Historical Development and Expansion of L2 Motivational Research

Abstract

This article offers a historical analysis of the main phases that the L2 motivation research has undergone. It presents a brief chronological account of the main theoretical developments in L2 motivation research to date. The discussion starts with a brief review of the social-psychological period, which was concerned with L2 motivational factors in intergroup relations. After that, it discusses the situated-cognitive period, which was interested in learners in classroom settings, and the process-oriented period concerned with language learners and their circumstances. The last part of this article discusses the recent emerging theories in the L2 motivation field and the revolutionary contribution they made to understand the relationship between students’ motivation and the achieved proficiency level. These theoretical studies include the recent themes that contributed massively to understanding the role of motivation in the process of learning a target language and the extent to which it determines the level of success achieved by its learners. Understanding language learners’ psychology enables practitioners to understand the role of L2 motivation and its implications in teaching a target language.