Motivation and demotivation in second language learning at Australian universities

Abstract

This research aims to identify the main factors underlying the motivation and demotivation of beginner students learning French, German, Italian and Spanish at Australian universities considering the context in which L2 learners are embedded. The theoretical basis for this research project is provided by previous studies on motivation and demotivation as listed by Dornyei (2001b; 2020b). The analysis of psychological/internal, pedagogical and socio-contextual/external variables involved in L2 learning (for an overview see Dornyei & Ushioda, 2011; Ushioda, 2020) is structured into three levels: micro, meso and macro (cf. Gayton, 2018; Gruba et al., 2016). The three levels correspond to three ..