Development and assessment of a scale of motivation for learning English, using self-determination theory

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This paper reports on a development and assessment of a scale of motivation for learning English, targeted on use with Japanese college students, using self-determination theory as the theoretical framework. Study one explored the factor structure of the original data (N=510) through exploratory factor analysis, and yielded six subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis supported an adequate fit of the factor structure with the covariance matrix of the data. Reliability assessment indicated moderate to high internal consistency. A series of correlational analyses among the subscales provided support for the construct validity of the scale. Study two was performed with different participants (N=277) in order to further investigate the reliability and validity of the scale. Reliability was found to be at an adequate level except for the introjected regulation subscale. Inter-subscale correlations were in general agreement with the theoretical continuum, indicating acceptable construct validity. Concurrent validity was assessed through t tests between English-major students and non-English-major students, and through correlations of the subscales with the participants' will to learn English. Both proved an adequate accordance of the scale with the self-determination continuum. Comparisons with other studies indicated that the scale shares important features with other self-determination-based scales of motivation. Particularly, it was found that identified regulation correlated more negatively with amotivation and more positively with will to learn English than did intrinsic motivation, as evidenced by other studies.