The Interaction of L2 Motivation Constructs and Learner Variables in Korean Middle School Learners of English

Abstract

Motivation is a learner construct that is positively correlated with foreign languagelearning (Dornyei, 2009). In this light, the present study investigates the nature ofKorean middle school students’ motivation to learn English by analyzing motivatedbehavior and two L2 motivation measurements (i.e., L2 Motivational Self System(L2MSS) and international posture (IP)) through a comprehensive questionnaire. Inaddition, the effects of gender, school type, and L2 achievement on the L2 motivationconstructs are also examined. The questionnaire was administered to 95 participantsand results were analyzed using Pearson correlation and an independent-samples t-test. Results show that motivated behavior correlated with L2MSS and partially with IP andthat L2MSS positively correlated with IP. In terms of gender and school type, nosignificant differences were found with motivated behavior and L2MSS but differenceswere partially found for IP. Additionally, the most significant differences were found inL2 achievement. This study suggests that Korean middle school learners of Englishwhose motivated behavior is influenced by L2MSS and IP which in turn showdifferences according to learner variables. [