Motivation in Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

In this study, integrative motivation and instrumental motivation are examined to establish the correlation between the form of motivation and successful second language acquisition. The analysis studies whether other aspects, such as the degree in which the specificity of the courses or the introduction of an immersive virtual world can modify the students’ self-efficacy beliefs. Two groups of students were selected to carry out a qualitative study on motivation. The activities and results obtained in both groups were contrasted in order to determine if the two basic types of motivation played a relevant role in second language acquisition. It can be stated that the results showed that the pre-conceived beliefs of learners were relevant in certain activities, i.e. collaborative, web based activities; and in the demand for a definite syllabus of the course.