In the past three decades, a large amount of research on second languagemotivation has been conducted within Gardner's social-psychologicalframework. Admittedly, this model of L2 motivation has received manypositive reviews for having presented a more thorough understanding ofhow and why students learn an L2.However, Gardner's L2 motivation theory has been challengedcriticism since the 1990s because empirical evidence available shows thatthis theory cannot account for second language learning fully. It is farfrom adequacy for just one dichotomy of Gardner to explain problemsarising in second language context, in which many factors areinteractively intertwined.
北 京 师 范 大 学
硕士研究生学位论文题报告
论 文 题 目An Action Research on Improving
Students’Motivation Through Listening Teaching
在英语听力教学中提高学生学习动机的行动研究
一、立论依据
（选题的研究意义、国内外研究现状分析）
2.Literature review.
a.Motivation.
Recent decades witnessed many researches on motivation of L2 learning at home and aboard. First,Gardener andLambert and Gardner's work onthe social psychology of language learning in the bilingual context ofCanada started the serious study of motivation from the sociallanguage-learning perspective. They conducted second languagelearning motivation research. (Gardner 1985) Their early work suggestedthat integrative motivation correlated most strongly with measures of L2achievement while subsequent research has shown equal importance andinteraction of boththe integrativeandinstrumental motivations.Based ona social psychological framework, their research linked L2motivation with attitudes toward the community of the target languagespeaker. In addition, it also involved willingness to communicate withtarget language speakers and the degree to which non-native speakers canidentify themselves with the target language community. Gardner has played a most important role in the field about languagelearning motivation mainlybecause his dichotomy of motivation, as astarting point, has paved the way for much subsequent work in the area.Gardner (1985:203) defines motivation to learn an L2 as "the extent to whichthe individual works or strives to learn the language because of a desire to doso and the satisfaction experienced in this activity". This definition includes i)effort expended to achieve a goal; ii) a desire to learn the language; and iii)satisfaction with the task of learning the language.
In Guiyang, the capital city of Guizhou Province, Englishcoursehas beenofferedin most primary schools.Butmostsuburban primary schools do not have enough qualifiedEnglish teachers toofferEnglish classes for the students.When these students entered middle school, it is therealbeginning for the students to learn Englishwhen they enter middle school. Due to poor family education environment or atmosphere,moststudentshave not developed agood habit of learning.It is foundby the authorthat most students(about 70%)demotivated to learn English after a few months since they became junior school students owing to several reasons.In class, most of them seldom actively participated in teaching activities or answered questions. After class, they seldom listened to English.Becausethey have invested so little effort to learn English, they could not understand, read or speak English.For them, learning English is only afrustrating experience which made them encounter failures again and again.In English class, theyalwaysgot nervousand feltembarrassedbecause their own disappointingperformance.As a result, they lost interest, confidence in learning English. They even thought that English is awful because this subject only brought themembarrassment, sadness, a feeling of nervous orscared, but no sense of achievement at all, andsomeof them even hate the subject.They lacked learning motivation. Motivation can be divided in two broad categories, Extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. ( Paul. E& Don K, 2005) Extrinsic motivation is the motivation to engage in an activity as a means to an end, whereas intrinsic motivation is the motivation to be involved in an activity for its own sake. (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002).Obviously, facing such group oftotallydemotivated students, to improve theirintrinsicmotivation, with which the students will feel interested and happy in learning English and would like to invest effort to learn English, becomes the core of the author’s teachingfocus.