Foreign Language Motivation and Activities During Emerging Adolescence: The Role of Language and Basic Psychological Needs

Abstract

This study aimed at evaluating the explanatory value of basic psychological needs (BPN) for foreign language-related motivation and activities in a sample of higher education students and volunteers abroad. According to the self-determination theory, satisfaction of the BPN facilitates forms of motivational regulation and in turn promotes foreign language activities. In a structural equation modeling with N = 435 participants (n = 193 German volunteers during their time abroad and n = 277 German higher education students residing in Germany) external regulation and intrinsic motivation explained receptive (reading, listening) and productive activities (speaking, writing). Moreover, competence satisfaction as well as relatedness satisfaction proved to be significant predictors of external and intrinsic motivation. Generalizability of results regarding students versus volunteers and with respect to the language learned is discussed, as are starting points for future interventions in the setting of foreign language learning outside the classroom.