School Students’ Motivational Disposition: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

The present study attempts to highlight the age-related differences between secondary and high school students’ motivation within Dörnyei's (2005, 2009) framework of L2 motivational self system. To this end, 1670 male and female students studying at secondary and high school level, who had only learned English at school, filled out a questionnaire developed by Taguchi, Magid, and Papi (2009), and some took part in a semi-structured interview. The results of the independent samples t-test revealed a higher motivational disposition for secondary school students. Moreover, based on regression analyses, different factors predicted students’ ideal and ought-to L2 selves, learning experience, and intended effort. The results of the interviews also reinforced the quantitative findings. Considering the socio-educational context of Iran, the importance of immediate learning environment, significant others, and learners’ L2 dreams in increasing their intended effort and motivated learning behavior are discussed.