MOTIVATING SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS: FROM MAJOR L2 MOTIVATION THEORIES TO IMPLICATIONS FOR L2 CLASSROOM PRACTICE AND RESEARCH
Main Article Content
Abstract
Motivation has long been emphasized as a determinant factor in a learning process in general, and second language (L2) acquisition in particular. Equivalent to such importance, a vast number of theories and models have been proposed in the literature to explain why students choose to learn a second language. The proliferation of L2 motivational theories and models in the literature, however, might have caused certain confusion to practitioners and researchers in choosing a suitable methodological and theoretical framework for their teaching practice and research. This paper aims to address this concern by critically reviewing the major L2 motivation approaches and their featured L2 motivational models to date, based on which several implications will be made for L2 teachers who seek to create a motivating language teaching practice, and for L2 researchers whose goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the construct in their empirical enquiries.
Article Details
Keywords
second language (L2) motivation, literature review, second language teaching, L2 motivation theories
References
Alexander, P. A., & Murphy, P. K. (1998). A test of cognitive and motivational dimensions of domain learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 435-447.
Al-Hoorie, A. H. (2017). Sixty years of language motivation research: Looking back and looking forward. SAGE Open, 7(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017701976
Belmechri, F., & Hummel, K. (1998). Orientations and motivation in the acquisition of English as a second language among high school students in Quebec city. Language Learning, 48, 219-44.
Berardi-Wiltshire, A., Bortolotto, M. C., & Morris, H. (2020). Motivation as ethical self-formation in learning te reo Māori as a second language. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1-13. http://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2020.1804573
Boo, Z., Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan, S. (2015). L2 motivation research 2005-2014: Understanding a publication surge and a changing landscape. System, 55, 145-157.
Bower, K. (2019) Explaining motivation in language learning: A framework for evaluation and research. The Language Learning Journal, 47(5), 558-574. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2017.1321035
Cave, A., & Mulloy, M. (2010). How do cognitive and motivational factors influence teachers’ degree of program implementation? A qualitative examination of teacher perspectives. National Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision Journal, 27(4), 1-26.
Cheng, H. F., & Dörnyei, Z. (2007). The use of motivational strategies in language instruction: The case of EFL teaching in Taiwan. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 153-174.
Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noel, K. A. (1994). Motivation, self-confidence and group cohesion in the foreign language classroom. Language Learning, 44, 417-448.
Coetzee-Van Rooy, S. (2006). Integrativeness: Untenable for world Englishes learners? World Englishes, 25, 437-450. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-971X.2006.00479.x
Cook, D. A., & Artino, A. R. (2016). Motivation to learn: An overview of contemporary theories. Medical education, 50(10), 997-1014.
Crookes, G., & Schmidt, R. (1991). Motivation: Reopening the research agenda. Language Learning, 41, 469-512.
Darmanto (2020). The roles of a native English speaker teacher (NEST) on the students’ motivation in learning English: A case study at SMAN 2 Sumbawa Besar. TESOL International Journal, 15(1), 93-99.
Day, C. (1999). Developing teachers: Challenges of lifelong learning. Falmer Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum.
Ditual, R. C. (2012). The motivation for and attitude towards learning English. The Asian EFL Journal, 63, 4-21.
Dörnyei, Z. (1994). Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 78, 273-284.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001a). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001b). Teaching and researching motivation. Longman.
Dörnyei, Z. (2002). The motivational basis of language learning tasks. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 137-158). John Benjamin.
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Erlbaum.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Creating a motivating classroom environment. In J. Cummins & C. Davison (Eds.), International handbook of English language teaching (pp. 719-731). Springer.
Dörnyei, Z. (2009). The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 9-42). Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z., & Csizé, K. (2002). Some dynamics of language attitudes and motivation: Results of a longitudinal nationwide survey. Applied Linguistics, 23, 421-462.
Dörnyei, Z., MacIntyre, P. D., & Henry, A. (Eds.). (2015). Motivational dynamics in language learning. Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z., & Otto, I. (1998). Motivation in action: A process model of L2 motivation. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics, 4, 43-69.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2009). Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Multilingual Matters.
Duff, P. A. (2017). Commentary: Motivation for learning languages other than English in an English-dominant world. The Modern Language Journal, 101(3), 597–607.
Ellis, R. (2008). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford University Press.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. Edward Arnold.
Gardner, R. C. (2004). Attitude/Motivation Test Battery: International AMTB research project. The University of Western Ontario. http://publish.uwo.ca/~gardner/docs/englishamtb.pdf
Gardner, R. C. (2010). Motivation and second language acquisition: The socio-educational model. Peter Lang.
Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second-language learning. Newbury House Publishers, Inc.
Gardner, R. C., & MacIntyre, P. D. (1993). A student’s contributions to second-language learning. Part II: Affective variables. Language Teaching, 26, 1-11.
Gonzales, R. DLC. (2010). Motivational orientation in foreign language learning: The case study of Filipino Foreign Language Learners. TESOL Journal, 3, 3-28.
Graham, S., & Weiner, B. (2012). Motivation: Past, present, and future. In K. R. Harris, S. Graham, T. Urdan, C. B. McCormick, G. M. Sinatra & J. Sweller (Eds.), APA Educational Psychology Handbook: Vol. 1. Theories, constructs, and critical issues (pp. 367-397). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13273-013
Hadfield, J., & Dörnyei, Z. (2013). Motivating learning. Longman.
Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319-340. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.94.3.319
Hiromori, T. (2009). A process model of L2 learners’ motivation: From the perspectives of general tendency and individual differences. System, 37, 313-321.
Inbar, O., Donitsa-Schmidt, S., & Shohamy, E. (2001). Students’ motivation as a function of language learning: The teaching of Arabic in Israel. In Z. Dörnyei & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition (pp. 297-311). National Foreign Language Resource Center.
Kazdin, A. E. (2000). Encyclopedia of psychology. American Psychological Association.
Khudur, S. (2019). Kurdish students’ motivation to study in Hungary. BirLE-Journal, 2(2), 6-15.
King, R., Yeung, S. S., & Cai, Y. (2019). Personal investment theory: A multi-faceted framework to understand second and foreign language motivation. System, 86, 1-10.
Kruidenier, B., & Clement, R. (1986). The effect of context on the composition and role of orientations in second language acquisition. International Center for Research on Bilingualism.
Lai, Y., & Aksornjarung, P. (2018). Thai EFL learners’ attitudes and motivation towards learning English through content-based instruction. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Studies, 6(1), 43-65.
Lukmani, Y. (1972). Motivation to learn and language proficiency. Language Learning, 22, 261-273.
MacIntyre, P. (2002). Motivation, anxiety and emotion in second language acquisition. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 45-68). John Benjamins.
MacIntyre, P. D., Baker, S. C., & Sparling, H. (2017). Heritage passions, heritage convictions, and the rooted L2 self: Music and Gaelic language learning in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The Modern Language Journal, 101(3), 501-516.
MacIntyre, P. D., Noels, K. A., & Moore, B. (2010). Perspectives on motivation in second language acquisition: Lessons from the Ryoanji Garden. In M. T. Prior, Y. Wantanabe & S. K. Lee (Eds), Selected Proceedings of the 2008 Second Language Research Forum (pp. 1-9). Cascadilla Press.
Markus, H. R., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954-969.
Masgoret, A. M., & Gardner, R. C. (2003). Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning: A meta-analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and his associates. Language Learning, 52(1), 167-210.
McEown, M. S., Noels, K. A., & Chaffee, K. E. (2014). At the interface of the socio-educational model, self-determination theory and the L2 motivational self system models. In K. Csizér & M. Magid (Eds.), The impact of self-concept on language learning (pp. 19-50). Multilingual Matters.
Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Otoshi, J., & Heffernan, N. (2011). An analysis of a hypothesized model of EFL students’ motivation based on self-determination theory. The Asian EFL Journal, 13(3), 66-86.
Papi, M., Bondarenko, A. V. Mansouri, Feng, L., & Jiang, C. (2018). Rethinking L2 motivation research: The 2x2 model of self-guides. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41(2), 337-361.
Rahmanpanah, H. (2017). Investigating teachers’ communicative styles in EFL context: A self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 4(1), 268-289.
Rau, P. L., Gao, Q., & Wu, L. M. (2008). Using mobile communication technology in high-school education; motivation, pressure, and learning performance. Computer & Education, 50(1), 1-22.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.
Ryan, R. M., & Legate, N. (2012). Through a fly’s eye: Multiple yet overlapping perspectives on future directions for human motivation research. In R. M. Ryan (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of human motivation (pp. 554-564). Oxford University Press.
Thurman, J. (2013). Choices and its influence on intrinsic motivation and output in task-based language teaching. The Asian EFL Journal, 15(1), 202-245.
Ushioda, E. (2009). A person-in-context relation view of emergent motivation, self and identity. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 215-228). Multilingual Matters.
Ushioda, E., & Dörnyei, Z. (2012). Motivation. In S. M. Gass & A. Mackey (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 396-409). Routledge.
Weiner, B. (1992). Human motivation: Metaphors, theories, and research (2nd ed.). Sage.
Williams, M., Burden, R., Poulet, G., & Maun, I. (2004). Learners’ perceptions of their successes and failures in foreign language learning. The Language Learning Journal, 30(1), 19-29. http://doi.org/10.1080/09571730485200191
Al-Hoorie, A. H. (2017). Sixty years of language motivation research: Looking back and looking forward. SAGE Open, 7(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017701976
Belmechri, F., & Hummel, K. (1998). Orientations and motivation in the acquisition of English as a second language among high school students in Quebec city. Language Learning, 48, 219-44.
Berardi-Wiltshire, A., Bortolotto, M. C., & Morris, H. (2020). Motivation as ethical self-formation in learning te reo Māori as a second language. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1-13. http://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2020.1804573
Boo, Z., Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan, S. (2015). L2 motivation research 2005-2014: Understanding a publication surge and a changing landscape. System, 55, 145-157.
Bower, K. (2019) Explaining motivation in language learning: A framework for evaluation and research. The Language Learning Journal, 47(5), 558-574. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2017.1321035
Cave, A., & Mulloy, M. (2010). How do cognitive and motivational factors influence teachers’ degree of program implementation? A qualitative examination of teacher perspectives. National Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision Journal, 27(4), 1-26.
Cheng, H. F., & Dörnyei, Z. (2007). The use of motivational strategies in language instruction: The case of EFL teaching in Taiwan. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 153-174.
Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noel, K. A. (1994). Motivation, self-confidence and group cohesion in the foreign language classroom. Language Learning, 44, 417-448.
Coetzee-Van Rooy, S. (2006). Integrativeness: Untenable for world Englishes learners? World Englishes, 25, 437-450. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-971X.2006.00479.x
Cook, D. A., & Artino, A. R. (2016). Motivation to learn: An overview of contemporary theories. Medical education, 50(10), 997-1014.
Crookes, G., & Schmidt, R. (1991). Motivation: Reopening the research agenda. Language Learning, 41, 469-512.
Darmanto (2020). The roles of a native English speaker teacher (NEST) on the students’ motivation in learning English: A case study at SMAN 2 Sumbawa Besar. TESOL International Journal, 15(1), 93-99.
Day, C. (1999). Developing teachers: Challenges of lifelong learning. Falmer Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum.
Ditual, R. C. (2012). The motivation for and attitude towards learning English. The Asian EFL Journal, 63, 4-21.
Dörnyei, Z. (1994). Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 78, 273-284.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001a). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001b). Teaching and researching motivation. Longman.
Dörnyei, Z. (2002). The motivational basis of language learning tasks. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 137-158). John Benjamin.
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Erlbaum.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Creating a motivating classroom environment. In J. Cummins & C. Davison (Eds.), International handbook of English language teaching (pp. 719-731). Springer.
Dörnyei, Z. (2009). The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 9-42). Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z., & Csizé, K. (2002). Some dynamics of language attitudes and motivation: Results of a longitudinal nationwide survey. Applied Linguistics, 23, 421-462.
Dörnyei, Z., MacIntyre, P. D., & Henry, A. (Eds.). (2015). Motivational dynamics in language learning. Multilingual Matters.
Dörnyei, Z., & Otto, I. (1998). Motivation in action: A process model of L2 motivation. Working Papers in Applied Linguistics, 4, 43-69.
Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2009). Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Multilingual Matters.
Duff, P. A. (2017). Commentary: Motivation for learning languages other than English in an English-dominant world. The Modern Language Journal, 101(3), 597–607.
Ellis, R. (2008). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford University Press.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. Edward Arnold.
Gardner, R. C. (2004). Attitude/Motivation Test Battery: International AMTB research project. The University of Western Ontario. http://publish.uwo.ca/~gardner/docs/englishamtb.pdf
Gardner, R. C. (2010). Motivation and second language acquisition: The socio-educational model. Peter Lang.
Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second-language learning. Newbury House Publishers, Inc.
Gardner, R. C., & MacIntyre, P. D. (1993). A student’s contributions to second-language learning. Part II: Affective variables. Language Teaching, 26, 1-11.
Gonzales, R. DLC. (2010). Motivational orientation in foreign language learning: The case study of Filipino Foreign Language Learners. TESOL Journal, 3, 3-28.
Graham, S., & Weiner, B. (2012). Motivation: Past, present, and future. In K. R. Harris, S. Graham, T. Urdan, C. B. McCormick, G. M. Sinatra & J. Sweller (Eds.), APA Educational Psychology Handbook: Vol. 1. Theories, constructs, and critical issues (pp. 367-397). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13273-013
Hadfield, J., & Dörnyei, Z. (2013). Motivating learning. Longman.
Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319-340. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.94.3.319
Hiromori, T. (2009). A process model of L2 learners’ motivation: From the perspectives of general tendency and individual differences. System, 37, 313-321.
Inbar, O., Donitsa-Schmidt, S., & Shohamy, E. (2001). Students’ motivation as a function of language learning: The teaching of Arabic in Israel. In Z. Dörnyei & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Motivation and second language acquisition (pp. 297-311). National Foreign Language Resource Center.
Kazdin, A. E. (2000). Encyclopedia of psychology. American Psychological Association.
Khudur, S. (2019). Kurdish students’ motivation to study in Hungary. BirLE-Journal, 2(2), 6-15.
King, R., Yeung, S. S., & Cai, Y. (2019). Personal investment theory: A multi-faceted framework to understand second and foreign language motivation. System, 86, 1-10.
Kruidenier, B., & Clement, R. (1986). The effect of context on the composition and role of orientations in second language acquisition. International Center for Research on Bilingualism.
Lai, Y., & Aksornjarung, P. (2018). Thai EFL learners’ attitudes and motivation towards learning English through content-based instruction. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Studies, 6(1), 43-65.
Lukmani, Y. (1972). Motivation to learn and language proficiency. Language Learning, 22, 261-273.
MacIntyre, P. (2002). Motivation, anxiety and emotion in second language acquisition. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 45-68). John Benjamins.
MacIntyre, P. D., Baker, S. C., & Sparling, H. (2017). Heritage passions, heritage convictions, and the rooted L2 self: Music and Gaelic language learning in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The Modern Language Journal, 101(3), 501-516.
MacIntyre, P. D., Noels, K. A., & Moore, B. (2010). Perspectives on motivation in second language acquisition: Lessons from the Ryoanji Garden. In M. T. Prior, Y. Wantanabe & S. K. Lee (Eds), Selected Proceedings of the 2008 Second Language Research Forum (pp. 1-9). Cascadilla Press.
Markus, H. R., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954-969.
Masgoret, A. M., & Gardner, R. C. (2003). Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning: A meta-analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and his associates. Language Learning, 52(1), 167-210.
McEown, M. S., Noels, K. A., & Chaffee, K. E. (2014). At the interface of the socio-educational model, self-determination theory and the L2 motivational self system models. In K. Csizér & M. Magid (Eds.), The impact of self-concept on language learning (pp. 19-50). Multilingual Matters.
Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding second language acquisition. Routledge.
Otoshi, J., & Heffernan, N. (2011). An analysis of a hypothesized model of EFL students’ motivation based on self-determination theory. The Asian EFL Journal, 13(3), 66-86.
Papi, M., Bondarenko, A. V. Mansouri, Feng, L., & Jiang, C. (2018). Rethinking L2 motivation research: The 2x2 model of self-guides. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41(2), 337-361.
Rahmanpanah, H. (2017). Investigating teachers’ communicative styles in EFL context: A self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 4(1), 268-289.
Rau, P. L., Gao, Q., & Wu, L. M. (2008). Using mobile communication technology in high-school education; motivation, pressure, and learning performance. Computer & Education, 50(1), 1-22.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.
Ryan, R. M., & Legate, N. (2012). Through a fly’s eye: Multiple yet overlapping perspectives on future directions for human motivation research. In R. M. Ryan (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of human motivation (pp. 554-564). Oxford University Press.
Thurman, J. (2013). Choices and its influence on intrinsic motivation and output in task-based language teaching. The Asian EFL Journal, 15(1), 202-245.
Ushioda, E. (2009). A person-in-context relation view of emergent motivation, self and identity. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 215-228). Multilingual Matters.
Ushioda, E., & Dörnyei, Z. (2012). Motivation. In S. M. Gass & A. Mackey (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 396-409). Routledge.
Weiner, B. (1992). Human motivation: Metaphors, theories, and research (2nd ed.). Sage.
Williams, M., Burden, R., Poulet, G., & Maun, I. (2004). Learners’ perceptions of their successes and failures in foreign language learning. The Language Learning Journal, 30(1), 19-29. http://doi.org/10.1080/09571730485200191