What is your Motivation to Learn language(s)?

When discussing anything in life, have you asked yourself ‘why am I doing this’?

You probably asked your parents that question at some point in your life with answers varying from ‘because I said so’ to ‘if you don’t get this done right now, I’ll…’, and I’ll let you fill in the rest. These responses serve as motivation to do something whether we realize it or not. There are, however, two different types of motivation that function in separate ways. The ‘if you don’t get this done right now, I’ll…’ type of motivation is called extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is defined as “behaviors … performed in order to receive something from others” (Kanevsky, 2022, para. 1). Keep in mind that these external motivators don’t have to be negative like in my previous example. Many people might learn a new skill to get a pay raise at their job or take a language class just long enough to get into college. On the other hand, we have intrinsic motivation, which is when “behaviors are performed because of the sense of personal satisfaction that they bring” (Kanevsky, 2022, para. 1). In the case of language learning, as this is a language learning textbook after all, this could look like learning a language just because you want to, or because you like being able to speak to more people. Either way, there is no reward or punishment attached to your reasoning.

Why is any of this discussion about motivation important?

Well, “without such motivation, we will almost certainly not engage in some activities or do not make the necessary effort to complete an action or to achieve a specific goal” (Thohir, 2017, p.1). Motivation drives the world, so motivation is required to do anything, including learning a language. But what if one type of motivation is better than another? As it turns out, learners on average experience better results when their motivation is intrinsic. This is not to say that extrinsic motivation is bad, or that the two don’t bleed together sometimes. Harmer (2001:51) says that “even where the original reason for taking up a language course, for example, is extrinsic, the chances of success will be significantly enhanced if the students come to love the learning process”. Why is this? I believe it has to do precisely with the aspect of reward. When a learner is extrinsically motivated, they will often only do what is required to achieve or avoid a reward or punishment, no more, and no less. This is very different from a learner who is intrinsically motivated because an intrinsically motivated learner is much more likely to try harder in classes, study more, or continue taking classes longer than required because they truly love what they are doing. This is not to say that either type of motivation is bad, however, one yields better results for learning.

So how can we apply this to our language-learning journey?

Not everyone is going to be naturally motivated to learn languages, so let’s create some strategies to turn our motivations intrinsic. 

While we are all motivated by outside factors at some point, finding some deeper connection to a language can help you learn it better. So, what steps can you take to make your language journey more intrinsically motivated? Even finding one thing that you enjoy, whether that’s one song or one dish from that culture, will have a lasting effect on your journey. By being more connected to our learning, we are being more connected to our future.