Motivation (Ch. 8)
Understanding SLA
Lourdes Ortega (2009)
www.routledge.com/cw/ortega
Published by Routledge © 2009 Mark Sawyer
The traditional approach:
AMTB & motivational quantity (8.1)
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Motivation narrowly defined (Gardner)
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2.
3.
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Effort (Motivational intensity)
Enjoyment (L2 learning attitudes)
Investment (Desire to learn L2)
Quantity measured by Likert scales
“Truly motivated individual” high in all 3
Unlike Kaplan, Watson lacks enjoyment
Integrativeness as an
antecedent of motivation (8.2)
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Integrativeness =
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Favorable attitudes toward L2 NSs
General interest in FLs (+ low ethnocentrism?)
Integrative orientation
Integrative motivation (subsystem) =
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Integrativeness is high
MOT (quantity) is high
Other antecedents:
Orientations & attitudes (8.3)
Widely reported orientations (reasons)
 Instrumental
 Knowledge
 Travel
 Friendship
 Integrative
Additional orientations
Among Anglophone Canadians
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Dominance/recognition
Pragmatic control
Familiarity/involvement
Sociocultural/belletristic
(Clément & Kruidenier)
Attitudes
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Come from collective values, beliefs
Based on cultural reward, modeling
Specific to sociocultural milieu
HS attitudes  U MOT, integrativeness
(Indirectly)  U attitudes toward BiL,
perceived communicative competence
Attitudes, experiences  MOT (Gardner)
First signs of renewal (8.4):
Self-determination theory & intrinsic motivation
Types of regulation of behavior
 Internal (intrinsic MOT)
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Stimulation
Self-accomplishment
Knowledge
Identified (positive self-image)
Introjected (guilt/shame)
External (extrinsic MOT)
8.5 Motivation from a distance:
EFL learners’ orientations & attitudes
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Orientations in Hungary (Clément et al.)
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friendship/knowledge  xenophilic
instrumental/knowledge
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L2 media/indirect contact/cultural interest
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Attitudes in Japan: International Posture (Yashima)
 Interest in int’l vocation/activities
 Intercultural approach tendency
 Interest in foreign affairs
8.6 Language learning motivation:
Possible in situations of conflict?
Israeli L2 learners (Donitsa-Schmidt et al.)
 Early starters of L3 Arabic
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JHS learners of Arabic vs. other L3s
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More culture/peace/instrumental beliefs
More MOT/+ attitudes toward L3, speakers
Choice of L3 made no difference
Both groups: teachers, instruction impt.
8.7 Dynamic motivation:
Time, context, behavior
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Process model of MOT (Dörnyei & Ottó)
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Causal vs. teleological MOT thinking (Ushioda)
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Experience-based vs. Goal-oriented
Micro-context, task (Dörnyei)
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MOT develops, changes over time
Integrativeness & + course attitude 
+ task attitude  L2 output
+ peer attitudes also help for – task attitude
New focus on behavior (Csizér & Dörnyei)
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e.g. language choice, intended effort
8.8 Looking forward:
L2 motivational self system
Components
1.
Ideal L2 self (e.g. nativelike speaker)
2.
Ought-to L2 Self (e.g. mustn’t fail exam)
3.
L2 learning experience (past/present)
Process
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Instrumentality + Attitudes to L2 group
 Ideal L2 Self (new Integrativeness)
8.9 Behold the power of motivation
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Gardner’s research:
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Dörnyei’s new research:
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MOT predicts 9-16% of achievement
MOT predicts 35% of behavior (?)
Caution: MOT/L2 success relationship
is reciprocal rather than causal