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Date Posted: 19:00:36 04/11/07 Wed
Author: Joyce Licio Macedo
Subject: Re: Task One Group Six
In reply to: Adriana 's message, "Task One Group Six" on 06:09:39 04/08/07 Sun

The importance of motivation in the process of second language acquisition

A second language is never easy to learn. It requires a lot of time and opportunities to practice. However, a motivated learner will be able to find efficient tools in order to accelerate his/her progress.

Motivation has been a focus of second language acquisition research for many years. Motivation is the learner’s orientation regarding the goal of learning a second language and there are two types of motivation: instrumental motivation and integrative motivation. Instrumental motivation is characterized by the desire to obtain something practical from studying a second language. It is typical of second language acquisition where little or no social integration of the learner into a community using the target language takes place, such as in a foreign language classroom. The learner’s purpose in language acquisition is more practical, such as meeting a requirement for school or university graduation, applying for a job, reaching technical material. Integrative motivation is characterized by the learner’s positive attitudes towards the target language group and comes into play when one desires to become a part of a community that uses the target language in social situations. Integrative motivation has been found to sustain long-term success when learning a second language.

Whatever the learners' motivation, research seems to support the practice of teachers discovering and responding to learners' needs and goals when planning instruction. In order to make the language learning process a more motivating experience instructors need to put a great deal of thought into developing programs which maintain student interest and have obtainable short term goals. Teachers need to create interesting lessons in which the students attention is gained. This can sometimes be accomplished by the use of teaching strategies which are not often called upon by other teachers in mainstream subject areas. Encouraging students to become more active participants in a lesson can sometimes assist them to see a purpose for improving their communication skills in the target language. Successful communication using the target language should result in students feeling some sense of accomplishment.

No matter what the underlying motivation to study a second language, what cannot be disputed is the fact that motivation is an important variable when examining successful second language acquisition.

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  • Re: Task One Group Six -- Yuri Amorim, 19:13:46 04/11/07 Wed
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