At the Interface of the Socio-Educational Model, Self-Determination Theory and the L2 Motivational Self System Models

Although it is a key predictor of learners’ eventual proficiency in their target language (TL), motivation has been a tricky construct to define. As many language learning motivation (LLM) researchers have argued, motivation is best understood as an umbrella term for a broad concept that covers a variety of cognitive, affective and behavioural processes explaining: (1) why people decide to do something; (2) how long they will sustain the activity and (3) how much effort they will expend to pursue it (Boekaerts, 1995; Dörnyei, 2001). Indeed, a recent volume has a dozen or more chapters on different psychological constructs that arguably have motivational implications (see Mercer et al., 2012). Because of the diverse aspects of motivation, teachers and researchers might face a quandary deciding which constructs are most useful for understanding learners’ motivation in their particular social and educational context.