Izabela Świć
&
Renata Zdanowska
Siedlce 2011
Definition of motivation
• Motivation is the most frequently used catch-all term for
explaining the success or failure of virtually any complex
task.
• Many studies and experiments in human learning have
shown that motivation is a key to learning in general.
• In the field of second language acquisition, in particular,
the subject of motivation has garnered plenty of attention.
Definition of motivation
• Motivation is an integral part of learning a second
language. It is learning how to keep on being motivated
that is the key to language fluency.
• Motivation is often defined as the psychological quality
that leads people to achieve a goal. The goal for
language learners is mastery of a language.
Theories of motivation
The term motivation theory is concerned
with the processes that describe why and
how human behavior is activated and
directed.
Three views of motivation
• Behavioral Views of Motivation;
• Cognitive Views of Motivation;
• Constructivist View of Motivation
Behavioral Views of Motivation
Behaviorism suggests that motivation results from:
•
Effective reinforcers;
•
Anticipation of reward;
•
External forces like parents, teachers, peers,
educational requirements etc.
Critics of behavioral approaches to motivation contend that
reinforcers detract from intrinsic motivation and cause
learners to focus on the reinforcers instead of learning.
Reinforcers can be effective, however, if they’re based
on quality of the work and communicate increasing
competence.
Skinner, Pavlov, Thorndike put motivation at the center of their
theories of human behavior.
• Skinner demonstrating that organisms tend to repeat actions that
are reinforced and that behavior can be shaped by reinforcement,
• Skinner developed the technique of programmed instruction to
make it possible for students to be reinforced for every correct
response.
• According to Skinner, supplying the correct answer--and being
informed by the program that it is the correct answer--motivates the
student to go on to the next frame; and as the student works through
the program, the desired terminal behavior is progressively shaped.
Cognitive Views of Motivation
Cognitive views places much more emphasis on
the individual’s decisions. The choices people
make as to what experiences or goals they will
approach or avoid, and the degree of effort
they will exert in that respect.
Cognitive theories of motivation focus on learners’
beliefs, expectations, and needs for order and
understanding .
Six needs undergirding the construct of
motivation by Ausubel:
Exploration – for seeing the other side of the mountain;
Manipulation – for operating on the environment and causing change;
Activity – for movement and exercise both physical and mental;
Stimulation - by the environment, by other people, by ideas, thoughts,
feelings;
Knowledge – need to process the results of exploration, manipulation,
activity and stimulation to resolve contradictions, to quest for
solutions to problems and for self-consistent systems of knowledge;
Ego enhancement – for the self to be known and to be accepted and
approved of by others.
Constructivist view of motivation
Constructivist view of motivation places emphasis on
social context as well as individual personal choices.
Each person is motivated differently, and will therefore act
on his or her environment in ways that are unique.
These unique acts are always carried out within a cultural
and social milieu and cannot be completely separated
from that context.
Maslow's motivation theory
The basis of Maslow's motivation theory is
that human beings are motivated by
unsatisfied needs, and that certain
lower factors need to be satisfied before
higher needs can be satisfied.
According to Maslow, there are general types of needs
(physiological, survival, safety, love, and esteem) that
must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly. He
called these needs "deficiency needs. „As long as we are
motivated to satisfy these cravings, we are moving
towards growth, toward self-actualization. Satisfying
needs is healthy, while preventing gratification makes us
sick or act evilly.
Studies of motivation in second language
acquisition often refer to the distinction
between integrative and instrumental
orientations of the learner.
Orientations
Instrumental
furthering a career
reading technical material
translation
Integrative
integrating into the culture
of the second language
becoming involved socially
Motivation or orientation?
• Dornyei, Gardner and MacIntyre point that
instrumentality and integrativeness are not
types of motivation.
high motivational
intensity
low motivational
intensity
Research studies
1
Spolsky (1968)
'Integrativeness' gets
higher
scores in proficiency
tests in learning L2
Gardner & Lambert (1972)
2
Lukmani (1972)
'Instrumentality' gets
higher
scores in proficiency
tests in learning L2
Research studies
3
Gardner & MacIntyre (1992)
In certain contexts
either
instrumental or
integrative
orientation were
more effective
4
Gardner (2004)
Lamb (2004)
It is difficult to
distinguish
which orientation has
better
impact on tests'
results
What is more effective?
• There is no single means of learning of
a second language
Some
students are
more successful
if they are
integrative
orientated
Some
students need
an instrumental
factor
to be
successful
Why is that?
Most situations 'contain' a mixture of both
orientations and the integrative –
instrumental
construct
is able to bring
student to his/her
success in
language learning.
Motivation
Intrinsic
belonging to or part of
the real nature of
somebody or something,
true; genuine; real; essential
Extrinsic
not belonging naturally to somebody,
coming from outside somebody
or something
rather than within them
Intrinsic motivation
intrinsically motivated activities
are these for which
there is no reward
except the activity itself
COMPETENCE
AND
SELF-DETERMINATION
Extrinsic
extrinsic motivation
comes from outside
and beyond
the self
MONEY, PRIZES, GRADES,
POSITIVE FEEDBACK,
AVOIDING PUNISHMENT
Which form of motivation
is more powerful?
“An unpublished study reported an
experiment in which two groups of junior
high school girls were asked to teach a
simple game to kindergarteners”.
1. A reward.
2. No reward.
Results and conclusion
•
“The results showed that the latter group
did a better job of successfully teaching
the game and reported greater satisfaction
in doing so than the first group”
•
Intrinsic motivation in second group was a
stronger motivator.
Motivational dichotomies
Intrinsic
•
•
Extrinsic
Integrative
L2
L2learner
learnerwishes
wishes
totointegrate
integratewith
with
L2
L2culture
culture
Someone else wishes
the L2 learner
to know
the L2 for integrating
reasons
Instrumental
L2 learner wishes
to achieve
goals
e.g., for a career
External power wants
L2 learner to study L2
e.g., business cooperation
Sum - up
• Motivation plays a significant role in the process of
learning a second language. Language teachers cannot
effectively teach a language if they do not understand
the relationship between motivation and its effect on
second language acquisition .
•
The core of motivation is what might be called passion.
Passion, which relates to a person’s goals and desires,
is intrinsic. Successful learners know their preferences,
their strengths and weaknesses, and effectively utilize
strengths and compensate for weaknesses. Successful
language learning is linked to the learner’s passion.
Instructors should find ways to connect to this passion.
References
H. Douglas Brown (2007): Principles of language learning and teaching, chapter 6.
“Second Language Acquisition Through Motivation”,
http://socyberty.com/languages/second-language-acquisition-through-motivation/
Jacqueline Norris-Holt, “Motivation as a Contributing Factor in Second Language Acquisition’’, The
Internet TESL Journal, http://iteslj.org/Articles/Norris-Motivation.html ;
Motivation to Learn Another Language (2008), http://www.suite101.com/content/motivation-to-learnanother-language-a66954
Motivation Excerpted from Chapter 11 of Biehler/Snowman, PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED TO TEACHING,
8/e, Houghton Mifflin, 1997. http://college.cengage.com/education/pbl/tc/motivate.html
Theories of Motivation,
http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_eggen_education_6/13/3460/885789.cw/index.html