Education of the republic of uzbekistan termiz state university department of english language and literature

Motivation for language learning
There has been ample research into motivation for learning a foreign language. Most researchers agree that motivation plays a vital role in the students’ achievement. It is hard to imagine a teacher’s handbook without a chapter on motivation. It is a widely discussed and researched topic, yet so complex, multifaceted and changeable.

In Wikipedia, motivation is defined as a psychological quality that leads people to achieve a goal. Spratt et al. (2005: 38) say that “motivation is the thoughts and feelings we have which make us want to do something, continue to want to do it and turn our wishes into action, i.e. motivation influences: why people decide to do something, how long they want to do it for and how hard they are prepared to work to achieve it”. Harmer (2002: 51) defines motivation for language learning as “some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something”.

When the above-mentioned definitions of motivation are considered, it is evident that each student will have a particular driving force and it may change over time as they mature and set priorities differently. When applied to the teaching and learning context, it goes without saying that the language teacher has a great responsibility to maintain students’ motivation at a high level, as it is the key to successful learning, to introduce appropriate incentives constantly to match students’ different motivations, as well as to minimize demotivating factors. In different discussions on motivation, different kinds of motivation

are mentioned, such as:

Extrinsic motivation – depends on a number of outside factors, for instance: the need to get a certain grade, pass an exam, get a prize or award, and the like.

Intrinsic motivation – depends on the factors that come from within an individual, such as the love for a language, satisfaction of learning new things, etc.

Integrative motivation – grounded on the student’s wish to integrate in the society in which the language learnt is spoken; the student shows admiration for the language, native speakers, customs, etc.

Instrumental motivation – based on the need to get something practical or concrete from learning the language, such as a job, a diploma, and the like.

Students’ motivation for learning a foreign language can be under the influence of a great number of different people and situations. According to Harmer (2002), these factors include: (1) the society students live in (the attitude of the people around the student to learning a foreign language affect his motivation to learning a language), (2) significant others (attitudes of people close to the student (parents, siblings, etc.) will have a significant effect on the student’s motivation), (3) the teacher (usually referred to as the most important person with respect to students’ motivation for language learning) and (4) the method (the teaching style needs to match the student’s wishes, needs, interests and background knowledge).

In his study of motivation for language learning, Gardner (1982) points out that motivation comes from attitude. Attitudes do not have direct impact on learning, but they provoke motivation. The attitudes crucial for language learning encompass the following: attitudes toward learning the second language, desire to learn the language and effort made to learn the language. All the three need to be present if a student is ‘truly motivated’. Gardner further states that achievement results from attitude and motivation together. According to his socio-educational model, there are four important factors for successful language learning: the social and cultural milieu, individual learner differences, the setting and context. Moreover, the learning is also dependent on the following four individual differences: intelligence, language aptitude, motivation and situational anxiety.

Based on the aforementioned, it is beyond doubt that both students’ personal characteristics and learning and living conditions affect their progress and success in language learning. Teachers can therefore not be held entirely responsible for students’ motivation for language learning. They do, however, have a pivotal role in initiating, directing and maintaining their students’ motivation in a myriad of ways.