MOTIVATION IN LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGE

 

Why Motivation plays a Significant Role?
There are many factors that can determine the success of foreign language learning. Motivation is one of them. motivation can be said as an inner drive to achieve learning activity so the purpose of the subject learning can be maintained in an educational environment; motivation is one of the very important factors to encourage a learner to learn more rapidly and effectively. The motivation may come from the learners themselves that are the intrinsic, or outside of the learners, that is, the extrinsic. Those who have intrinsic motivation, they will have a strong responsibility to learn. On the contrary, for those who have extrinsic motivation, their enthusiasm to study depends on the conditions outside themselves. Whereas language aptitude concerns the cognitive abilities that underlie successful second language acquisition, motivation involves the attitudes and affective states that influence the degree of effort that learners make to learn a second language (Ellis 1997:75). 
Highly motivated learners are more likely to synchronize their roles willingly with the teacher in the various processes in classroom learning. Elliot et all (2000:332) state that learning enables us to acquire new knowledge and skills, and motivation provides the impetus for showing what we have learned. In general, more-motivated people achieve at higher. Furthermore, (Gage and Berliner 1984:374) state that as a means, motivation becomes one of the factors like intelligence or previous learning that determine whether students will achieve 3 the knowledge, understanding, or skill that we want to have. In short, motivation is one of the very important factors that determine the success of foreign language learning.
Motivation initiates or directs behavior. If someone shifts from the absence of an activity to the performance of that activity, it can be said that motivation must be involved. Hunger initiates food-seeking; fatigue leads to sleep, and so on. Motivation directs behavior and also initiates it. When we are sleepy we seek rest, not doing something else. When we are motivated by a desire for thrills or excitement, we may well try to do something fun for example fishing, swimming, diving, etc. So, motivation gets us up and doing, energizes us, and defines the directions or nature of the resulting behavior. The persistence of behavior is also determined by motivational factors. How long we are kept at a particular activity is linked to our motives. If we want success we may work steadily for years in the pursuit of achievement; on the other hand, if we are not particularly achievement-oriented, or if our desire for achievement waves, we may give up quite soon. So it is essential to discuss the general meaning of motivation.
There are some definitions of motivation given by psycholinguistics especially related to the process of foreign language learning. Namely:
1. According to Harmer (1983:3), motivation is a kind of internal drive that encourages somebody to pursue a course of action.
2. According to Brown (1980:176), motivation is the inner drive, impulse, emotion, or desire that moves one to a particular action.
3. According to Dornyei and Otto (1998:65), motivation can be defined as the dynamically changing cumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates amplifies, terminates, and evaluates the cognitive and motor process whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized, operationalized, and (successfully or unsuccessfully) acted out.
4. According to Hornby (1995:758) motive is something that causes somebody to act in a particular way.
5. Elliot (2000:332) as quoted by Lumsden (2004) states motivation as an internal state that arouses us to action, pushes us in a particular direction, and keeps us engaged in certain activities.
6. Dornyei (2001:8) states that motivation is responsible for: why people decide to do something, how long they are willing to do something, how hard they are going to pursue it.
Thus, it can be inferred that motivation is a kind of inner drive, desire, needs, and interest of someone that encourages her or him to do something or to achieve something.

What are Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation stand for?
Young children are compelled to learn because of their natural curiosity in life. Older children seem to need a push in the direction to learn. This describes the two types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation describes young children. It is motivation from within and the desire someone feels to complete a task, including natural curiosity. Intrinsic motivation is anything we do to motivate ourselves without rewards from an outside source. According to Dornyei (2001:27), intrinsic motivation deals with behavior performed for its own sake in order to experience pleasure and satisfaction. When intrinsic motivation occupies a student, extrinsic motivation becomes null. This student will now be motivated to do things for himself or herself without the presence of a tangible reward. This child will have much hope for success in the future.
When a student needs that extra boost to do well in school, many times this student becomes engaged for a tangible reward of some type. This describes extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is the will to do something based on encouragement from an outside source (Lumsden: 2004). According to Dornyei (2001:27) extrinsic motivation involves performing behavior as a means to an end, that is, to receive some extrinsic rewards (e.g. good grade) or to avoid punishment. Furthermore, Lumsden (2004) clarifies that Extrinsic motivation is said to be unproductive for the future. Many times teachers use extrinsic motivation in the classroom. It may be productive for the class, but the student will continue to have problems with motivation in the future. When a child completes a task or behavior based on a reward, there is no permanent change. The child will only repeat the action again for another reward. Grades are probably the most positive example of extrinsic motivation. Many students are driven by grades for higher education and future jobs. When rewards such as candy and toys are used to gain student motivation it can be considered bribery.
What are Types of Motivation?
According to Dafidoff (1981:278-280) as quoted by Maryani (2001: 7-11) there are five types of motivation. They are (1) Basic Drive, (2) Sensory Stimulation, Manipulation, and Exploration, (3) Social Motives, (4) Growth Motives and (5) Achievement Motive. These are discussed in the following sections.

Basic Drive
According to Kreck (1969:489), the basic drive is aroused states of the organism related to psychological requirements of the body, which set the organism into action. It seems that basic drive is a psychological condition that activates the organism to fulfill the body's needs such as oxygen, water, food, sex, urination, defection, and pain avoidance.

Sensory Stimulation, Manipulation, and exploration
Sensory stimulation is information accepted through senses (Dafidoff, 1981:279). manipulation motive as wishes to reach and remove things using hands or mouth and exploration motives as motives to find new object stimuli. In order to survive people have to explore and manipulate the environment. The motive to explore and manipulate the environment, which is frequently called curiosity, is probably related to the need for sensory stimulation.

Social Motives
In relation to social motives, Henry Murray as quoted by Dafidoff (1981:295) says: “people’s motives might accurately reflect in what they were not under pressure to think about anything in particular”. social motive is the need of people to feel love, to be accepted, approved, and esteemed.

Growth Motives

People need to develop and acquire competence and to actualize all their various potential. This presumably arouses a growth (or actualization) motive. According to Maslow as quoted by Dafidoff (1981:280) “people were born with five needs system”. They are:

1. Self-actualization needs; self-fulfillment and realizing one’s own individual potential.

2. Esteem needs; achievement, approval, competence, and recognition.

3. Love needs affiliation, acceptance, and belonging.

4. Safety needs security and safety, absence of danger.

5. Psychological needs, hunger, thirst, air, etc.

In short terms, people were born with five needs systems; self-actualization, esteem needs, love needs, safety needs, and psychological needs.

Achievement Motives

An achievement motive is a motive to pursue excellence, to accomplish goals, and to be successful in achieving the goals. Dafidoff (1981:295) claims that “The achievements motives or the need to achieve as researchers generally call it, may be defined as a motive to pursue excellence, to accomplish, to fly goals, or to be a success in difficult last when the satisfaction of a particular individual's potentialities is considered the goals, then the achievement motive is considered a growth motive. When competition between people is stressed, the achievement is classified as a social motive”.

Student Motivation in Learning Process

Young children appear to be propelled by curiosity, driven by an intense need to explore, interact with, and make sense of their environment. As one author puts it, “Rarely does one hear parents complain that their pre-schooler is ‘unmotivated’ ” (James Raffini 1993) in Lumsden (2004). Unfortunately, as children grow, they lose their motivation in the learning process. They consider that the learning process is boring and depressing. Even though they are physically present in the classroom but mentally

absent. They find difficulties in involving themselves in the process. (Lumsden 2004) states that awareness of how students’ attitudes and beliefs about learning develop and what facilitates learning for its own sake can assist educators in reducing student apathy.

Student motivation naturally has to do with students’ desire to participate in the learning process. But it also concerns the reasons or goals that underlie their involvement or noninvolvement in academic activities. Although students may be equally motivated to perform a task, the sources of their motivation may differ (Lumsden 2004). The term motivation to learn has a slightly different meaning. It is defined by one author as “the meaningfulness value, and benefits of academic tasks to the learner regardless of whether or not they are intrinsically interesting’ (Hermine Marshall 1987) in Lumsden (2004). Other note that motivation to learn is characterized by long-term, quality involvement in learning and commitment to the process of learning (Carole Ames 1990) in Lumsden (2004).

Motivation in Learning English

There are two types of motivation in learning English, i.e. integrative motivation and instrumental motivation.

Integrative Motivation

Gardner and Lambert (1975:271) as quoted by Dornyei (2001:50) state that integrative motivation concerns a positive disposition toward the second language group and the desire to interact with and even become similar to valued members of that community. They also define integrative motivation as a motivation to learn a second language of positive feelings toward the community that speaks that language. Some learners may choose to learn a second language because they are interested in the people and culture represented by the target language group (Ellis 1997:75).

The integrative motive is made up of three main components (Gardner 1985:82-83);

- Integrativeness, which subsumes integrative orientation, interest in foreign languages, and attitudes towards the second language community, reflects the individual’s willingness and interest in social interaction with members of other groups.

- Attitudes towards the learning situation, which comprises attitudes towards the language teacher and the second language course.

- Motivation is effort, desire, and attitude towards learning.

Instrumental Motivation

In some learning contexts, instrumental motivation seems to be the major force determining success in second language learning. For example, in a setting where learners are motivated to learn a second language because it opens up educational and economic opportunities for them. Instrumental motivation is the utilitarian counterpart of integrative orientation in Gardner’s theory, pertaining to the potential pragmatic gains of second language proficiency, such as getting a better job, or higher salary. Learners may make efforts to learn a second language for some functional reason to pass an examination, to get a better job, or to get a place at university (Ellis 1997:75).

Conclusion

Motivation has an important role in the learning process. In relation to learning, one is compelled to learn by a motive to understand, originating from their own curiosity” (Rehmke-Ribary 2003) in Lumsden (2004). motivation as the key to learning. Motivation is probably the most used term for explaining the success or failure of any complex task. It is easy to figure out that success in a task is simply due to the fact that someone is motivated. Motivation is necessary for learning since it makes human beings want to learn. Although it is not an absolute condition of learning, motivation is needed for improvement of the achievement.

References

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Dafidoff, Linda C. (1981). Introduction To Psychology. New York: McGraw – Hill Inc.

Dornyei, Zoltan. (2001). Teaching and Researching Motivation. Harlow: Person Education.

Elliot, N. et all. (2000). Educational Psychology. Third Edition. USA: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Elly, M. Christopher. (1986). Language Learning Motivation: A Descriptive and Casual Analysis, the Modern Language Journey.

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Gage, N L. and Berliner, David C. (1984). Educational Psychology. Third Edition. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Harmer, Jeremy. (1983). The Practice of English Language Teaching. New York: Longman Inc.

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Lumsden, Linda.(2004) motivation for kids. Available at: http://www.kidsouces.com

Maryani, Sri. (2001). Students’ Motivation in Learning English (A Case of SLTP I Tlogowungu Pati). Thesis. UNNES.