Motivation

Motivation is often said to be one of the key factors in language learning success. This page links to readings, videos and a podcast which explore theories of motivation.

Reading

 Richard Ryan and Edward Deci write in 2000 about self-determination theory (Time: 30 minutes)

Suzanne Graham (2022) writes about self-efficacy - what it is and what it is not. (Time: 20 minutes)

This 2019 paper by McEown & Oga-Baldwin from the journal System examines self-determination theory and its second language learning applications (Time: 10 minutes)

An article by best-selling psychologist Daniel Willingham about the value of praise (Time: 10 minutes) NEW 10.6.23

This 2022 paper by William S. Davis and Liam Printer suggests a model for language teachers with specific lesson ideas based on self-determination theory (Time: 15 minutes)

This 2016 article by David Cook and Anthony Artino summarises five contemporary theories of motivation, finding what they might have in common and what distinguishes one from the other (Time: 30 minutes)

This 2022 article by Daniel Willingham examines growth mindset theory and evidence for it (Time: 25 minutes)

In this book chapter Zoltán Dörnyei writes about what makes a language learning task engaging (Time: 25 minutes)

This chapter by Dörnyei examines his ‘motivational self’ theory (Time: 40 minutes)

In this article the researchers examine to what extent learners’ L2 motivational dispositions (ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self and language learning experiences), based on Dörnyei’s model, predict their intended effort for language learning (Time: 30 minutes)

This short newspaper article in The Guardian by Professor Alison Mackey is a handy introduction to aspects of motivation for language learning (Time: 2 minutes)

This blog by Gianfranco Conti summarises eight theories of motivation and their implications for the languages classroom (Time: 10 minutes)

This 2012 paper from the journal English Language Teaching looks at Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy as it applies to second language learning (Time: 15 minutes)

This blog by Gianfranco Conti is called: ‘Self-efficacy – the most neglected motivational factor in foreign language instruction’ (Time: 10 minutes)

This 2015 paper by Taie and Afshari takes a critical look at Gardner’s influential ‘socio-educational’ model of motivation (Time: 10 minutes)

This article by Ali H. Alhoorie and Phil Hiver (2020) is about a ‘fundamental difference hypothesis in language learning motivation’. To what extent is motivation for language learning different to motivation in other school subjects? Spoiler: they found no difference compared to the other two subjects they looked at. (Time: 20 minutes, but you could omit some parts)

A paper by Thu H. Tran called The Art of Instituting and Maintaining Learners’ Motivation (Time: 12 minutes)

This 2023 paper found that putting students in mixed ability classes reduced their ‘academic self-concept’ (Time: 30 minutes)

This 2019 case study paper by Dr Liam Printer examines the motivational attractions of the TPRS method. (Time: 30 minutes)

This longitudinal study with 10 students examines intrinsic motivation and positive emotions in relation to the use of co-created stories (Time: 50 minutes) NEW 14.12.23

Video

In this talk Dörnyei talks about the idea of ‘vision’, relating to his motivational self theory (Time: 46 minutes)

In another lecture, Dörnyei explores the idea of ‘engagement’ (Time: 38 minutes)

In this wide-ranging online presentation Bill Littlewood covers a wide range of areas, including integrative, instrumental, extrinsic, intrinsic, self-determination theory, creating and maintaining motivation in lessons (Time: 50 minutes of lecture)

This Powtoon video explains the basics of self-efficacy theory (Time: 7 minutes)

Another video presentation about self-efficacy (Time: 9 minutes)

A short video presentation by Charlie Nagle about the ‘motivational self’ model and whether sustained effort over time can improve students’ comprehensibility and accent in speech (Time: 4 minutes)

Shiro Ojima of Yokohama National University talks in this screen cast about motivation, aptitude and anxiety - three important individual differences in language learners (Time: 25 minutes)

Podcasts

Teacher and consultant Dr Liam Printer has a podcast focused on how to motivate classroom language learners. The chosen model of focus is Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory. Many episodes with masses of practical classroom application too.