Age‐Related Differences in the Motivation of Learning English as a Foreign Language: Attitudes, Selves, and Motivated Learning Behavior

2008/04/10 by Judit Kormos, Kata Csizér · 7 citations
Arts and Humanities · #EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning #Linguistic Education and Pedagogy #Second Language Learning and Teaching

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2008.00443.x

openalex publication_date 2008/04/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/08

Abstract

Our study describes the motivation for learning English as a foreign language in three distinct learner populations: secondary school pupils, university students, and adult language learners. Questionnaire data were collected from 623 Hungarian students. The main factors affecting students' second language (L2) motivation were language learning attitudes and the Ideal L2 self, which provides empirical support for the main construct of the theory of the L2 Motivational Self‐System ( Dörnyei, 2005 ). Models of motivated behavior varied across the three investigated learner groups. For the secondary school pupils, it was interest in English‐language cultural products that affected their motivated behavior, whereas international posture as an important predictive variable was only present in the two older age groups.

Citations

• Motivation, Self‐confidence, and Group Cohesion in the Foreign Language Classroom
• Willingness to Communicate in a Second Language: The Japanese EFL Context
• Towards a Full Model of Second Language Learning: An Empirical Investigation
• Conceptualizing Willingness to Communicate in a L2: A Situational Model of L2 Confidence and Affiliation
• Attitudes, Motivation, and Second Language Learning: A Meta–Analysis of Studies Conducted by Gardner and Associates
• Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect.
• Language anxiety and achievement

Cited by

• Characteristics of Weak and Strong Readers in a Foreign Language
• Systems of Goals, Attitudes, and Self-related Beliefs in Second-Language-Learning Motivation
• Modelling the Role of Inter-Cultural Contact in the Motivation of Learning English as a Foreign Language
• The comparative analysis of motivation, attitudes and selves: The case of English and German in Hungary
• Exploring the interplay between Iranian EFL learners’ first language (L1) literacy resources and their performance on L2 receptive skills
• Judit Kormos [wikipedia]
• Kata Csizér [wikipedia]

Related

• Language Learners’ Motivational Profiles and Their Motivated Learning Behavior
• Second Language Motivation
• The Motivational Foundation of Learning Languages Other Than Global English: Theoretical Issues and Research Directions
• Systems of Goals, Attitudes, and Self-related Beliefs in Second-Language-Learning Motivation
• Modelling the Role of Inter-Cultural Contact in the Motivation of Learning English as a Foreign Language