The Effects of Sociolinguistic Differences on Motivation in L2 learners

Abstract

Abstract This thesis was written in an effort to get a better understanding of the relationship between the status of a language in global economy and politics and L2 learners’ motivation. To this end, we compare motivational attitudes towards second language learning in Dutch students of English and English students of Dutch and assess whether the differences in linguistic prestige could account for an inclination towards either type of motivation. Twenty-six Dutch and twenty English university students completed a survey consisting of 40 questions, which presented the participants with statements reflecting two types of motivation, i.e. integrative (affective incentives) and instrumental reasons (practical incentives). The results of the study indicated significant differences between the groups on most measures of integrative motivation. In contrast, no significant differences were found on instrumental motivation. The absence of significant differences in some measurements of the variables could be explained by the ever-growing focus of language teaching institutions on creating a curriculum that excites both integrative and instrumental motivation in students. This study proposes that the language education system should focus on perpetually improving their curriculum to make it more engaging and thus more motivating.