An Interactive and Dynamic Perspective of L2 Motivation while Performing Tasks over Different Timescales

Motivation for learning a new language does not have an all-or-none impact. It is gradually formed and fluctuated over time and on each timescale has varying levels of influence on a person’s endeavor to learn a language. At the present time, scholars claim that throughout the Second Language Development (SLD) different timescales interact with each other and this interaction is nonlinear, complex and dynamic in nature (de Bot, 2015). The present study attempted to investigate the motivational dynamics of a group of language learners in longer timescales composed of a number of tasks performed on shorter timescales. Moreover, it scrutinized the participants’ potential attribution for the variation in their motivational intensity. Ten participants were interviewed at the onset, while performing tasks and at the end of the course to better picture the interplay of different motivational themes over time. The findings confirmed temporal variation in participants’ motivation. Moreover, the data revealed the fact that motivational themes were not equally effective over the course and during task performance. External incentives and desired L2 proficiency as two major initial motivational factors, for instance, were gradually replaced by internal incentives and L2 learning enjoyment over the semester. However, personal pursuits in L2 learning were equally influential over these timescales. Moreover, L2 future image and positive feelings towards L2 speakers were the least referred factors over all the timescales. Gender and culture-specificity of some of the motivational themes was another finding of this study. As for the attributions behind their motivation, the participants referred to reasons such as parents’ pressure, passion for pursuing personal goals, the kind of tasks, the harmony between their character type and the task type, and gaining more experience through the course. In sum, participants’ motivation was composed of a web of interrelated and dynamic factors which varied over different timescales. Finally, some implications were driven from the findings of the study.