Towards a non-dichotomous view of motivators and demotivators in language learning

Austin Pack*, Tamas Kiss, Alex Barrett, Chen Chen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study explores the motivational dynamics and motivational factors of 60 first-year English for Academic Purposes learners. Data were collected over a 10-week period by means of motivation journals and focus group discussions. The findings indicate that students’ motivation levels changed frequently from day to day and that motivational factors can serve as both motivators and demotivators as their strength and polarity change according to initial conditioning and the complex interactions of factors within and outside of the classroom context. We argue that the practice of categorizing contextual factors as motivators or demotivators be abandoned, and in its place a non-dichotomous view of motivators and demotivators in language learning be adopted.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)94-107
Number of pages14
JournalInternational Journal of Applied Linguistics (United Kingdom)
Volume32
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2022

Keywords

  • complex dynamic systems theory
  • demotivation
  • motivation
  • motivational dynamics
  • motivational factors
  • 复杂动态系统理论, 动机消退, 动机, 动机因素, 动机动态 本研究探讨了60名一年级学术英语学习者学习动机的动态和因素。数据是通过动机日志和焦点小组讨论在10周内收集的。研究结果表明, 学生的动机水平每天都在频繁变化, 并且动机因素包括激励因素和消极因素, 它们的强度和极性会根据初始条件和课堂内外环境因素的复杂相互作用而变化。我们认为应该摒弃将动机因素归类为激励因素和消极因素的二分法, 而采取语言学习中动机激励的非二分法观点。

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