Motivational Orientation and academic achievement in non-Iranian Arabic-speaking learners of Persian

Motivation is one of the factors which can have effective and verifiable role in learning process. Hence, this study examines the relationship between Motivational Orientations and academic achievement of Arab learners in learning Persian as a Second Language. 64 learners of Persian Language were selected from Persian Language Center of Imam Khomeini International University in Qazvin as statistical sample.
The data collecting tools were Language Learning Orientation Scale by Noels and et al. (2000) and the Grade Point Average of learners in four language skills (reading, listening, writing and speaking). The learners responded to questionnaire and then data from questionnaire were analyzed by statistical tests. The results showed that in learning Farsi -as a second language, there is a significant positive relationship between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement. There was also a significant negative relationship between amotivation and academic achievement, but there was no significant relationship between extrinsic motivation and academic achievement. Also, the results of multivariate regression analysis showed that intrinsic motivation has the biggest role in predicting academic achievement of these learners. The results of this study show the importance of Persian language learner's intrinsic motivation in classrooms and educational resources, and this in turn will lead to the academic achievement of the Persian learners.