Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation is concerned with factors outside the classroom. There are 2 main types of such motivation: integrative motivation and instrumental motivation.

a) Integrative motivation

For this kind of motivation students need to be attracted by the culture of the TLC. In the strong form of integrative motivation they wish to integrate themselves into that culture. A weaker form of such motivation would be the desire to know as much as possible about the culture of the TLC.

b) Instrumental motivation

This term describes a situation in which students believe that mastery of the target language will be instrumental in getting them a better job, position or status. The language is an instrument in their attainment of such a goal.

Two researchers, Gardnerand Lambert, suggested than the most successful students were integratively motivated. But this conclusion has not really been adequately substantiated. Indeed, it seems that it is not so much the type of motivation that counts as its strength. Certainly, a student who has strong integrative motivation will be likely to succeed. But the same is also true of the student who has strong instrumental motivation.

There are a number of other factors that have an affect on extrinsic motivation. Most of these have to do with a student’s attitude to the language. These, in turn, will be affected by the attitude of those who have influence with that student. If the parents are very much against the culture of the language, this will probably affect his motivation in a negative way. If they are very much in favour of the language this might have the opposite effect. The student’s peers will also be in a powerful position to affect his attitude, as will other members of the student’s community.

Another factor affecting the attitude of students is their previous experiences as language learners. If the student remembers being humiliated by a lack of success as a learner he will find his extrinsic motivation negatively affected. Previous success will have the opposite effect.

It is clear that we cannot create extrinsic motivation since it comes into the classroom from outside. It is clear, too, that students have to be prepared to take some responsibility for their own learning. But with that in mind, we can still create the student’s positive attitude towards the culture of the language. We can still do our best to ensure that students view the language and the learning experience in a positive light. We can do this by creating a positive attitude to the language and its speakers. We can try to be certain that we are supportive and encouraging to our students rather than critical and destructive.