Motivation
is always preceded by a goal. For
example the baseball player’s goal is to have a place in the hall of fame. The overweight individual’s goal is to lose
weight. The student’s goal is to get a good grade. Those are some of many reasons that people
decide to motivate themselves. What
happens when a person needs to learn a second language?
Let’s
first understand the term in its general sense. Motivation can be explained as the degree to which an
individual strives to do something because the person desires to and because of
the pleasure and fulfillment derived from the activity. There has been considerable research conducted on the
topic of attitudes and motivation in L2 (2nd language) learning. It
stands to reason, and research has corroborated, that motivation is one of the
essential learner’s characteristics that determine the rate and success of L2
learning.
Gardner’s socio-educational model
indicates that motivation is divided into two basic types: integrative and
instrumental. Integrative motivation is characterized by the learner's positive
attitudes towards the target language group and the desire to integrate into the
target language community. Meanwhile instrumental motivation underlies the goal
to gain some social or economic reward through L2 achievement, as a result
referring to a more functional reason for language learning.
Gardner’s
model looks specifically at SLA in a structured classroom. The model relates to four features of
SLA. These are (1) socio-cultural
environment (2) individual learner differences, the setting or context
in which learning takes place and linguistic outcomes (Gardner 1982).
The socio-cultural environment is
when an individual is situated in a monocultured place where there is no need
to assimilate another language. The
individual must adapt and learn the language.
There are four individual
differences that are important for a person who is trying to acquire a second
language. These could be the capacity,
capability, the motivation or level of anxiety, to learn a new language. The setting or context can be identified in
two, the formal instruction and the more natural setting. The formal setting is the intelligence and
capacity to learn, while exhorting a weaker influence in the informal or
natural setting.
Linguistics outcomes refer to the
actual language knowledge and language skills, which include proficiency tests
and course grades. Gardner also adds “Individuals who are truly motivated not only strive
to learn the material but also seek out situations where they can obtain
further practice”.
Masgoret (2003)
stated that “learning a second language requires the adoption of word sounds,
pronunciations, word orders, and other behavioral and cognitive features that
are part of another culture. Individuals who want to identify with the other
language groups will be more motivated to learn the language than individuals
who do not”. This is why immigrants who
arrive in a country against their will because of war or political problems
often do not show the same rate of language acquisition as their fellow
countrymen who voluntarily left their homeland. However, even in negative
situations like incarceration abroad, if the desire to integrate with the
surrounding people is strong enough, language acquisition will occur.
Dornyei (2002a, p. 8) identifies motivation as “why
people decide to do something, how long they are willing to sustain the
activity and how hard they are going to pursue it”. Crookes,
Schmidt, Gardner and Tremblay explored four other motivational orientations
which are, (1) reason for learning, which could be integrative or instrumental,
(2) desire to attain the learning goal, meaning the drive the individual has to
learn a second language, (3) positive attitude toward learning situations, the
word attitude is the key to learning a second language, (4) effort behavior is
the performance in which an individual acts towards the SLA.
Oxford and Shearin
(1994) identified six factors that impact motivation in language learning: (1)
attitudes, i.e., sentiments toward the learning community and the TL (target
language); (2) beliefs about self, i.e., expectations about one’s attitudes to
succeed, self-efficacy, and anxiety; (3) goals, i.e., perceived clarity and
relevance of learning goals as reasons for learning; (4) involvement, i.e.,
extent to which the learner actively and consciously participates in the
language learning process; (5) environmental support, i.e., extent of teacher
and peer support, and the integration of cultural and outside-of-class support
into learning experience; and (6) personal attributes, i.e., aptitude, age,
sex, and previous language learning experience.
To finalize the
subject here are some sujestions I would like to share. (1)In order to make the
language learning process a more motivating experience, instructors need to put
a great deal of thought into developing classes which maintain student
interest. (2)As much as possible relate
assignments and class projects to real life situations. (3)There are many school books that speak
about one’s culture that assimilate to actual circumstances. (4)Encouraging students to become more active
participants in a lesson can sometimes assist them to see a purpose for
improving their communication skills in the target language. (5)Successful
communication using the target language should result in students feeling some
sense of accomplishment. (6)Lowering the
anxiety in the students by laughter is a good strategic move from the
facilitator. (7)Praising the student
mainly in the elementary level is very important in motivating and accomplishments
in the task. (8)Having students create
their own knowledge is very important, s/he will think about the environment
and culture in which the individual lives and will make the learning fun and
pertinent in the motivation towards a second language.
Essay by Ivonne R. English Teacher, BA in Language Arts.
Essay by Ivonne R. English Teacher, BA in Language Arts.
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