MOTIVATION IN THE SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING

INTRODUCTION

Most researchers agree that motivation plays a vital role in the learner’s achievement. Therefore they have carried out many researches about motivation in the second language learning in past few years. It has been observed that the prevalence of SLA has been more prominent in areas where attention and motivation has been given to comprehensibility of language. This study involves the importance of motivation in second language learning and whether it affects language learning in a great extent.

CONCEPT OF MOTIVATION

First of all, prior to telling motivation and its function in language acquisition, one should first understand the term in its general sense. Generally people are motivated to do things in order to satisfy their esteem, get rid of instability and to achieve rewards of some sort. There are many definitions related with motivation. Firstly, MacIntyre et al. defined motivation as “an attribute of the individual describing the psychological qualities underlying behavior with respect to a particular task” (2001, p. 463). Secondly, Dörnyei described this explicitly when he wrote the following:

The motivated individual expends effort, is persistent and attentive to the task at hand, has goals, desires and aspirations, enjoys the activity, experiences reinforcement from success and disappointment from failure, makes attributions concerning success and or failure, is aroused, and makes use of strategies to aid in achieving goals (2003, p. 173).

Also, Gardner believed that motivation should be viewed as a hybrid concept, “an internal attribute that is the result of an external force” (MacIntyre et al. 2001, p. 463).

            In addition, the motivation can be classified into integrative and instrumental motivation in terms of SLA. Integrative motivation is that it reflects a positive attitudes towards to the community in which that language is spoken.

Instrumental motivation occurs when an individual desires to learn a language for the sake of some pragmatic purpose in that language learning is primarily associated with the potential pragmatic gains of L2 proficiency like getting a better job (Cohen. 2009, p.171). Although there are different types of motivation, both are important in learning language. As a conclusion, integrative and instrumental motivation correlate to each other and influence the second language learning by an individual.

MOTIVATING LEARNERS

                Motivated learners, who are willing to work hard, determine their own goals, focus their attention on the tasks, don’t need continuous encouragement, and may even stimulate others in the classroom, promoting collaborative learning, are every teachers’ dream. Then, how can motivation help teachers? The easiest way to providing motivation is to give motivational techniques to the students. Many motivational recommendations have been suggested by many scholars. As an example, Dörnyei (2005: 111-113) identifies four principal aspects of motivational teaching practice (Cohen, 2009: 173):

·         Firstly, making the basic motivational conditions such as building good relationship with the students

·         Creating initial student motivation like building realistic learner beliefs.

·         Preserving the motivation for example setting special learners goals

·         Lastly, encouraging students to make positive retrospective self-evaluation.

Beside these, it can be recommended many for teachers to increase student motivation for foreign language learning (Winke, 2005:5).

1. Enhance the prestige of the foreign language in the school curriculum.

 Chambers recommended that schools make foreign language learning compulsory, diversify the range of languages offered, and require proficiency goals to be obtained before graduation.

2. Provide teachers with the necessary tools to be the key motivator.

 Chambers discussed how teachers must have resources to access their students’ views on their learning. He wrote that in-service training can help them teach autonomous and flexible approaches to learning. He commented that more planning time and classroom support (assistants, computers, books, etc.) will also help teachers be motivators.

3. Decrease class size and increase the length and frequency of lessons.

 Chambers noted that the new standards and tighter budgets tend to lead to larger classes

and less time for foreign languages, and wrote that this trend needs to be reversed.

4. Provide learners with non-traditional feedback.

 Students value regular feedback on their performance, Chambers said, and so he suggested that feedback should be given in ways that differ from the traditional measure of giving out grades. Progress can be reported informally and frequently in a positive, conversational format, he wrote.

5. When cultural excursions or visits to the target language country are incorporated in

the curriculum, more emphasis should be given to preparation and follow-up.

 Chambers noted that cultural excursions and immersion in the target countries

should have more of a role in classroom activities, both before and after return from

such adventures.

6. Emphasize culture more.

 Chambers warned that teachers and schools need to prevent stereotyping and other prejudices that can be based on ignorance or mundane, outdated materials. He recommended that the country should come to the students—have foreign nationals visit the classroom, and visit local businesses that communicate and trade with speakers of the language, he recommended.

To sum up, teaching motivational strategies to the learners can be complex for teachers however a learner can easily remember that motivation is one of the key factors in student success.

CONCLUSION

Last of all, there are some motivational factors in second language learning as well as being numerous factors that affect learners’ ability in target language. But in my opinion all factors are concerned with main factor ‘motivation’. Therefore motivation is a crucial factor in learning a foreign language.