Dr.Sc.Hist., Professor S.P. Shilov
Dr.Hab., Professor L.V. Vedernikova
PhD, Associate professor S.V. Pakhotina
Associate professor A.G. Polivaev
PhD, Associate professor I.K. Tsalikova
Ishim Pedagogical Institute n.a. P.P. Ershov (branch), Tyumen State Univesity, Ishim

Keywords: sport education, foreign languages, motivation.

Introduction. Today, competence in foreign languages has evolved from a simple hobby of people, who are enthusiastic about travelling, into a crucial factor behind gainful employment opportunities in any area of professional activities. Surprisingly, bachelors with an academic major in non-philological education in small and medium sized cities in the Russian Federation show no disposition to study foreign languages, which is most evident in the students majoring in “Sport Education”. It is important to identify the underlying causes of such a situation, since high level of motivation determines effectiveness of educational process to a far greater degree than a single aptitude for learning foreign languages [7].

Objective of the study was to identify the causes of low motivation in 1^st and 2^nd year bachelors in “Sport Education” for studying non-core disciplines (foreign language) at a pedagogical university in a medium sized city.

Methods and structure of the research. The study was conducted at the premises of P.P. Ershov Ishim Pedagogical Institute (branch of Tyumen State University); Ishim belongs to the category of medium sized cities (with a population of between 50,000 and 100,000 persons). The ten-year study covered 240 university students taking a Bachelor degree program “Pedagogical education” (050100.62) majoring in “Sport Education” (specialty code 44.03.05).

Results and discussion. Foreign language skills offer great benefits in finding successful employment in large urban cities, whereas in medium and small towns, generally, competence in foreign languages is not required due to occasional international collaboration. For this reason, 96 percent of respondents consider foreign languages to be inessential for further professional activities.

Bachelors of Sport Education do not express willingness to communicate with the speakers of other languages via social media. The main reason behind such an attitude lies in specific character traits peculiar to the students in this particular speciality area [4]. Students majoring in Sport Education relate to their own sphere of professional activities more than to other subjects, as compared to the students with other specialities. “Among other social classes, people in sport fall into another specific category: athletes”. This social group is characterized by specific attitudes, code of conduct and social values. The life of an athlete is dedicated to sport goals, which create emotional disposition and make an athlete channel the energy into a certain activity relegating other motives to the background [2]. 76 percent of students majoring in Sport Education confirm the fact. 78 percent of students express considerable interest in the academic disciplines within their speciality area; they are sure that the subject-related knowledge will be of use to them in the chosen profession. 43 percent of the respondents participating in the research learn a foreign language merely because it is on the curriculum. 35 percent of students state that they experience difficulties when learning due to insufficient level of secondary school training (24.5 percent) and lack of aptitude for studying foreign languages (30 percent). 24 percent of respondents think that they had not been studying the subject at secondary school properly.

University students have to deal with physical and emotional exertion stemmed from a vast range of sport disciplines, constant training process, sport events and competitions. For instance, practical classes in the core disciplines requiring physical exertion constitute 30 percent of the total academic hours allocated for three semesters (on average, 6 times more than the number of credit hours assigned for completing Bachelor degree programs in other specialities) [5]. Energy consumption constitutes from about 3000 calories (chess-players) to 6500 calories (in sports involving continuous and intense physical loads) per day during training sessions and competitions [1]. A person performing mental activities consumes 7 times less energy (Cal.) [6].

The poll results indicate that university students have neither energy nor time to perform self-study tasks in non-core disciplines. They want to sleep (41 percent), have some leisure time (36 percent) or spend time with friends (39 percent). Among other factors, lack of knowledge and poor skills in foreign languages are also caused by unsystematic and inconsistent foreign language class attendance (absence from class due to athletic competitions and sport training activities). For example, 1^st and 2^nd year students in P.P. Ershov Ishim Pedagogical Institute had missed 90 consecutive academic days per 1 semester and, as a consequence, showed a low level of knowledge in a number of disciplines. The same reasons along with the lack of basic secondary school knowledge underlie the poor Unified State Exam results.

Efforts and eagerness to speak a foreign language are suppressed by psychological barriers conditioned by the students’ personality characteristics: high levels of aspiration (51 percent) and aggression (39 percent) taking the forms of anger, negativism, resentment, hostility, guilt [3].

Conclusion. Formation of motivation for studying non-core disciplines is complicated by a number of social factors and psychological barriers in various categories of students. In relation to foreign language learning, the situation is complicated by the fact that some students do not see the potential for the foreign language practical implementation, which is most obvious in provincial small and medium sized cities of the Russian Federation. Systematic and organized measures should be taken to demonstrate the significance of foreign language skills within the modern society, promote the recognition of such skills as profitable and beneficial for personality development through knowledge acquisition and teaching skills improvement regarding the subjects of interest in terms of professional specialization. 

References

1. Weinbaum Ya.S. Gigiena fizicheskogo vospitaniya i sporta: ucheb. posobie dlya stud. vyssh. ped. ucheb. zavedeniy (Hygiene of physical education and sport: study guide for students of higher ed. institutions) / Ya.S. Weinbaum, V.I. Koval', T.A. Rodionova. – Moscow: Akademiya, 2002. – 240 p.
2. Ilyin E.P. Psikhofiziologiya fizicheskogo vospitaniya: (faktory, vliyayushchie na effektivnost' sportivnoy deyatel'nosti): ucheb. posobie dlya stud. ped. in-tov po spets. № 2114 – «Fiz. vospitanie» (Psychophysiology of Physical Education (factors affecting athletic performance): study guide for students of ped. institutes majoring in Physical Education) / E.P. Ilyin. – Moscow: Prosveshchenie, 1983. – 223 p.
3. Nemov R.S. Prakticheskaya psikhologiya: Poznanie sebya: Vliyanie na lyudey: posobie dlya uch-sya (Practical Psychology: Self-knowledge: Effects in human: students' study guide) / R.S. Nemov. – Moscow: VLADOS, 2001. – 320 p.
4. Pakhotina S.V. Osobennosti obucheniya inostrannomu yazyku studentov fakul'teta fizicheskoy kul'tury pedagogicheskogo vuza (Specifics of teaching foreign language to Physical Education faculty students in pedagogical university) / S.V. Pakhotina // Novy universitet: Aktual'nye problemy gumanitarnykh i obshchestvennykh nauk. – Yoshkar-Ola, 2013. – № 4. – P. 4-8.
5. Uchebny plan. Napravlenie 44.03.05 (050100.62) – Pedagogicheskoe obrazovanie (Ekologicheskoe obrazovanie, bezopasnost' zhiznedeyatel'nosti) (Academic plan. 44.03.05 Speciality (050100.62) - Teacher Education (Environmental education, life safety).
6. Kholodov Zh.K. Teoriya i metodika fizicheskogo vospitaniya i sporta: ucheb. posobie dlya stud. vyssh. ped. ucheb. zavedeniy (Theory and methodology of physical education and sport: study guide for students of higher ed. institutions) / Zh.K. Kholodov, V.S. Kuznetsov. – 2nd ed., rev. and sup. – Moscow: Akademiya, 2001. – 480 p.
7. Lafayette, R. Evaluating Cultural Learnings // The Cultural Revolution in Foreign Language Teaching: A Guide for Building the Modern Curriculum. (ed. by Robert C& Lafayette). – Skokie: National Textbook Company, 1975. – P. 104-117.

Corresponding author: wedernikowa@mail.ru

Abstract
Objective of the study was to identify the causes of low motivation of 1st and 2nd year bachelors of Physical Education to study of non-core disciplines (foreign language) in a pedagogical university of a middle-size city.
Questionnaire, testing and interviews revealed social (poor financial situation, distance of the city from places of active international contacts) and subjective factors (focus on sport skill improvement, physical loads and emotional stress, unsystematic sessions, aggression and high level of aspiration), which have a negative impact on the formation of motivation to study foreign languages in students majoring in Physical Education.