Motivation Models

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In this section, the researcher explored the literature relevant to the main concern of the present study. The literature was reviewed in four parts: motivation models, motivation and language learning, motivation and age, and finally, motivation in Taiwan’s EFL learning context.

2.1 Motivation Models

The study of motivation can be traced back to decades ago. Along with anxiety, self-confidence, self-esteem, and other psychological variables, motivation has been one of the main affective factors. Keller (1983) argued that ability and motivation are the imperative factors in academic success because the two elements suggest not only what one can do but also what one will do. The whole construct of motivation has been categorized into two dimensions: the intrinsic and extrinsic orientation (Deci &

Ryan, 1985).

According to Deci and Ryan (2000), the two types of motives can be distinguished by different goals for the action: doing something out of interests or enjoyment, namely doing something intrinsically; doing something for external rewards, namely extrinsically. Lens et al. (2009) argued that the distinction between the two is that the intrinsic motivation is based on autonomous regulation, whereas the extrinsic one is based on controlled motivation. Learning behaviors are products of either intrinsic motivation or extrinsic one. Ask students why they learn their

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lessons, do their homework, or even study for exams. Some may offer intrinsically motivated reasons, such as ‘I like science’, ‘I am interested in math’, ‘I really want to know more about the history of our country’, or ‘I want to master a foreign language’.

On the contrary, some may give answers that have more to do with the extrinsic reasons, such as ‘I will be punished if I don’t study’, ‘I am forced to learn by my teacher or parents’, ‘I can have some great reward if I study hard’, ‘I want to go to a famous college’, or ‘I want to get a well-paid job in the future’. What’s more, some may give answers related to both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, such as ‘I want to go to some top medical school and do the research that I am really interested in’.

Students can offer a wide variety of reasons (Stipek, 2002).

Although both of the two drives have a role to play when it comes to learning, the intrinsic one has been commonly argued to be of better quality and crucial to persistent learning and high achievement, for many studies have suggested that extrinsic rewards or controls may so potentially undermine intrinsic motivation that when the rewards or controls are removed, individuals tend to lose their innate interests or even stop learning (Cameron, 2001; Luyten & Lens, 1981).

Take the experimental research, “magic marker”, for example. The research was conducted by Lepper, Greene, and Nisbett (1973) to test if over reinforcement could jeopardize innate learning interest. There were 51 three to five-year-old children who showed their intrinsic interests in the target activity, drawing. The children were randomly exposed to one of the three conditions: one with expected reward (children were engaged in the target activity expecting reward and they received reward soon after they completed the target activity), one with unexpected reward (children were

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engaged in the target activity voluntarily without knowing the reward until they finished the target activity and received one), and one with no reward (children neither expected nor received any reward after finishing the target activity). At first, the children in the expected-condition showed as much interest in the target activity as or greater than those in the other two conditions. They were rewarded every time after they completed the target activity. This was repeated several times till the children were used to receiving reward after the work was done. Then all of the sudden, the reward was cancelled. After that, children in the expected-condition seemed to show less interest than those in the other two. The result supported the hypothesis that too much extrinsic reinforcement may potentially jeopardize the innate interest.

Therefore, the intrinsically motivated behaviors are commonly noted to be empirical in educational outcomes for children as quoted from Deci and Ryan (1985):

Children are intrinsically motivated to learn, to undertake challenges, and to solve problems . . . and [do] countless others things for which there are not obvious or appreciable external rewards. (p.11)

Deci and Ryan (2000) also claimed that human intrinsic motivations are developed from three primary psychological needs: the need for competence or satisfaction, the need for autonomy or the will to choose for one’s own action, and the need for relatedness or social connections. In other words, learners have to feel satisfied with the learning experiences, the learning behavior has to be a product of self-determination, and the learning has to be connected with real life or social approvals. Human beings are born to have intrinsic motive for learning (White, 1959).

Take infants for example. They spontaneously explore things around them soon after they are born to satisfy the need of curiosity without any external rewards (Berlyne,

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1966). The initiative learning behaviors are carried out by the innate needs, namely intrinsic drives. The concept also echoed with Maslow’s hierarchy of need (1970), advocating that intrinsic motivation is obviously superior to its counterpart.

Thereupon, only through this autonomous, self-rewarded spontaneous innate factor may incessant, persistent, life-long learning be realized (Bruner, 1966).

Gottfried (1985) further elaborated academic intrinsic motivation with several characteristics, such as mastery, curiosity, persistence, and activeness in learning challenging difficult new things. Some researchers actually argued that the quality of being able to rise to challenges of a new activity is the key determinant of enjoyable status in mind (Csikszentmihalyi & Nakamura, 1989). That is, when a learner is intrinsically motivated, he or she will constantly, actively and joyfully pursue something novel and challenging in the learning process. Researchers, therefore, have assumed that learners with high intrinsic motivation tend to show significantly high academic achievements because of the qualities mentioned above (Barto, 2013;

Brown, 1990; Clément et al., 1994; Z. Dörnyei & Cumming, 2003; Gottfried, 1985;

Noels, Clément, & Pelletier, 1999).

Although it is suggested that the extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic learning value and lessen the primary drive and satisfaction (Berlyne, 1966; Lepper, 1981; White, 1959) and intrinsic motivation is doubtlessly a crucial factor, honestly speaking, a lot of learning behaviors are activated extrinsically for social demands and responsibilities, such as school and job requirements (Ryan & Deci, 2000). But that the extrinsic drive was not autonomous didn’t mean it was less worthy. For instance, children may study hard in order to earn praises from their parents. After working

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hard, they may be repaid with good grades. And this high achievement resulting from the hard working may help the learner grow a strong sense of self-confidence and thus spark the enjoyment or interest in learning. The whole process may start extrinsically yet end intrinsically; namely, the extrinsic motive fosters the “internalization and integration of values and behavioral regulation” (Deci & Ryan, 2000: p. 60). Ryan, Connell, and Deci (1985) proposed that some extrinsic motivations are partially self-determined. Although intrinsically motivated behaviors are defined to be self-determined, some extrinsically motivated behaviors can be self-determined, too.

For example, when individuals prepare for an exam in order to gain some reward, they actually take the initiative in making the decision for the action. Thus, the extrinsic motivation becomes somewhat intrinsic. Just as what Toshihiko (1997) explained:

The tendency toward assimilation or integration can lead people not only to do what interests them, but also to internalize and integrate the value of these activities and allow them to feel both autonomous and related to others within the social world. (p. 99)

Ryan and Connell (1989) proposed that there were four types of motives along the continuum of motivation: external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic. The external motivation, by definition, is activated by extrinsic reasons, such as orders from authorities or reward. For example, children may be engaged in some activities because they are asked to do so by their parents or teachers. The introjected motivation is generated by an internalized motivation because of external reasons, such as avoidance of punishment or concerns about praises or approvals from others.

Under such circumstances, the individual is actually the one who has the power and

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control over the decision whether to surrender to the constraints or not. For instance, students may choose to prepare for an exam because they want to win the praises from their parents. Though there is an extrinsic reason behind the action, the motivation can be seen as somewhat intrinsic because a certain degree of self-determination is involved.

The identified reason is defined as “I want”, a rather intrinsic motivation on one hand, yet an extrinsic motivation on the other hand, for the behaviors caused by identified reasons are regarded as a means to an end. “I want to learn a foreign language because that will help me get a good job” can be an example of that. Lastly, the intrinsic motivation, by definition, refers to doing an activity for enjoyment in a self-determined way. Through this continuum, one can see a process of assimilation that external motivation becomes somewhat internal. What’s more, the external value is important because it serves as the catalyst for intrinsic value formation. The innate value, therefore, still outshines the external one when it comes to learning. That is why many studies have suggested that the decline of learning motivation may mainly be caused by the decline of intrinsic learning motivation (Lens et al., 2009; Lepper et al., 2005).