Motivation in second-language learning

The desire to learn is often related to the concept of ‘motivation’. Motivation is the most used concept for explaining the failure or success of a language learner. Learning a new language takes time and dedication. Once one does, being fluent in a second language offers numerous benefits and opportunities. Learning a second language is exciting and beneficial at all ages. It offers practical, intellectual and many aspirational benefits. In learning a language, there can be one or more goals – such as mastery of the language or communicative competence – that vary from person to person. There are a number of language learner motivation models that were developed and postulated in fields such as linguistics and sociolinguistics, with relations to second language acquisition in a classroom setting. The different perspectives on L2 motivation can be divided into three distinct phases: the social psychological period, the cognitive situated period and the process oriented period.

Social psychological perspectives on L2 learning motivation emphasize the role of the individuals’ social context and social interactions. The social psychological period in L2 motivation research flourished in the bilingual context of Canada from 1959 through 1990 (Dörnyei, 2005; Ushioda, 2012). During this period, Gardner developed the socio educational model while Clément and colleagues explored the theory of linguistic self confidence.

R. C. Gardner formulated the socio educational model suggesting that learning an L2 cannot be solely explained by people's aptitude or their competency to acquire as many languages. He asserted that individual differences were key factors affecting L2 acquisition such that in understanding how the L2 learning process and outcomes work, it is important to consider the cultural contexts, which influence people's attitude and motivation in learning another culturally distinct language. By simply regarding aptitude as the only factor, researchers dismiss the social, contextual and pragmatic reasons that drive people to learn other languages. Both ways, the learners become increasingly knowledgeable and more confident with the social and cultural settings behind the L2, and these motivate them to learn L2 even more. Upon this transition, linguistic and non linguistic outcomes emerge. In the linguistic component, learners tend to develop L2 proficiency and fluency, whereas in the non linguistic outcomes, they undergo changes in attitudes towards the culture where the L2 came from. The process of L2 acquisition starts from the social milieu where learners have initial attitudes towards the culture behind the L2; these preset beliefs were acquired from their own cultures. Gardner argued that if these three criteria work together, the learner could effectively use motivation as a tool for L2 acquisition. More characteristics were added to describe the variables affecting each of the individual factors; these were compiled in the Attitude Motivation Test Battery developed by Gardner.