As second language professionals, we often get asked about the fastest, best, and most foolproof method to learn a language. Some of us suggest finding a language partner or immersing oneself in the country where the language is spoken and falling in love with someone who only speaks that language. In essence, we’re advising people to tap into the crucial ingredient for language learning — motivation.
While learning a new language after childhood can be difficult, the majority of highly successful language learners are often very strongly motivated. Researchers who study the relationship between motivation and language learning classify motivation into two categories: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsically motivated learners are motivated from within themselves and may be inspired to learn a language to communicate with family members or to provide cognitive and social advantages to their children. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, comes from outside sources, such as a student needing to pass a language exam to fulfill a language requirement for school.
According to the pioneering research of Professors Robert Gardner and Wallace Lambert, motivation is not the only factor affecting language learning. They suggest other qualities like aptitude and integrative motivation, which implies feeling a connection to a language and culture, can also contribute to success. Conversely, instrumental motivation, which stems from practical reasons like salary bonuses and admission requirements, tends to be less powerful.
An expert in language learning, Professor Zoltán Dörnyei, suggests that people’s motivation levels can change over time and are frequently impacted by various factors like conversational partners, task interest, and engagement. For example, a person’s motivation levels may be influenced by a conversation partner that is involved and interested or the task at hand may be less engaging and affect motivation levels. Motivation can also be contagious, similar to the way people unconsciously mirror the body language of others.
Another expert in language learning, Professor Deborah Tannen, explains that people’s lives are composed of a series of conversations and that wanting to have certain types of conversations with people can serve as a powerful motivator for learning a new language. Dörnyei’s "L2 motivational self system" model highlights the importance of learners constructing an ideal self-image of a successful second language speaker and having a roadmap of tasks and strategies to achieve this ideal L2 persona.
Finally, some people may have high motivation levels but still struggle to learn a language due to poor aptitude, despite their success in other fields. More recent approaches have started to study exceptional language learners to understand their cognitive skills and how they achieve native-level proficiency.
However, what about individuals who lack the fortunate combination of innate abilities and motivation, or who lack access to quality instruction? As Steven Pinker, a noted evolutionary psychologist, linguist, and bestselling scientific author, has often emphasized, our behavior primarily arises from the neurophysiological activities within our brains. Therefore, there is no evidence to suggest any element of magic or supernatural powers at play. The notion that some individuals are inherently wired to be exceptional language learners is intriguing and possibly desirable, as it provides an excuse for some of us who struggle with language acquisition.
Alison Mackey is a distinguished professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and Lancaster University.