2018 Annual Conference of China English Language Education Association (CELEA2018)

211 / 2018-07-13 11:00:49

The relationship between task motivation and L2 motivation: an empirical study

task motivation,L2 motivation,task based language learning

Plenary track > 中国特色二语习得研究

The study investigates the components of task motivation and their associations with general L2 motivation. A questionnaire of task motivation was created based on in-depth interviews with a group of EFL learners at a Chinese university (N = 38) and were then administered to a larger sample (N = 96) in the same setting. L2 motivation was measured by means of an instrument based on Dörnyei's L2 Self System. Separate exploratory factor analyses were performed to explore the internal structures of task motivation and L2 motivation respectively. Then a composite dataset combing the items for task motivation and L2 motivation was subjected to a further exploratory factor analysis. The analysis showed that the items for task motivation and L2 motivation were separable in the composite dataset, implying that task motivation and L2 motivation were conceptually distinct constructs. To map the relationship between the two types of motivation, structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to identify a model that fit the data. A hypothesized hierarchical model was rejected where the two first-order latent variables, task motivation and L2 motivation, were correlated and underlay a second-order factor called motivation. Subsequently, a bifactor model was established with satisfactory fit indexes. The model confirmed the separation between task motivation and L2 motivation: learners' attitudes toward the oral task did not share common variance with the more generalized orientation for learning English.