Toward a Basic Needs-Supportive World Language Pedagogy: Four Illustrative Examples

Abstract

Autonomy, competence, and relatedness—the three basic psychological needs of self-determination theory (SDT)—have consistently been shown to underlie language learners’ intrinsic motivation, engagement, and persistence in language learning. Synthesizing findings of recent studies in the world (i.e., “foreign”) language teaching and learning, this article presents a hypothesized framework for a “needs-supportive world language pedagogy” through which world language learners’ basic needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are satisfied in an interdependent and mutually-facilitatory way. To bridge theory and practice, we illustrate four examples of world language activities and strategies which could be classified as “needs-supportive” for the use and adaptation of world and foreign language educators in internationally diverse language learning contexts.