Abstract:
To enrich our understanding of the attitudinal/motivational basis of foreign language learning at junior high school level, this study investigated the students’ status of L2 motivation, the relationship between motivational factors, and the possibility of predicting their motivated learning behavior in light of Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) theory of L2 Motivational Self System. To this end, 1462 junior high school stu-dents classified as private language institute-goers and non-goers filled in the Persian version of L2 Moti-vational Self System questionnaire. After applying independent samples t-test, correlation, and regression analyses, it was found that all students enjoyed positive attitudinal and motivational dispositions although to a different extent, attitude toward learning English was the main predictor of their motivated learning behavior, and Ideal L2 Self was particularly stronger in the institute goers, while Ought-to L2 Self was rather the same for both groups.
Machine summary:
Maryam Azarnoosh* Department of English, College of Humanities, Semnan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Semnan, Iran Received: 5 February , 2013 Accepted: 13 January, 2014 Abstract To enrich our understanding of the attitudinal/motivational basis of foreign language learning at juniorhigh school level, this study investigated the students’ status of L2 motivation, the relationship between motivational factors, and the possibility of predicting their motivated learning behavior in light of Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) theory of L2 Motivational Self System.
After applying independent samples t-test, correlation, and regression analyses, it was found that all students enjoyed positive attitudinal and motivational dispositions although to a different extent, attitude toward learning English was the main predictor of their motivated learning behavior, and Ideal L2 Self was particularly stronger in the institute goers, while Ought-to L2 Self was rather the same for both groups.
A ‘situated’ approach and contextual factors, such as, classroom environment, cultural setting, curriculum, teacher, peer group, teaching materials, and task design, are influential in mo- tivating students since initial motivation to learn is not always drawn from "internally or external- ly generated self images but rather from success- ful engagement with the actual language learning process" (Dörnyei, 2009, p.
15** DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION This study examined the status, relationship, and predictive power of the main components of Dörnyei’s L2MSS and some related motivation- al/attitudinal factors for two groups of junior high school students, those who only learn English as a mandatory school subject and those who, in addition, go to private language classes.