Motivation

Motivation is defined as the learner’s orientation with regarded to the goal of learning a second language.

Instrumental motivation

Wanting to learn a language for the purpose of obtaining some concrete goals such as a job, graduation, or the ability to read academic materials. This form of motivation is thought to be less likely to lead to success than integrative motivation.

Integrative motivation

When students want to learn a language to become part of a speech community (integrate). People who immigrate to new countries are some examples of people who may want to identify with the community around them. An important aspect of this form of language learning is using language for social interaction. This form of motivation is thought to produce success in language learners. This is often compared to instrumental motivation.

Motivation is an important factor in L2 achievement. For this reason it is important to identify both the type and combination of motivation that assists in the successful acquisition of a second language. At the same time it’s necessary to view motivation as one of a number of variables in an intricate model of interrelated individual and situational factors which are unique to each language learner.

References

http://boggleswordels.com/glossary
http:faculty.uccb.ns.ca/pmacintyre/research_pages/journals/motivation_language1991.pdf