Motivation has been widely studied in the field of second language learning as one of the most important predictors of linguistic proficiency. Initial studies suggested that socio-cultural factors such as attitudes toward the target group were strongly associated with a desire to learn and the effort expended in learning the target language. Though a second wave of studies emphasized more individual contributions to learner motivation, there has recently been a return to a more contextualized view of learning and the role that motivation plays within a given social context. The present study examines the specific socio-cultural context of the Southwestern U.S. in which Anglos, the dominant socio-linguistic group, have chosen to study Spanish, a minority language. Analyses address intensity of motivation, attitudes toward Spanish and Spanish speaking populations, and motivational orientations; this study also examines issues of social distance and discusses differences in perception regarding Spain and Mexico based on self-report questionnaires from the participants involved. Results indicate that Anglo learners of Spanish are moderately motivated to learn Spanish; though they responded quite positively on items related to desired fluency, participants do not seem necessarily willing to invest the time and effort required to achieve that fluency. Findings suggest that participants have somewhat neutral attitudes toward the Spanish language and Spanish speakers. Participants seem generally positive about the need for English speakers to understand and appreciate Hispanic culture; they are more reticent, however, on issues of language learning responsibilities. It also appears that participants have slightly more negative perceptions of Mexico than of Spain. In addition, results show that motivational intensity is moderately associated with attitudes, supporting many of the initial studies of motivation in language learning that found that more positive attitudes are associated with higher levels of motivation. Although many participants responded that they were only taking Spanish courses to fulfill the language requirement, they also seemed to recognize that there were other compelling reasons to study Spanish. Participants indicated that the usefulness of Spanish was the most important reason for studying the language and that a desire to have a more personal connection with the target group and culture was the least important reason. / text

Medieval rhetoric, as a field and as a subject, has largely been under-developed and under-emphasized within medieval and rhetorical studies for several reasons: the disconnect between Germanic, Anglo-Saxon society and the Greco-Roman tradition that defined rhetoric as an art; the problems associated with translating the Old and Middle English vernacular in light of rhetorical and, thereby, Greco-Latin precepts; and the complexities of the medieval period itself with the lack of surviving manuscripts, often indistinct and inconsistent political and legal structure, and widespread interspersion and interpolation of Christian doctrine. However, it was Christianity and its governance of medieval culture that preserved classical rhetoric within the medieval period through reliance upon a classic epideictic platform, which, in turn, became the foundation for early medieval rhetoric. The role of epideictic rhetoric itself is often undervalued within the rhetorical tradition because it appears too basic or less essential than the judicial or deliberative branches for in-depth study and analysis. Closer inspection of this branch reveals that epideictic rhetoric contains fundamental elements of human communication with the focus upon praise and blame and upon appropriate thought and behavior. In analyzing the medieval world’s heritage and knowledge of the Greco-Roman tradition, epideictic rhetoric’s role within the writings and lives of Greek and Roman philosophers, and the popular Christian writings of the medieval period – such as Alfred’s translation of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy, Alfred’s translation of Gregory the Great’s Pastoral Care, Ælfric’s Lives of Saints, Ælfric’s Catholic Homilies, Wulfstan’s Sermo Lupi ad Anglos, and the anonymously written Vercelli and Blickling homiles – an early medieval rhetoric begins to be revealed. This Old English rhetoric rests upon a blended epideictic structure based largely upon the encomium and vituperation formats of the ancient progymnasmata, with some additions from the chreia and commonplace exercises, to form a unique rhetoric of the soul that aimed to convert words into moral thought and action within the lives of every individual. Unlike its classical predecessors, medieval rhetoric did not argue, refute, or prove; it did not rely solely on either praise or blame; and it did not cultivate words merely for intellectual, educative, or political purposes. Instead, early medieval rhetoric placed the power of words in the hands of all humanity, inspiring every individual to greater discernment of character and reality, greater spirituality, greater morality, and greater pragmatism in daily life.