -- Information letter to students 180 -- Bibliography 181.