A look at second language learners' task motivation

Resumen

In this study, part of a larger project, I explore a) the possible relationship between task motivation as operationalized in Dörnyei's Process model of motivation and linguistic variables in a written production task, and b) the differences in performance between two task motivation groups. This model has proven valid with oral argumentative tasks and now its main tenets are tested using a semi-guided writing activity. 65 students of Spanish at Georgetown University took part in this project. In this preliminary analysis, correlations between task motivation and linguistic variables were carried out to ascertain the possible relationships. Also, Independent samples t-test analysis served as a tool to establish possible significant differences among two task motivation groups. Results show that task motivation indeed holds a significant positive linear relationship with the linguistic variables investigated. Results also show the high motivation group significantly outperforms the low motivation group.