Motivational frameworks in a classroom context: exploring their utility in measuring LOTE learners' motivation

This thesis responds to the current motivational crisis of secondary school students studying a language other than English (LOTE) in England. The motivation of native English speakers living in anglophone countries is unique as studies often suggest that learners have a complacent, monolingual mindset towards language learning due to the status of English as a lingua franca. Limited research has been carried out on the motivation of secondary school Spanish learners in England and so this thesis explores the common factors underpinning the motivation of these learners by assessing the utility of two motivational frameworks, the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT).

The research approach was quantitative and the data collection method was an online questionnaire. A representative sample of 338 students aged 11-16 across two secondary schools participated. The findings revealed that both motivational frameworks contained valuable and distinctive constructs for analysing the motivation of learners in this context. Participants were mostly influenced by enjoyment, the immediate learning environment, and promotion focussed motives. In line with previous research, participants lacked motivation to study a LOTE, as ambivalent responses were consistently found across all factors. The participants were unable to fully conceptualise their future L2 selves and did not feel pressure from others to learn Spanish. However, the participants did show interest in engaging with Spanish culture but reported having limited opportunities available to achieve this.

This thesis recommends conducting further research on the impact of the learning experience and emotions for LOTE students. It was evident that aspects from both the L2MSS and SDT provide valuable insights of LOTE motivation, but further research on the eight factors identified through analysis of the data would support the development of a questionnaire that can be used nationally to analyse the motivation of secondary school LOTE students in England.