Motivation Among Pre-intermediate Iranian Language Learners: From Explicit Knowledge Toward Implicit Syntactic...

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Second Language Acquisition
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Variable success in second language (L2) learning is often linked to motivation levels.
• Understanding the interplay between motivation and different types of L2 knowledge is crucial for effective pedagogy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how individual differences in motivation appraisal dimensions predict explicit and implicit syntactic knowledge in L2 learners.
• To examine the role of motivation in the development of syntactic structures under varied learning conditions.

Main Methods:

• Participants underwent implicit and explicit training for three syntactic structures.
• Motivation was assessed using questionnaires prior to instruction.
• Syntactic development was evaluated at early and late stages of acquisition.

Main Results:

• Explicit syntactic knowledge showed superior performance but limited correlation with motivation.
• Implicit syntactic knowledge demonstrated positive relationships with motivational dimensions upon delayed testing.
• Motivation's influence was more pronounced on the development of implicit rather than explicit L2 knowledge.

Conclusions:

• L2 theoretical models suggesting distinct roles for explicit and implicit knowledge at different acquisition stages are supported.
• Individual differences in motivational appraisals are key factors contributing to variability in implicit L2 knowledge development.