Motivation in Second Language Acquisition

When a person acts in a certain way we often seek an answer why he or she acted like
that. What we are looking for is the motivation behind the act. The research on
motivation seeks to understand the reasons for specific actions. The ideas and
theories behind motivation are widely spread and there are three main schools.
Behaviourist who sees causes out of the environment, influences from the outside,
biologists who sees motivation out of a biological approach, mediationists who sees
causes from the internal events, like wishes and urges. Some theorists are also mixing
these schools with each other. One thing is for sure, motivation theorists do not often
agree with each other, especially in-between the different schools.

So why is motivation an important part of organisational development?
Well, to be able to develop an organisation one must understand the organisation and
the people within the organisation. The people are the ones that are conducting the
organisation. To be able to have an impact on them to act in certain direction, an
effective tool is motivation, since motivation is the cause to every act.

 http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

 Intrinsic motivation

– motivation associated with activities that are
their own reward
Extrinsic motivation
– motivation created by external factors such as
rewards and punishments


Guess what are those cases intrinsic or extrinsic ?

Safe Sarah – You once gave her bonus points for
doing an excellent job in drawing, and now she
produces a work of art every time. However, if a task
is not on the test, she is not interested.

Satisfied Sam – is interested in the project. In fact,
he knows more than you do. Apparently, he spends
hours reading about the topic.

Defensive Diane – is afraid to try because if she
makes an effort and fails, she fears that everyone will
know she is “dumb.”







Theoretical Aspect of Motivation
 
- Behavioral Approach
- Cognitive Approach
- Social Learning Approach
- Humanistic Approach

Behavioral Approach

• emphasize extrinsic motivation caused by rewards
or punishments
• High/low grades, praise/criticism, free
time/detention
��temporary behavior change; decreased intrinsic
motivation; materialistic attitude
  
a case

A group of neighborhood boys decided to play ball at the end of a culde-
sac. While the boys played, they were very noisy. There was an old
man who lived in one of the houses near the cul-de-sac. This old man
liked to take a nap at the same time the boys came down to play, and
each day they woke him up because they were so noisy. So one day the
old man went to the children and told them that he liked them playing
down near his house, and he offered to pay them $1 to be noisy. The
boys agreed to be noisy, and for the next few days the old man came out
and paid them $1 to be noisy. Then the old man told them that he could
not afford to pay them $1 anymore, but that he would pay them 50 cents
instead. So the boys agreed to be noisy, and the old man paid them 50
cents for the next few days. Then the old man told them that he could
not afford to pay them 50 cents anymore, but that he would pay them 25
cents to be noisy. So the boys agreed and continued to be noisy. Then
the old man told them that he could not afford to pay them 25 cents
anymore, but asked them to be noisy for free. The boys refused to be
noisy for free and decided to go elsewhere to play ball.

Cognitive Approach

Cognitive theories of motivation assume that behaviour is directed as a result of the active processing and interpretation of information. Motivation is not seen as a mechanical or innate set of processes but as a purposive and persistent set of behaviours based on the information available. Expectations, based on past experiences, serve to direct behaviour toward particular goals.
Important concepts of cognitive motivation theory include expectancy-value theory, attribution theory, cognitive dissonance, self-perception, and self-actualization.



• emphasize intrinsic motivation
• believe that behavior is determined by our thinking,
not simply by whether we have been rewarded or
punished for the behavior.

 Need for Achievement (Atkinson & McClelland)
• The need for achievement may be described as a
"capacity for taking pride in accomplishment"
(Atkinson, 1958).
• desire to excel, drive for excellence and success
• fear of failure

 Attribution theory (Weiner)
Perceived cause of successes or failures:
• locus: location of the cause - internal vs external
• stability: whether the cause stays the same or
changes
• controllability: whether the person can control the
cause

Examples of Attribution Theory
• I didn’t have as much time to study as I usually do. I now
know that I will need to study more for the next test if I
want to do well.
Internal locus, unstable, controllable
 
• I forgot we had the test today, so I was really worried. It
turned out all right because the teacher just happened to
ask about the things I knew how to do. I can’t count on
that every time.
External, unstable, uncontrollable

Social Learning Approach

 
• A mix of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation based on
expectations and personal value of goals

• Albert Bandura – source of motivation:
• possible outcomes of behavior
• self-efficacy – belief that individual can
achieve a specific task
• goals we set – specific and reachable goals 

• Motivation = Expectancy * value

• Motivation to perform a task depends on
students’ expectation of success and the value
they place on the task.
• The two factors work together like a
multiplication equation (expectancy * value).

• If either one is missing (i.e. zero) there will be
no motivation. 

Humanistic Approach

 
• emphasizes intrinsic motivation created by the need
for personal growth, fulfillment, and selfdetermination.
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 





Fostering student motivation
  Provide opportunity for success
◦ Task accomplishable
◦ Be responsive to the signs of the students “very
difficult”
  Teach students
to set reasonable goals and assess
their performance
  Teach students 
to understand the relationship
between effort and outcome
◦ attribute failure to lack of ability
◦ I can do well without much effort!!!
◦ Point the students’ improvement when they show
effort
 Relate the lessons 
to students own life so that
the content is more meaningful and relevant
(value)
  Model an interest in learning and express
enthusiasm for the material (value)
   Include novelty/variety elements
  Give the opportunity to respond actively
  Provide opportunity for students to interact
during academic activities

 

 Share responsibility with students
�� Exercise some autonomy and make decision
about their own behaviors
�� Sharing d-m power
☺increases willingness to cooperate
☺Enhances students’ independence, self-control
☺Socially responsible behaviors

 

 

Use of rewards
�� Positive reinforcement: rewarded behavior is
strengthened and likely to be repeated
�� Helps to focus on positive behavior rather
than misbehavior

 

 

Type of rewards
�� Social rewards
◦ Verbal and nonverbal sign indicate your
approval, agreement
◦ Risk of misuse (“Teacher’s pet”)

�� Activity rewards
◦ e.g., watching video, no homework
�� Tangible material rewards
◦ e.g., books, tickets

 

 

Using rewards effectively
�� Rewarding appropriate behavior
�� Use verbal rewards to increase intrinsic
motivation
�� Use tangible rewards for activities found
unattractive
�� Use tangible rewards randomly, after the
performance
�� Use rewards that attracts students
�� Keep it simple