Individual Motivational Profiles: the Interaction between External and Internal Factors

Willis Edmondson

0. Introduction

The concept of motivation in the context of second/foreign language acquisition is in flux. More particularly, the socio-psychological conceptualisation encapsulated in the work of Robert Gardner has been and is currently being extended and revised (not least by Gardner and his associates). This conceptual shift is accompanied by a re-consideration of the role and relevance of motivational research and a concomitant discussion of the appropriate research methodology and data-collection. (These shifts are documented inter alia in Crookes & Schmidt 1991, Tremblay & Gardner 1995, Edmondson 1999b, 139-162, Dörnyei & Schmidt 2001, Riemer 2001, Dörnyei 2001a, Riemer 2004). The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this ongoing debate, specifically via an exploration of how different motivating factors impact collectively on individual learner motivation, especially along the dimensions internal/external, positive/negative, and short-term/long-term effects.

In the first section of the paper, some aspects of the ongoing debate on the role of motivation in different areas of second language research are reviewed, and the focus taken in this paper is developed. Section 2 of the paper discusses the data source and research strategy employed in the present study, and is followed in section 3 by an elaboration of a motivational hierarchy, first postulated in Edmondson & House (2003) and based on the same type of data. In Section 4, the complex ‘motivation’ is broken down into three kinds of motivation that may be affected by three kinds of external influences. In this framework, the fifth and major part of the paper characterises individual motivational sets or ‘syndromes’, exemplifying how individuals react in different ways to conflicting motivational circumstances, particularly whether and how they achieve some degree of internal motivation despite external demotivators. A brief summary follows in section 6.

1. Motivation, individual differences, learning outcomes and acquisitional theory

The classic socio-psychological approach to language learning motivation is exemplified par excellence in the work of Robert Gardner, and this approach can be characterised procedurally as follows [1]:

(a)   On the basis of experimentation, experience and previous research, compose a questionnaire containing a large number of items focussing on different aspects of motivation. Some objective measurement index (e.g., a Likert scale) is offered for each item.

(b)  Pre-test and refine the questionnaire before distributing it to a very large, roughly homogeneous group of learners.

(c)  Obtain data on the language learning achievements of this population, either by standardised testing, or by simply accepting the class grades issued by the school system.

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(d)  By means of a sophisticated statistical analysis break down the questionnaire items into factorial groups, and produce weighted factorial analyses, which, amongst other things, will determine the discriminating power and/or redundancy of individual test items as they contribute to a general motivational score. If such internal analysis suggests this is necessary, go back to stage (a) and refine your questionnaire.

(e)  Finally, carry out a factorial analysis comparing motivational index and achievement scores or grades.

This process will most commonly be part of research embracing a multitude of variables in addition to motivation, such that a more global picture emerges (cf. for example the socio-educational model of language learning; Gardner 1985).

This enormously productive and valuable research paradigm is not universally accepted, however. Among the criticisms of various aspects of this paradigm I wish to select four. They concern (a) the scientific status of the resulting model(s) of language acquisition, (b) the relevance of motivational research for the development of a theory of second language acquisition, (c) its relevance for language instruction, and (d) the lack of power inherent in this research paradigm for providing insights into individual motivational histories and learning achievements.

ad (a)  The results obtained cannot be falsified, as additional research findings are simply incorporated into a new model (as the revisions undertaken by Gardner himself testify - the Integrative Motive model contained in the 1985 socio-educational acquisitional model was revised inter alia in Tremblay & Gardner’s 1995 model of L2 motivation, and further extended inter alia in Gardner 2000, this extension being further revised in Gardner 2001, and so on). In Kraemer 1993 a “defense” orientation is slipped into the model as a central weighting factor for the learning of Arabic in Israel. In other words, different studies in different contexts lead to different results. In fact, of course, it is hard to see how things could be otherwise. Oller observed long ago that the relationship between motivation and affective variables on the one hand, and between motivation and learning success on the other varies “across individuals, contexts, and learning tasks“ (Oller 1981, 15). This is not in itself a telling criticism of a model which aspires above all “to provide suggestions for further investigation, to raise new questions, to promote further developments and open new horizons.” (Gardner 1985, 166), but the very framework set up by the model is such that apparently any results produced inside the research paradigm can be accommodated in it. In other words, the model is determined by the research methodologies.

ad (b)  What do the results of motivational research contribute to language acquisition theory? For example, theoretical significance of the relationship between motivation and learning success in unclear. If some studies produce a correlational index of 0.45, while another study gives us a much lower figure, what are we to conclude from this? Can a very low (or extremely high) correlation be said to invalidate the elicitation instrument, or can it lead to theoretical insights? I know of no answers to such questions. It is perfectly possible, for example, that a learner with a very high work morale and motivation may be much less successful than some other individual whose motivation scores are extremely mediocre, as this latter individual has discovered, for instance, that she can get good grades in class without investing any effort in the task whatsoever. (This line of argumentation is developed in section 2 below).

ad (c)  In this vein it is also unclear what pedagogic consequences or implications might be derived from statistical group results. This does not invalidate the relevant research in any way whatsoever, but it is a highly relevant perspective, given that the bulk of motivational research in the Gardnerian framework has investigated learning in classroom settings.

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ad (d)  A central problem with the statistical analysis of a large number of questionnaire reports is that the issue of individual differences in language acquisition disappears from view, in the sense that the individual is no more than a data source, contributing to a global measurement index. In other words, actual individual differences—such as, how far a drive to learn is impervious to negative external factors such as a hostile target culture or a non-sympathetic teacher—disappear in the mass of data processed by the statistical software. This means, too, that the points of interaction between different facets of motivation remain largely unexplored und unexplained. In Gardner’s 2001 model, for example, it would be interesting to know to what extent positive ‘motivators’ from the environment (“external influences”) can compensate for negative learning experiences (“learning history”)—or the opposite—, and to what extent and under which circumstances aptitude can compensate for low motivation, and vice versa.

One widespread reaction to criticisms of this kind has been to bring forward further factors, or bundles of factors, which impinge on learning and/or motivational outcomes. A further more recent development has been to distinguish between different ‘phases’ of motivational importance: for example, the decision whether or not to commit oneself to learning language X is clearly a decision of some importance with potentially far-reaching motivational consequences. The time factor has also been stressed, i.e., the fact that learner motivation varies over time, influenced by, amongst other things, degree of success (Ely 1986). Crookes & Schmidt (1991) take up these points and point to motivational research in educational and mainstream psychology, which in their opinion should be mined for L2 acquisitional research purposes. Books such as the one by Williams & Burden (1997) seek to provide the necessary tools, and the work of Dörnyei, in particular (e.g., Dörnyei 2000, 2001a, 2001b, 2002), has demonstrated how rich the ore discovered by such mining may be, and has led to a procedural or actional approach to L2 motivation (Dörnyei & Otto 1998). In this approach, various time-governed motivational phases are distinguished, for each of which a number of contributory factors interact at different operational levels (Dörnyei 2001a, 86-100, provides a summarising overview).

These and other developments charted, for example, in Dörnyei (2001a) and Riemer (2004) contribute to the current situation of flux, but do not necessarily directly address the four criticisms of the research paradigm listed above. Indeed, the current situation suffers if anything from an abundance of factorial elements, leading to a multiplicity of variables. Certainly, psychologists’ theories of motivation are so numerous and varied that simply listing factors which have been investigated in different studies and which have been shown to have some motivational relevance—as occurs, for example, in Williams & Burden 1997, 138-142—is not in itself insightful, though it is certainly a useful stimulus for further research. Dörnyei implicitly recognises this problem in presenting the “challenge” of “reduction vs. comprehensiveness” in motivational research, the challenge being in a nutshell that the number of potential co-determinants for the complex achievement ‘learning a language’ is in principle infinite, such that we should like to take account of as many as possible—the comprehensive stance, but this infinity has to be reduced to a manageable size for purposes of theory construction, and of course for the purpose of empirical operationalisation, too—the reductionist pose (cf. Dörnyei 2001a, 11-14). Currently, however, multiplicity abounds and indeed thrives, as the scope of the concept "motivation" is further differentiated and partitioned.

2. Background to the present study

Before looking more closely at the goals and methodology of this study, I would like to develop a theoretical argument concerning the relationship between motivational research, language acquisitional research, and language teaching. The argument develops the criticisms of classic motivational research put forward in (b) and (c) above, and offers a rationale for the empirical approach taken in this paper.

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A first step in this Gedankenexperiment is the recognition that motivation leads to decision-making and action-taking. Thus, motivation may be good, but the actions it stimulates may be less than propitious in terms of their contribution to learning, particularly in a classroom setting. We may further assume that the concept of motivation can and should be distinguished from some inherent differences between individuals regarding their language learning potential or skills—a set of differences usually subsumed under the notion of aptitude. This leads to the view that motivation derives from the interaction between environmental factors and individual characteristics which are distinct from aptitude. The kind and degree of learning that takes place in the individual is then a function of the environment (providing inter alia learning opportunities), aptitude, and motivation, where motivation may play an inhibitory or an enhancing role. Krashen’s affective filter (Krashen 1981) would exemplify the potential prohibitory effect of motivation, while Stevick’s rheostat metaphor (Stevick 1980) can have enhancing or inhibitory motivational settings. A third theoretical possibility could be called the "enabling function": it hypothesises that some minimal motivational profile is a necessary precondition for acquisition. Roughly, we can’t do it, unless we “put our minds to it”, and this enabling function can be translated metaphorically as the lowest tolerable rheostat setting, in Stevick's terms, or a slightly porous affective filter in Krashen's terminology.

Against the background of these assumptions, let us suppose with Crookes & Schmidt (1991) and Dörnyei (2001a) that psychological studies of motivation are a priori relevant to language learning situations and therefore at least indirectly relevant to language learning outcomes. This position is intuitively plausible—it suggests that there are variables concerning persistence, concentration, ability to be aroused, attentional focus, depth of noticing, and so on which different people evidence to different degrees in different circumstances. Such variables impact on language learning, just as they mutatis mutandis impact on any other form of learning [2]. This means, however, that such variables are extrinsic to a theory of language acquisition per se. They are relevant to a psychological theory of motivation, but fail to contribute to a theory of second language acquisition, as motivation is not specific to language acquisition. But we need to ask what we mean by ‘a theory of language acquisition’. For example, motivational factors clearly are relevant to a theory concerning whether, how and to what degree individuals in specific circumstances actually do acquire a foreign/second language [3]. I assume therefore that if motivational studies are to play a significant part in language acquisition issues, precisely these issues should be addressed. This is, however, not the case in the Gardnerian paradigm. The four criticisms mentioned above then have to be met head-on, I suggest, and one way in which this may be attempted is pursued in what follows.

2.1 The interaction between external and internal factors in learner motivation

This study will set up a framework of variables relevant to individual achievement in foreign/second language acquisition (see section 4), and then focus in this framework on how different learners deal with, or simply react to, potentially demotivating learning experiences at different times in their language-acquisitional histories. In terms of Gardner’s (2001) revised model, the central question to be addressed is how the external influences subsumed under ‘learning history’ and ‘motivators’ impact on individual motivation.

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Rather than use Gardner’s categories, however, I wish to use the terms ‘internal’ and ‘external’, to distinguish different sets of factors, which, my data suggest, interact in different ways with different learners, leading to different motivational outcomes. The two terms ‘internal’ and ‘external’ factors clearly overlap with the distinction in Gardner’s 2001 model of external influences and individual differences. By external factors I mean the case in which features of the learning environment impinge more or less directly on the individual learner, influencing his or her motivational set on one or more dimensions. Internal factors, on the other hand, suggest a gamut of motivational factors which are, as it were, already ‘present’ in the learner at any one point in time— by inclination, biological predisposition, experience or indeed the interaction between pre-existing internal factors and external factors at some previous point in time.

It is conceded that the distinction is inherently problematical, and that in operational terms it is unlikely to be clear-cut. Constructivists, furthermore, would probably reject the distinction per se. It is certainly the case, of course, that any external or ‘social’ factors can impinge on an individual’s motivation and/or behaviour only via his or her perception of them. This means that we might then want to assert that external factors have to be internalised before they can have any effect. This is, however, not a problem for my analytic purposes. In learners’ perceptions of their own language learning, they most commonly distinguish quite clearly between recalled external events such as the arrival of a new teacher of English, their reaction to such events (personal dislike, for example), and consequences such as demotivation, or antagonism towards the school subject English. The distinction between external and internal motivational forces is no more refined than this. The causal chain in the clearest case operates as follows: external events—subjective interpretation/perception of them—motivational consequences of such perceptions—impact of such motivational change on acquisitional processing/learning achievement. Clearly time and other internal individual variables such as cognitive style and aptitude intervene in this chain.

There is a link between the external/internal distinction I wish to make, and the psychological distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. I prefer, however, not to adopt these psychological terms, precisely because they have been so extensively exploited and re-worked in the psychological literature that one would need to propose a working interpretation of the terms for the purposes of a particular study anyway. Dörnyei (2001a, pp. 28ff.) elaborates how both categories have been differently interpreted, and how different sub-categories have been postulated. Of particular interest for my purposes is research on the interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic motives. For example, the claim that an extrinsically introduced motivational factor can reduce or extinguish a previously-established intrinsic motivation (Lepper, Green & Nisbet 1973) can be plausibly interpreted in the context of classroom language learning. Consider, for example, the possibility that the introduction of some classroom assessment schedule (to be understood as an external motivator) in fact helps kill learners’ original interest in language learning tasks. It has to be stressed, however, that such psychological findings need to be tested in the context of language learning: they serve to stimulate research questions, they do not answer them.

The focus on learners’ perceptions and interpretations of external learning circumstance is here taken therefore as being likely to help better understand how individual differences in fact operate, and moreover as being likely to have pedagogic potential, assuming that to some extent at least aspects of the learning context in institutional settings can be controlled, or at least influenced by teaching strategy and pedagogic principle, and that such matters can be addressed in teacher training.

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2.2 Data source: language learning autobiographies

The data used is taken from the learning autobiographies of experienced adult language learners. The elicitation procedure is documented in several previous publications (e.g., Edmondson 1996a; 1996b; 1997; 2000), and may be summarised briefly as follows:

Incoming students of Sprachlehrforschung at the University of Hamburg are requested to submit (anonymously) an account of their language learning experience. Theit task is to write roughly two DIN A-4 pages about recalled foreign language encounters inside or outside of the classroom which seem retrospectively to have had particularly positive or negative effects on the student’s language learning/acquisition. The formulation is deliberately left open: the word “motivation,” for example, does not occur. These documents are used for teaching purposes, but are also—with the students' permission—entered into a data bank which now contains material from over 500 such texts. Essentially the same elicitation procedure has more recently been used by Claudia Riemer, who, however, specifically mentions motives, motivation and anxiety when asking her students to recount their learning experiences (Riemer 2003).

The resulting data is, of course, subjective, and is open to the reservations regarding validity which hold for all subjective, introspective and retrospective data. My position is that the data may be assumed to have high subjective validity, given the openness and anonymity of the elicitation procedure, together with the fact that the students engage in this task at the very beginning of their university studies, reducing the halo-effect, as the desire to say what they believe their professors wish to hear presumably is weak. It is further not clear how motivational data could claim non-subjective validity, given the indirect link with language learning and the observational problems associated with measuring variables such as investment of time and effort. Further, of course, written questionnaire data are equally, if not more, problematical as regards their validity.

Language learning autobiographical data have certain advantages, compared with closed or half-open written questionnaire batteries:

• There is no pre-formulation, i.e., the researcher does not have to decide in advance which questions are relevant for the subjects being investigated.

• The time perspective is contained in the elicitation technique. In other words, learners can and do recall memories of how they reacted to particular learning contexts at the time, and go on to revise these judgements in the light of their learning experience since then. In other words, motivational development can be tapped.

• Episodic memory can be activated, and interpreted, in ways that might not readily occur when faced with the task of judging the appropriateness of a particular proposition in a questionnaire.

• The data elicited addresses precisely the interface between teaching and learning, and is often affective, directly relating to the issue of motivation as perceived by the subjects themselves. Pedagogic relevance would seem therefore to be implicitly involved in the elicitation procedure.

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The language learning experience of these subjects, incidentally, is highly varied, often includes non-institutional language learning, and covers over 30 different languages for a population of fewer than 200 students. Students with fewer than three foreign languages constitute a minority of this population (cf. Edmondson 2001).

3. A motivational hierarchy for English as a foreign language

In Edmondson & House (2003), I put forward a motivational hierarchy, based on the analysis of student learning autobiographies and focussing on the learning of English in the German school system (Figure 1). This hierarchy is presented here to illustrate the uses to which autobiographical learner data may be put, and to provide a first orientation for the new analyses to be reported on in this paper.

Figure 1 suggests a “widening circle of reference” in terms of motives for learning English in German schools, whereby the progression from 1 to 4 is hypothesised to match increasing age and learning stage. The more interesting hypothesis is that the widening circle also indicates a durability hierarchy, i.e., degree of long-term motivational force increases downwards. The posited stages may be glossed as follows:

Stage 1: It is commonly suggested that in foreign language classes with young learners, motivation has to be externally provided by teacher, technique and task (Storch 1999, 327-336). Group-work media, materials and teacher personality are decisive:

Mein Interesse wurde zusätzlich von einer jugendlichen, coolen Englischlehrerin motiviert, die den Unterricht spielerisch gestaltete..’ (S942606).. ‘Er brachte auch Cassetten mit englischen Gesprächen und Musik mit in den Unterricht und motivierte so die Masse zum Lernen.’ (S942502)

This type of external motivation operates, of course, only for as long as the school system allows—i.e., teachers and curriculum change during school attendance.

Stage 2: This stage may precede, co-occur with, or follow stage 1. For English, access to many aspects of youth culture (international chatting, rock music) is of particular importance. Contacts outside of the classroom, for example, via exchange visits can also have positive motivational effects, though such contacts can also be demotivating (cf. e.g., Edmondson 2000):

Schließlich kam ich in das Alter, in dem englische Rockmusik interessant wird und es verlockend ist, mit Kenntnissen über die englischsprachigen Texte prahlen zu können ..’ (S952905)... ‘Ab der achten Klasse habe ich dann des öfteren Sprachkurse in England gemacht. Diese haben mich merkwürdigerweise nicht motiviert, mein Englisch zu verbessern ... Das liegt wahrscheinlich daran, dass der Grund, weshalb ich nach England gefahren bin, nicht die Sprachkurse oder ein besonders großes Interesse für England waren, sondern einfach eine Möglichkeit, ohne meine Eltern verreisen zu dürfen. Hinzu kam noch, dass mir die Gastfamilien, bei denen ich untergebracht war, zum Teil nicht sonderlich sympathisch waren. (S940607)

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Stage 3: This may represent a shift from extrinsic to intrinsic (external to internal) motivation. It has two forms that may co-occur. It occurs firstly when a school learner becomes immersed in the target language or culture. In rare cases, such an interest may be present from the very start of classroom language learning; more often it develops via contact and learning experience. English literature only occasionally plays a role in this transition; more often a rather general fascination with or enthusiasm for aspects of English and/or American culture, life or language is mentioned. The second form I wish to link with this third motivational stage is the motivating effect of learning success. This may reinforce the first form—intrinsic content motivation—or may substitute for it. In this second instance, of course, it is the culture of the foreign language classroom that motivates, not necessarily that of the language being taught there.

Diese, wohlgemerkt eine Dame, Lehrkraft verstand es schon eher, Informationen, die über die Lehrbücher hinausgingen, also nähere Angaben zum englischen Lebensstil, zur Kultur und auch zu sprachlichen Eigenheiten, zu vermitteln. Gleichzeitig begann aber auch ich, mich privat ebenfalls für diese Themen, speziell für Musik aus Großbritannien, zu interessieren. So stieg ein neuer Lerndrang in mir auf, der mir nicht nur bessere Noten als die bisherigen Dreien bescherte, sondern auch ein Verständnis, ja fast schon eine Identifikation mit dieser Sprache. (W020506)

Die guten Schulnoten, die sich daraufhin bei mir einstellten, wirkten sich nochmals positiv auf meine Motivation aus. Was sich ebenfalls als ein motivationsstiftender Faktor erwies, war die Tatsache, dass das Englische meinen Klassenkameraden und mir als eine Art Modesprache begegnete, die wir aus den Medien (vor allem Fernsehen) kannten und deshalb als besonders “cool” empfanden. (W031911)

Stage 4. The instrumental orientation whereby English is perceived as relevant for career prospects is often present very early on, but it seems natural that it should become more and more evident as school leaving looms. The strongest evidence for this motivational source is negative, i.e., the frequency with which students claim to have lost interest in a foreign language as they could find no practical use or purpose for it; this occurs relatively infrequently with regard to English (cf. Edmondson 1996a).

Den Lateinunterricht empfand ich zumeist als langweilig... Außerdem war meine Motivation nie sehr groß, da ich nicht wusste, wozu es gut sein sollte, Latein zu lernen. In der 11. Klasse machte ich dann mein “Latinum” und wählte Latein danach ab. Was mir der Lateinunterricht gebracht haben soll, weiß ich immer noch nicht. (W022108)

Englisch hatte für mich einen sehr viel höheren Stellenwert als Finnisch; weil ich wusste, dass es für Beruf und mein späteres Leben sehr wichtig sein würde... Englisch war für mich viel leichter zu lernen. (W021601)

... und mir vor allem schwor, bestimmt nie mehr etwas mit Fremdsprachen zu tun zu haben. Irgendwie ging mir aber nie die Schwester einer Schulfreundin aus dem Kopf, die ebenfalls Englisch in der Schule verabscheut hatte, später aber einen Amerikaner heiratete und Englisch studierte ... (W933503)

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It is important to note that the widening circle of reference can just as easily lead to negative motivation as to a positive one, as the above glosses and selected citations have, in part, demonstrated. What is clear is that these four kinds of motivational sources are not exhaustive, are not mutually exclusive, and can be weighted differently at different points in time. The question to be explored in this paper can now be reformulated as follows: For whom and under which circumstances are which types of motivational resource sufficiently positive to overcome external demotivating experience? The long-term/short-term dimension is relevant here, of course. Some students appear to take pride in detailing how little they have gained or remembered from the language teaching under which they suffered at school:

Nach der 11. Klasse wählte ich dann das Fach Russisch ab. Ich kann mich noch vorstellen und eventuell sagen, wo ich wohne und wie alt ich bin. Mehr ist leider nicht übrig von meinen 7 Jahren Russischunterricht in der Schule. (W032307)

4. A framework for the establishment of individual motivational profiles

The argumentation so far, and in particular the hierarchy exemplified in 3. above, allows me to propose an analytic framework for the investigation of how different individuals respond to different external motivational circumstances. I propose to distinguish three ‘levels’ at which motivation operates, such that each has in principle implications for the following level. Subsequently, I propose three major types of external motivators. The three motivational strands, or ‘levels’ are:

Level 1: Goal motivation

This comprises what in Gardner (1985) is described as ‘orientation’, and is a set of beliefs and attitudes which lead to and/or support a decision to learn a specific language. Goal motivation in this sense is in practice often determined externally, either by social fiat (i.e., the school system), or family history (e.g., immigration).

Level 2: Work motivation

This matches Gardner’s concept of „effortful behaviour“ (Gardner 1985, 50), and reflects a set of beliefs, attitudes, desires, and drives, which combine to produce an intensity measure, reflecting the degree to which an individual is willing to invest time, effort, and other internal and external resources in implementing the goal or goals established at Level 1.

Level 3: Task motivation

This involves a set of factors which co-determine the degree to which specific activities or behaviours, potentially conducive to the goals set at Level 1, will be pursued with those resources which are in principle available via the motivational resources at level 2. At issue is the degree to which a specific learning task will be engaged in terms of qualitative execution (degree of attention, depth of processing) and quantitative effort (persistence, patience, carry-through).

These three ‘levels’ are, of course, not hierarchical in the sense that positive tuning at level 1 is a presupposition for high positive motivation at level 2, and so on. The motivational hierarchy in section 4 above suggests, for example, that with young learners, task motivation may be high, but goal motivation low. Furthermore, the hierarchy in Figure 1 suggests, too, that positive task motivation may lead to positive work motivation (i.e., Stage 3 motivation may derive from classroom success, for example, which may be caused, at least in part, by motivational stages 1 and 2). It is precisely such interactions that the following sections of this paper wish to explore.

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The three complexes of external variables I wish to focus on—clearly there are many more—have been selected as being likely to lead to motivational conflict, and thus impinge on these three ‘levels’ of motivation either positively or negatively. They are as follows:

External condition 1: Social acclaim

This reflects the resultative hypothesis (Ely 1986), i.e., the notion that degree of success in learning the language affects motivation. Here is a simple instance:

Extract 1: Nach der Abschlussprüfung bekam ich Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom. Das motivierte mich noch mehr. (WS0207)

Virtuous or vicious circling may result. A vicious circle is established when lack of success leads to unfavourable internal motiva­tion, which leads in turn to lower achievement. A virtuous circle works the other way—good marks encourage effort and enthusiasm, which lead to higher learning success. These circles can, however, be broken: internal motivational drive can overcome external circumstances, and vice versa, and such cases are of special interest in this paper. Degree of learning success or ‘social acclaim’ operates, of course, through a subjective filter—i.e., learner perception is crucial. Thus the distinction between external and internal motivational factors may once more become fuzzy. My assumption is that if a learner is positively motivated by her learning progress, despite negative external assessments, then individual factors other than ‘social acclaim’ are playing a role (see the I Know Best syndrome in 5. below). Note too that earlier learning success with language X may motivate a decision to learn language Y.

External Condition 2: Social utility

This variable covers how far and in what ways external conditions allow and/or entail the use of the language in question for purposes that the learner perceives as relevant to his or her interests outside of the language learning task itself. At issue is perceived communicative relevance. Communicative relevance would appear to apply most obviously at level 4 of the motivational hierarchy sketched in Figure 1, but may in fact operate at all four stages. Two illustrative cases are the following:

Extract 2: Schon einige Wochen, bevor ich flog, nahm ich brieflichen Kontakt mit der Familie auf, wir tauschten Fotos aus; zum ersten Mal hatte ich das Gefühl, dass es Sinn macht, Englisch zu lernen... (W031002)

Extract 3: Durch den Englischunterricht kam es, dass sich nach und nach die vielen Amerikanismen in der Umgangssprache, aber auch Liedtexte aus den Hitparaden ihrer Bedeutung nach erschließen, d.h. die Fremdsprache blieb nicht Mittel und Zweck des Unterrichts, uns SchülerInnen wurde der praktische Nutzen der Fremdsprache bewusst. Aus dem bloßen unreflektierten Rezipieren des Unterrichts, entstand das bewusste Praktizieren, das Lernen erfuhr eine motivationssteigernde Aufwertung. (S950913)

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Communicative need and/or interest leads to increased goal motivation. On the other hand, the absence of perceived social utility often has negative consequences (most commonly regarding French and Russian, incidentally, in the data at my disposal). Here is an example:

Extract 4: Zuerst war ich schon motiviert, noch eine zweite “richtige”, gesprochene Sprache zu erlernen, allerdings legte sich diese Begeisterung recht schnell. Außerhalb des Unterrichts hatte ich nie irgendeinen Kontakt zum Französischen. Nach der 10. Klasse habe ich Französisch abgewählt und kann heute so gut wie gar kein Französisch mehr. (W022101)

As Extract 2 suggests, such ‘social utility’ will be found more readily outside the formal learning context, such as the classroom, for example, by gaining access to pop culture (cf. Extract 3); tandem learning may act as a motivator in an L1 cultural setting. Further, classroom activities, too, may offer individual learners opportunities for communication in the relevant sense, which are then motivating in terms of perceived social utility. Note that ‘social utility’ does not necessarily lead to ‘social acclaim’ (external condition 1 above). In fact, opportunities for using L2 which lead to a confrontation with one’s own linguistic inadequacies can also affect motivation positively (see the Grit-your-Teeth syndrome in 5 below)

External Condition 3: Institutional support

The third complex matches the ‘external influences’ in Gardner (2001) and is more precisely concerned with the pedagogic context—most importantly the categories teacher, curriculum und method (Lehrender, Lernstoff, Unterrichtsgestaltung), as specified for example in Storch (1999, p. 327). That these factors can influence motivation positively and negatively scarcely requires illustration or substantiation.

5. Motivational conflict: The interaction of internal and external factors

‘Internal’ motivational factors will interact with the three sets of external conditions specified above, leading to different kinds of motivational effects along the dimensions of goal, work and task motivation. It has been suggested above that how such interaction does occur, and which motivational and acquisitional consequences may arise is an important measure of individual differences between learners, and a central concern for pedagogic orientation.

The major issue is, of course, motivational conflict. That learning success, opportunities to use the target language actively, and varied but structured teaching can impact positively on learners’ motivation and achievement is not in doubt. It is also clear that the relevant opposites can hold—failure demotivates, as do sterile teaching materials and non-motivated, incompetent teachers. We are particularly interested in exploring what happens when the teaching/learning environment has both motivating and demotivating elements, or in exploring how potentially demotivating external circumstances impact on internally motivated learners. Similar external motivators clearly have quite different motivational consequences for different individuals. I shall leave open the question as to how far these different reactions to external motivators can be exclusively attributed to individual differences in internal motivation: my suspicion is that this is by no means the case, and that personality and cognitive variables such as learning style, cognitive orientation, and strategic preferences are likely to be at work in contributing to these different interactional outcomes [4].

Individual differences regarding how learners react to motivational conflict will be referred to as motivational “syndromes” in what follows, largely in order to avoid the terms ‘strategy’ and ‘scenario’, as both terms are used in the literature, albeit with some imprecision. Six such syndromes will be defined and illustrated below.

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A: The P.O.R. Syndrome - Press On Regardless

Inside this syndrome, the dominance of external demotivating experience, particularly in terms of institutional support, but possibly also regarding social acclaim and/or social utility does not necessarily imply an absence of positive motivation at the level of goal, work or task. The learner gathers his or her internal resources, and carries on. It is therefore termed the Press On Regardless syndrome. The ability to Press On Regardless may be grounded in high goal or work motivation, but this appears not necessarily to be the case. P.O.R. may also be based on fear of repercussions. In fact, it may take many different forms, several of which deserve to be examined. Extract 5 presents the problem of self-motivation in such circumstances quite clearly:

Extract 5: Dafür lernte ich in Englisch, wie schwer es sein kann, durchzuhalten, wenn man die Lehrerin überhaupt nicht leiden kann und das auch auf Gegenseitigkeit beruht. Das hat mir das Lernen oft nicht leicht gemacht. Zum Glück dauerte dieser Zustand nur ein Jahr an. Ab der 12. Klasse hatte ich eine sehr gute Lehrerin, wodurch mir die letzten zwei Jahre vor dem Abitur leichter fielen. (W030802)

The next instance, Extract 6, is of interest because this learner appears to be able to maintain an intrinsic interest in English, despite negative institutional support, and consequent negative social acclaim, i.e., the low grades given by the teacher concerned:

Extract 6: Meine erste Fremdsprache Englisch lernte ich dann ab der fünften Klasse. Ich war zu Beginn richtig motiviert, was allerdings etwas nachließ, als mir der Englischlehrer prophezeite, ich würde niemals das Abitur schaffen und sollte doch lieber gleich das Gymnasium verlassen. Trotzdem blieb Englisch in allen Schuljahren eines meiner liebsten Fächer, und ich wählte es auch als Leistungskurs... Ich ging mit guten Noten in die zwölfte Klasse zu meinem Leistungskurs und hatte durch Zufall gerade wieder den Lehrer, der mir schon zu Beginn meiner Gymnasialzeit erklärt hatte, ich wäre zu blöd dazu. Innerhalb eines halben Jahres fielen meine Englisch-Noten in den Keller, obwohl es mir immer noch Freude bereitete. (W031805)

The following extract shows an external motivator (the friend) counteracting what seems to be an inherently non-motivating institutional context, with such success that some internal motivation is aroused via ‘pressing on regardless’:

Extract 7: Die erste Sprache, die ich zu lernen bekam, war Hausa. Von der ersten Stunde an fand ich den Dozenten toll, und die Sprache ebenso. Meine Motivation war dadurch sehr hoch und ich lernte regelmäßig und mit viel Spaß. Im zweiten Semester kam dann Swahili dazu. Hier war es umgekehrt... Das führte dazu, dass ich Swahili vernachlässigte und umso mehr für Hausa arbeitete. Dann lernte ich allerdings meinen Freund kennen, der Swahili-Sprecher ist. Seitdem bemühe ich mich in Swahili ebenso wie in Hausa, und ich muss zugeben, dass ich die Sprache inzwischen trotz des immer noch langweiligen Unterrichts richtig gerne mag. (W031806)

One further example: In this case a student claims to have considerable goal motivation left, despite only negative learning experiences. It is possible, of course, that this syndrome has developed only fairly recently in this learner:

Extract 8: Ich habe mich entschlossen Italienisch als zweites Hauptfach oder zumindest als Nebenfach zu studieren. Jetzt habe ich zum ersten Mal kontinuierlichen Sprachunterricht und merke, dass meine Motivation wieder stärker wird, trotz der Niederlagen, die ich davor erfahren musste. Zusammengefasst könnte man sagen, ich habe viel ausprobiert um eine Sprache zu erlernen, die ich unbedingt lernen möchte. Trotzdem ist es mir nicht gelungen. Vielleicht habe ich mich auch nicht intensiv genug damit beschäftigt, was durchaus möglich wäre. Mir ist klar, dass diese Ereignisse nicht zu meiner Motivation beigetragen haben, aber mich auch nicht davon abgebracht haben, dieses Ziel anders zu verfolgen. (W020607)

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B: The T.O.Y. Syndrome - Take Over Yours

This may be seen as a weaker version of P.O.R. It is the case in which some aspect of the learning setting—above all teaching materials and learning tasks—is perceived as demotivating, but is nonetheless accepted. The learner essentially accepts the authority of teacher or parent, and adapts—Takes Over—the learning goals and/or behaviours suggested, imposed or implied. Gains in work or task motivation may eventually ensue, particularly as a consequence of learning gains (social acclaim). A willingness to experiment with different learning procedures and strategies would facilitate the onset of this syndrome, which may be more frequent with younger, relatively inexperienced language learners.

Extract 9: Der Unterricht in der 5. und 6. Klasse wurde von einem Oberstufenlehrer gegeben, der die Stunden ausschließlich in der englischen Sprache abhielt. Er stellte sehr hohe Ansprüche an uns …Wir mussten vorbereitend für die nächste Stunde ... Wer seiner Meinung nach nicht richtig gelernt hatte, kam am Anfang der nächsten Stunde noch einmal dran... wir hatten alle Angst vor dem Unterricht... Drill hin oder her, am Ende der 6. Klasse konnte ich relativ einfache englische Texte problemlos lesen und mich auch “unterhalten”, worauf ich dann doch stolz war. (WS023603)

The following extract suggests at least indirectly that the teacher referred to promoted higher work motivation. This account suggests affinities with the I.N.P. (I Need Pressure) syndrome - see E below.

Extract 10: Mein Interesse für Englisch erwachte jedoch erst in der 9. Klasse des Gymnasiums. Einer der Gründe war unser Englischlehrer "Herr Hempel", der uns pausenlos mit Grammatik und Vokabeln quälte—, wobei er jedoch menschlich und verständnisvoll blieb—, während unser vorheriger Lehrer die etwas "lockerere Variante" des Unterrichtens bevorzugte; d.h., man musste weniger lernen, bekam aber trotzdem gute Noten. Herr Hempel begleitete mich wie ein Schicksal durch meine restliche Schulzeit, obwohl an unserer Schule üblich war, dass ein Schüler nie länger als zwei Jahre den gleichen Lehrer haben sollte. Er war auch einer der Gründe, der mich dazu bewog, Englisch als Leistungskurs zu wählen. (S952406)

This syndrome enables learners to invest time and energy, even though the rewards are non-immediate, and repetitiveness and even boredom may accompany the whole tedious business:

Extract 11: Im 1. Semester sehr gute Erfolge mit intensiven Aussprache- und Grammatikübungen im Sprachlabor (mehrmals pro Woche), wobei immer ein Dozent anwesend war, der die Aussprache korrigiert hat. Diese Sprachlaborstunden waren sehr eintönig und langweilig, aber da ich deutliche und schnelle Fortschritte bei Hörverständnis, Aussprache und Grammatik merken konnte, war ich recht gut motiviert. (S953209)

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C: The I.K.B Syndrome - I Know Best

I.K.B. may also be referred to as the autonomy-syndrome, and can co-occur with P.O.R. It may enable a learner to develop and/or maintain high positive goal and work motivation, despite negative external conditions at all levels. Clearly, self-confidence is part of this syndrome, and this may be fuelled by highly positive Social Acclaim in the past. The data suggests that I.K.B. is based on varied learning experience, rather than ignorant arrogance. It should be recognised, however, when handling autobiographical data produced by students, that this syndrome may be imposed retrospectively. Thus, students may at the conclusion of their learning biographies give a clear and perceptive characterisation of their own learning goals and priorities, claiming that they are and were independent of institutional support, without having offered any evidence of I.K.B. up to that point. This is, however, not the case with the following extract, in which not only I.K.B., but also P.O.R. is at work:

Extract 12: ‘Mein Eifer ließ aber auch hier durch den Einfluss der Lehrerin nach... Da ich mich aber für die Sprache interessierte, da sie mir lag, habe ich dennoch nicht das Interesse verloren. Man könnte sagen, dass ich den Unterricht mehr oder weniger ignorierte, ihn notgedrungen ertrug und für mich selber die Sprache am Leben erhielt, durch Lesen, Brieffreundschaft und trotz Allem den Versuch aus dem Unterricht etwas mitzunehmen. (W031507)

The following student does not point to external demotivators, but does stress autonomy:

Extract 13: Der Niederländischunterricht war sehr viel freier, als der Fremdsprachenunterricht, den ich bisher gekannt hatte. Das gefiel mir sehr gut... Viel wichtiger für meine Sprachkompetenz war jedoch das Lernen zu Hause... Ich hörte ausschließlich holländisches und belgisches Radio und las viele Kinderbücher... (W032104)

The following two extracts stress that learning success is ultimately the responsibility of the learner, but package this truism rather differently.

Extract 14: ... Abschließend möchte ich noch feststellen, dass das FS-Lernen auch sehr von einem selbst abhängig ist, z. B., wie sehr man an der Sprache interessiert ist und ob man persönliche Probleme hat oder inwieweit man diese Sprache schon angewandt hat und Erfolge erkennt. (S941805)

Extract 15: Sprachunterricht habe ich aber nicht so gern. Die meisten, die ich besucht habe, sind für mich nur ein übles und oft zeitverschwenderisches Mittel zum Zweck gewesen, und obwohl ich bisher ziemlich viel Erfolg mit Sprachen gehabt habe, glaube ich, dass ich das eher oft trotz des Einflusses dieser Sprachstunden als dadurch erreicht habe. (S940501)

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D: The G.Y.T. - Grit your Teeth!

G.Y.T. is again a positive reaction to demotivating experience. It is mostly occasioned in the classroom by negative feedback (negative social acclaim, in my terms), and differs from P.O.R. in that the reaction is not maintained effort, coupled with a degree of resignation (an informal paraphrase of R.O.R.), but increased effort, motivated by a determination to do better (the syndrome is exemplified in Riemer 2000, who shows how the absence of positive self-evaluation can lead to an increase in work motivation). In extract 16, the lack of social acclaim is attributed to external causes with which the learner was confronted—G.Y.T. is therefore based on the determination to make up for lost ground:

Extract 16: Meine wenigen Französischkenntnisse waren, auch aufgrund des Aufenthalts in den Staaten, fast völlig verschütt gegangen, so dass ich mich in den ersten drei Wochen wie ein Gefangener in Einzelhaft vorkam, ich konnte so gut wie gar nicht mit irgendjemandem kommunizieren. Dieser Zustand beflügelte meine Motivation, ich lernte, sobald ich eine Minute Zeit hatte, Vokabeln, setzte mich mit dem Wörterbuch vor den Fernseher usw. (W031104)

Reports from students of non-German descent often evidence G.Y.T. The next student’s goal and work motivation overcame highly unpropitious external conditions, as evidenced by the fact she is now studying at a German university:

Extract 17: ... habe ich mit einer privaten Lehrerin meinen ersten Deutschunterricht gehabt... Ich hatte den Eindruck, dass die Lehrerin dachte, dass ich diese schwierige Sprache nie erlernen könnte. Das war ein großer Fehler von ihr, weil sie nicht wusste, wie stark, strebsam, entschieden und standhaft ich war... Nach einigen Monaten habe ich mit meinem Deutschunterricht aufgehört, weil ich in Schwierigkeiten geraten bin, aber trotzdem habe ich zu Hause alleine mit meinen Büchern weiter gelernt. Im April 1996 habe ich das Goethe-Institut kennen gelernt und dort einen Deutsch-Semi-Intensivkurs gemacht. ...am Ende habe ich die Prüfung abgelegt und bestanden. Das war mein erster Fortschritt, während dessen haben die Probleme mit meinem Mann angefangen, weil, obwohl er deutscher [sic] und Germanistiker [sic] ist, hatte er keine Lust und Geduld, mir etwas beizubringen. Wir waren am Anfang unserer Ehe... obwohl ich tief verliebt war, habe ich nie meine Ziele aus meinen Augen verloren. (W033206)

This very personal statement of attitude is matched in terms of teeth-gritting by the following account, in which a German student recalls time spent studying English at a French university:

Extract 18: Anders waren meine Erfahrungen an der Uni. Ich wusste, dass ich am Ende des Jahres eine Übersetzung würde schreiben müssen, aus dem Französischen ins Englische. Man sagte mir, dass ich weder ein Französisch-Deutsch Wörterbuch noch “Le petit Robert” benutzen dürfte. Mein Argument, dass Französisch ja nicht meine Muttersprache sei und doch nur die Englischkenntnisse getestet und bewertet werden sollten, stieß auf taube Ohren. Für diese Prüfung lernte ich wie besessen Vokabeln im Dreiertakt - Englisch-Französisch-Deutsch. Ich wusste, ich würde aufgeschmissen sein, wenn ich im franz. Text nicht alle Wörter kennen würde. Es kam, was kommen musste, ein 150 Jahre alter, literarischer, franz. Text musste übersetzt werden, und ich sah sofort, dass dies außerhalb meiner Reichweite lag, mir fehlte zuviel dieses alten, franz. Vokabulars, um es dann ins Englische übersetzen zu können. Ich schrieb eine 5,5 (wobei 20 die beste Note ist und 10 bestanden ist). Dieses rigide Verhalten passte ganz und gar nicht zum allgemein sehr schlechten Niveau der Veranstaltungen und der mündlichen Studentenleistungen, die akzeptiert wurden. Die Krönung war, dass mein mémoire (Abschlussarbeit) abgelehnt wurde mit der Begründung, es sei zu amerikanisch... Diese Sprachlernerfahrung war unvergesslich, im positiven wie im negativen Sinne, da, abgesehen von dem Fakt, dass ich persönlich viel bei dieser Arbeit gelernt habe, 6 Monate intensive Arbeit in zwei Fremdsprachen umsonst waren. (W031106)

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One further source of G.Y.T. is the circumstance that other learners in a class or peer-group have better skills, when this is not necessarily to be attributed to the individual’s own inadequacies as a learner. Gritting one’s teeth is the result therefore of a mix of determination and frustration, as evidenced in the extracts 19–21:

Extract 19: ... Jetzt, im zweiten Semester, sieht der Kurs etwas anders aus, ich bin eine der sehr wenigen, die nicht wenigstens einen Elternteil aus Portugal oder Brasilien hat oder zumindest fließend Spanisch sprechen. Ich habe also zum ersten Mal die Erfahrung gemacht, zu den Schlechtesten zu gehören. Das spornt mich einerseits sehr an, den Rückstand aufzuholen, andererseits verschlimmert es meine Sprechhemmungen doch enorm. (W021102)

Extract 20: Als dritte lebendige neue Sprache nach meiner Muttersprache lernte ich Spanisch während eines dreimonatigen Aufenthaltes mit Sprachkurs in Kastilien. Ich hatte vorher ein Semester lang einen Kurs an der Uni belegt, der jeweils zwei Stunden pro Woche stattfand. Ich verstand nichts, als ich in meiner spanischen WG ankam, was gleichzeitig frustrierend und motivierend war. (W022006)

Extract 21: Es ergab sich, dass die anderen sieben viel besser waren, als wir drei aus dem anderen Kurs. Einerseits hemmte mich das etwas, da es mir im Gegensatz zu der Zeit im anderen Kurs nicht mehr egal war, wie falsch das war, was aus meinem Mund raus kam, andererseits bekam ich nun die Motivation, mich doch mal wieder an die Grammatik und die Vokabeln zu setzen, um etwas aufzuholen. (W024001)

E: The I.N.P. Syndrome (I Need Pressure)

As the extracts 19 to 21 above show, group pressure can lead to increased work motivation. The I.N.P. syndrome supposes that such pressure is in fact necessary. Individuals working with I.N.P. feel that without external institutional and social pressure, effective motivation is simply absent. Such learners may therefore be less responsive to social utility motivational resources. The I.N.P. syndrome may overlap with P.O.R. and with T.O.Y. It is plausible to suggest that in these learning autobiographies the identification and acceptance of I.N.P. sometimes occurs only in retrospect. This could mean for example that while at school the learner identified with N.E.P., but that since then a—possibly grudging—recognition of the necessity for external pressure has emerged. Extract 22 is a clear statement of the I.N.P. motivational orientation:

Extract 22: ... Das waren meine Erfahrungen bezüglich des Fremdsprachenlernens. Mit der Zeit habe ich festgestellt, dass ich jemand bin, der viel Druck braucht, um etwas zu schaffen. Nur leider reicht dies meist nicht aus, um das Erlernte ins Langzeitgedächtnis zu befördern. (W032005)

Extract 23 following contrasts obligatory and optional language classes, giving preference to the former in terms of external motivation and consequent learning achievement:

Extract 23: In der neunten Klasse begann ich Französisch als dritte Fremdsprache zu lernen, was ich allerdings schon nach relativ kurzer Zeit wieder aufgab. Die dritte Fremdsprache war keine Pflichtfremdsprache, sondern auf freiwilliger Basis. Dies hatte Auswirkungen auf die Motivation der Kursteilnehmer. Die Tatsache, dass eine schwache Leistung sich in keiner Weise auf die Versetzung in die nächsthöhere Klassenstufe auswirkte, hatte zur Folge, dass viele Schüler den Unterricht nicht sehr ernst nahmen und sich häufig während des Unterrichts lieber anderweitig beschäftigten. Viele der Schüler in meinem damaligen Französischkurs saßen auch nur deshalb in dem Klassenraum, weil die Eltern (hier meistens die Mütter) wollten, “dass das Kind auch Französisch spricht.”

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Not all learners respond positively to external institutional pressures, of course. The following extract suggests that marked individual differences are at work here, and the sixth and final motivational syndrome following will substantiate this.

Extract 24: Mein Französischunterricht ist meiner Meinung nach ein Beispiel dafür, dass sich der (von mir bereits erwähnte) schulische Leistungsdruck (s.o. meine Erfahrungen mit dem Englischunterricht) individuell positiv oder negativ auf einen Schüler auswirken kann. (W030310).

F: The N.E.P. Syndrome (No external pressure)

This motivational stance appears to contrast with I.N.P. It assigns high motivational priority to goal motivation and claims that such motivation has to derive from the individual and cannot be imposed by an educational system. While I.N.P. assigns priority to extrinsic motivation in school learning, N.E.P. claims that intrinsic motivation is necessarily superior, and that external pressure (for example, Leistungsdruck, as Extract 24 puts it) is counterproductive. Thus, language learning which is imposed in educational settings is by definition carried out with less motivation than language learning which is internally instigated (note here the rider “Nur leider reicht dies meist nicht aus, um das Erlernte ins Langzeitgedächtnis zu befördern” in extract 22).

In theory, however, an individual could ascribe to both I.N.P. and N.E.P, assigning priority to N.E.P. in absolute terms, but accepting I.N.P. under given constraints. This dual stance is, however, not found explicitly in my data. The N.E.P. syndrome can be associated with negative attitudes towards institutions in general, and schools in particular: such attitudes appear to be quite widespread during puberty for the population under consideration in this paper (see for example Extract 25 below). N.E.P. may accompany I.K.B., but the few co-occurrences noted appear to be coincidental. It is possible that the contrast between I.N.P. and N.E.P. reflects differences in learning style or goal. Thus N.E.P. seems to match up with acquisitional theories that are more holistic, affective and non-conscious (possibly linking with BICS-oriented motivational goals), while the I.N.P. syndrome may be based on theories of language learning that are more analytic, effortful and conscious, and may be associated with CALP-oriented goals. [5]

A first illustration locates the N.E.P. syndrome inside a negative attitude to institutions and schooling in general:

Extract 25: Ich war generell kein guter Schüler, also stellte ich mir die Frage, ob es nicht stimmiger wäre, auf ein Fach mit guten Leistungen zu verzichten, da gute Leistungen in der Schule für mich damals gleichbedeutend mit Strebertum, Angepasstheit und Autoritätshörigkeit waren. Meine Lehrerin riet mir davon ab, Latein abzuwählen. Eines ihrer Argumente war, dass Lateinkenntnisse schließlich mehr oder weniger einer Elite in Deutschland vorbehalten wären, und ich so später leichter dazugehören könnte. Dieses festigte meine Entscheidung umso mehr...’ (W030602)

Rather more concrete is the view expressed in Extract 26, which is consistent with the claim that institutionalised external ‘motivators’ can stifle internal motivation (cf. the reference to Lepper, Green & Nisbet 1973 above). Extract 26 also confirms the claim made in Extract 24:

Extract 26: Ich denke auch, dass sich der schulische Druck der ständigen Benotung individuell negativ auf den Lernprozess auswirken kann...(W030302)

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The contrast between extrinsic and intrinsic goal motivation is presented pithily in the following Extract:

Extract 27: In der Schule hatte ich das Gefühl, für die Lehrer zu lernen. Später tat ich es für mich, was sich auf meine Motivation auswirkte und auf die Resultate, die ich erzielte. (W030907)

Such sentiments are expressed by many students. The following, for example, is a more concrete illustration of the general thesis:

Extract 28: Ich selbst habe endlich Jahre später nach meiner Schulzeit freiwillig damit angefangen, englische und französische Bücher zu lesen. Der Grund liegt darin, dass kein Stressfaktor mehr vorhanden ist: Du musst dieses Buch lesen, egal ob du es interessant findest oder nicht. Der Vorteil in der heutigen Situation ist der, dass ich mir selbst aussuchen kann, welches Buch und in welchem Zeitrahmen ich lesen möchte und das motiviert mich ungemein. (W032602)

It has to be said here that such subjective comparisons are scarcely valid, as there is no empirical basis for comparing post-school learning and school learning, given that the former is necessarily predicated on the latter. Thus, the adult internal motivation may well not have existed at the time of schooling, and moreover, it is quite possible that it is a consequence of school language learning experience [6].

However, the final extract in this paper compares school learning in different sociocultural circumstances, and comes out strongly in favour of N.E.P.:

Extract 29: Der alte DDR-Lehrplan galt nicht mehr und es gab auch keinen neuen. Lehrbücher hatten wir keine, drei glorreiche Jahre, 1990-1993, an denen uns weder das alte noch das neue System motivationshemmende Unterrichtsvorschriften und Stoffe in den Weg legte. Wir lernten begeistert und leisteten viel für die Anzahl der Sprachlernjahre, die wir erst hinter uns hatten. (W031104)

6. Summary

This paper has argued that if motivational research is to be considered as part of language learning/teaching research, and not simply as a branch of psychology, the multi-factorial analysis of large sets of questionnaire needs to be supplemented by attempts to investigate how the different factors posited in such research actually come together and lead to different kinds of positive and negative motivational consequences for different learners. Such factorial constellations will, furthermore, the paper claims, have positive or negative learning consequences for different lengths of time, with respect to different aspects of the complex task of learning a foreign/second language. The possible relevance of learning autobiographies as a data source was then examined. Subsequently, the paper focussed on the interaction between positive and negative internal and negative motivators as experienced by experienced adult learners, using such a database. A preliminary ‘motivational hierarchy’ was sketched, a (reduced) set of motivational parameters proposed, in which different motivational ‘syndromes’ were defined and illustrated. The paper hypothesises that the issue which ‘syndromes’ characterize an individual’s learning may be a crucial determinant of her contextualised motivational profiles and resulting learning outcomes.

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Notes

Bibliography