Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,3, University of Duisburg-Essen (Department of Anglophone Studies), language: English, abstract: "The limits of my language are the limits of my world." Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Wittgenstein was a philosopher of the 19th century; his quotation underlines the importance of second language acquisition. We live in a globalised world where language is the most important way of communication. People all over the world share their cultures and beliefs through their language and interact with each other. Aside from social factors, language plays an important economic role. Nowadays it is not enough to speak one language; many employers prefer employees, who are multilingual. Moreover, many children are growing up multilingual, which is regarded as a huge advantage. In larger terms, they are seen as positive result of our globalised world. Besides this, English is the world language and connects the world. Many schools in foreign countries started offering English lessons in primary schools to increase the number of fluent English speakers. According to this, many teachers try to optimise their lessons and way of teaching. Second language acquisition has become a huge field for further research.Theories and models are getting improved in order to create better learning environments and help teachers to use authentic and optimised methods in their lessons. Many theories and models underline the significance of motivation during language acquiring processes. But how important is motivation in second language acquisition and what effect does it have while acquiring a new language? This term paper will give a brief definition of the term motivation. Then it will present some important and influential motivation theories in order to discuss the influences on second language acquisition. Finally, it will answer the question what teachers can do to increase the motivation in language classrooms. [...]

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2,3, http: //www.uni-jena.de/ (Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: Second Language Learning, language: English, abstract: "The limits of my language are the limits of my world." This quotation by Ludwig Wittgenstein, a famous philosopher of the 19th century, shows how important second language learning is in our modern society. Language is one of the main components of the society and culture of the people who speak it. People speaking different languages are important for the community in which they work and live, because they can connect different cultural groups. Besides this social factor, there is an economic need for multilingual people as well. Apart from the requirement of translators and interpreters, there are an increasing number of jobs where people are required to interact with people from foreign countries. The ability of communicating in two or more language can be an essential reason for getting your dream job. Another advantage of speaking different languages is that it makes travelling much easier and gives you the opportunity of maintaining friendships with people from all over the world. Nowadays most children start learning a second and even a third language when they are still very young. Mostly they are not aware of the benefits of speaking different languages for their later lives. They simply learn it because it is in the curriculum of their school, which is designed for the needs of society rather than for the learner's interests. This does not seem like a good point of departure for a successful learning process. So it is the teacher's major challenge to motivate the students to put effort in learning the foreign language. But how does motivation influence second language learning? This paper will define motivation and introduce different motivation theories. Then it will discuss the influences of motivation on second language learni

This volume - the second in this series concerned with motivation and foreign language learning - includes papers presented at a colloquium on second language motivation at the American Association for Applied Linguistics as well as a number of specially commissioned surveys.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: 1,3, University of Hildesheim (Englisch als Fremdsprache), course: Language Acquisition, language: English, abstract: This paper is about motivation in second language acquisition. First the term “motivation” will be defined and explained. Afterwards this paper will explain what different kinds of motivation exist and how they help to learn language. I will focus on the work of Rod Ellis and Robert C. Gardner as well as the works of Kimberly A. Noels. The final part of the paper will discuss motivation in the classroom and how to improve the motivation of students as a teacher. For this part I will focuse on the works of J. Brophy. Motivation is often named together with aptitude. Therefore it is vital to define the difference between aptitude and motivation. Ellis (2008:75) states while aptitude describes the “cognitive abilities that underlie successful L2 acquisition, motivation involves the attitudes and affective states that influence the degree of effort that learners make to learn an L2”. So aptitude is a more or less stable component which the individual can not directly interfere with. Motivation on the other hand is a component that can change comparatively fast and can be altered by the learner himself. Gardner (2001) writes that motivation describes the driving force behind the effort of a learner. Motivation consists of three elements. The first element is “effort”. A more motivated learner will put more effort in his or her studies. He will be open to do extra work in order to improve his language skills, spend more time with studying for the language and even deal with the subject on a subconscious level. [...]

Offering a historical and empirical account, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the socio-educational model of second language acquisition. This approach to understanding motivational variables that promote success in the learning of a second or foreign language - distinguishing between language classroom motivation and language learning motivation - is a major one in the history of this field of research. Chapters include a discussion of the definition and measurement of motivation; historical foundations of the model; recent studies with the International Attitude Motivation Test Battery for English as a foreign language in different countries; the implications of the model to the classroom context; and a discussion of criticisms and misconceptions of the model. The book provides graduate students and researchers with unique coverage of this research-oriented approach as well as serving as a source book for the area. It is ideal for courses on motivation in second language learning, or as a supplemental text for research-oriented courses in applied linguistics, educational psychology, or language research in general.

Seminar paper from the year 2020 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, grade: 2,3, University of Cologne, language: English, abstract: This paper will look at one important factor in mastering the acquisition of a second language - motivation. It will be argued that the development of positive attitudes and motivation has a great impact on an individual's success in second language learning. Evidence for these claims will be based on different studies, including one by Moyer (1999) on highly motivated subjects learning German and another by Pfenninger and Singleton (2016) which compares data from motivation questionnaires and language experience essays completed by 200 Swiss learners of English at both the beginning and the end of secondary school. Various researchers believe that age is the one factor which determines whether a subject is able to master a second language to a native-like level or not. However, in this paper it is argued that other factors such as motivational matters also play a vital role in the acquisition of a second language. If indeed this is the case, different concepts of motivation need to be taken into consideration.

This volume chronicles a revolution in our thinking about what makes students want to learn languages and what causes them to persist in that difficult and rewarding adventure. Topics in this book include the internal structures of and external connections with foreign language motivation; exploring adult language learning motivation, self-efficacy, and anxiety; comparing the motivation and learning strategies of students of Japanese and Spanish; and enhancing the theory of language learning motivation from many psychological and social perspectives.

Bringing together motivation-related practical concerns and debates from diverse international contexts and educational settings where English is learned, this book shows how locally produced insights and issues can have wider global significance, resonating with the experiences and concerns of English teachers and learners across the world.

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 86% (High Distinction), Monash University Melbourne (School of Linguistics), course: Second Language Acquisition, language: English, abstract: Why do people learn second languages? Why do for example Australians study Japanese or Korean people study French? The answers to these questions are important, according to Rebecca Oxford (1994), because ‘motivation is considered by many [researchers] to be one of the main determining factors in success in developing a second or foreign language’ (p.12). Gardner even claims L2 motivation to be the ‘primary factor’ in L2 learning in his socio-educational model (1994, p.361). Therefore, an investigation of the components of motivation and the influence of motivation on L2 learning seems quite reasonable. This essay will focus on the concept of motivation in second language learning. Initially, the definition of the term motivation shall be discussed and this will be followed by an identification of the key terms. Then the attention shall be drawn to research results concerning the importance of motivation as influencing second language learning. The essay will discuss Gardners quantitative approach and a recent research of Ushioda shall be taken into account that seeks to provide an alternative qualtitative approach. This approach focuses on students’ beliefs and thinkings rather than on measurable and observable activity. A final chapter will focus on implications for teaching.