Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

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

  • Published:
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The variable success in learning a second language (L2) may be best explained by varying degrees of motivation. This study investigated whether individual differences in appraisal dimensions of motivation explained explicit and implicit syntactic knowledge. Participants learned three syntactic structures under implicit and explicit training conditions. They also completed two motivation questionnaires before instruction. Syntactic development was assessed at early and late stages of acquisition. Results indicated superior performance on the tests of explicit knowledge, but a limited effect for the role of motivation in its development. However, with improvement in implicit knowledge at delayed testing, positive relationships emerged with several motivational dimensions. The results support L2 theoretical perspectives that posit different roles for explicit and implicit knowledge at early and late stages of L2 grammar, respectively. The findings also indicate that variation in learners’ patterns of stimulus appraisals may contribute to variable success in the development of implicit knowledge.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ashby, F. G., Turner, B. O., & Horvitz, J. C. (2010). Cortical and basal ganglia contributions to habit learning and automaticity. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14(5), 208–215.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bialystok, E., & Fröhlich, M. (1978). Variables of classroom achievement in second language learning. The Modern Language Journal, 62(7), 327–336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birdsong, D. (2006). Age and second language acquisition and processing: A selective overview. In M. Gullberg & P. Indefrey (Eds.), The cognitive neuroscience of second language acquisition (pp. 9–49). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Depue, R. A., & Morrone-Strupinsky, J. V. (2005). A neurobehavioral model of affiliative bonding: Implications for conceptualizing a human trait of affiliation. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28(3), 313–395.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei, Z. (1998). Motivation in second and foreign language learning. Language Teaching, 31(03), 117–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei, Z. (2009a). The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identities and the L2 self (pp. 9–42). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei, Z. (2009b). The psychology of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei, Z., & Csizér, K. (2002). Some dynamics of language attitudes and motivation: Results of a longitudinal nationwide survey. Applied Linguistics, 23(4), 421–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2009). Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Edelman, G. M. (1992). Bright air brilliant fire: On the matter of mind. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrman, M. E., & Oxford, R. L. (1995). Cognition plus: Correlates of language learning success. The Modern Language Journal, 79(1), 67–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eichenbaum, H., & Cohen, N. J. (2001). From conditioning to conscious recollection: Memory systems of the brain. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, N. C. (2002). Frequency effects in language processing: A review with implications for theories of implicit and explicit language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(2), 143–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, N. C. (2005). At the interface: Dynamic interactions of explicit and implicit language knowledge. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(2), 305–352.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, R. (2004). The definition and measurement of explicit knowledge. Language Learning, 54(2), 227–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, R. (2005). Measuring implicit and explicit knowledge of a second language: A psychometric study. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(02), 141–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, R. (2009a). Implicit and explicit learning, knowledge and instruction. In R. Ellis, S. Loewen, C. Elder, R. Erlam, J. Philp, & H. Reinders (Eds.), Implicit and explicit knowledge in second language learning, testing and teaching (pp. 3–25). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, R. (2009b). Measuring implicit and explicit knowledge of a second language. In R. Ellis, et al. (Eds.), Implicit and explicit knowledge in second language learning, testing and teaching (pp. 31–64). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Forster, K. I., & Forster, J. C. (2015). DMDX (Version 5.1.3.4) [Computer program]. Retrieved from http://www.u.arizona.edu/~kforster/dmdx/dmdx.htm.

  • Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1959). Motivation variables in second language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 13, 266–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second language learning. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, R. C., Smythe, P. C., & Brunet, G. R. (1977). Intensive second language study: Effects on attitudes, motivation and French achievement. Language Learning, 27(2), 243–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulstijn, J. H. (2005). Theoretical and empirical issues in the study of implicit and explicit second-language learning: Introduction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(02), 129–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kensinger, E. A. (2009). Phases of influence: How emotion modulates the formation and retrieval of declarative memories. In M. S. Gazzaniga (Ed.), The cognitive neurosciences (4th ed., pp. 725–737). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, N. (2004). The neurobiology of procedural memory. In J. H. Schumann, et al. (Eds.), The neurobioloy of learning: Perspectives from second language acquisition (pp. 23–42). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, N., Mikesell, L., Joaquin, A. D. L., Mates, A. W., & Schumann, J. H. (2009). The interactional instinct: The evolution and acquisition of language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Luciana, M. (2001). Dopamine-opiate modulations of reward seeking behavior: Implications for the functional assessment of prefrontal development. In C. A. Nelson & M. Luciana (Eds.), Handbook of developmental cognitive neuroscience (pp. 647–662). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masgoret, A.-M., & Gardner, R. C. (2003). Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning: A meta-analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and associates. Language Learning, 53(1), 123–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin, B. (1990). Restructuring. Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 113–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan-Short, K., Faretta-Stutenberg, M., Brill-Schuetz, K. A., Carpenter, H., & Wong, P. C. M. (2014). Declarative and procedural memory as individual differences in second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 17(01), 56–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paradis, M. (1994). Neurolinguistic aspects of implicit and explicit memory: Implications for bilingualism and SLA. In N. C. Ellis (Ed.), Implicit and explicit learning of languages (pp. 393–419). London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paradis, M. (2004). A neurolinguistic theory of bilingualism. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Paradis, M. (2009). Declarative and procedural determinants of second languages (Vol. 40). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Porges, S. W. (2003). Social engagement and attachment: A phylogenetic perspective. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1008(1), 31–47.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reber, A. S., & Allen, R. (2000). Individual differences in implicit learning: Implications for the evolution of consciousness. In R. Kunzendorf & B. Wallace (Eds.), Individual differences in conscious experience (pp. 227–250). Amsterdam: Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, L., & Meyer, A. (2012). Individual differences in second language learning: Introduction. Language Learning, 62, 1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, P. (2002). Theorising and updating aptitude. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 69–93). Philadelphia: Benjamins.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, K. R. (1984). Emotion as a multi-component process: A model and some cross-cultural data. In P. Sharer (Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 5, pp. 37–63)., Emotions, relationships and health. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

  • Schuchert, S. A. (2004). The neurobiology of attention. In J. H. Schumann, et al. (Eds.), The neurobioloy of learning: Perspectives from second language acquisition (pp. 23–42). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumann, J. H. (1997). The neurobiology of affect in language learning. Taunton, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumann, J. H. (2010). Applied linguistics and the neurobiology of language. In R. B. Kaplan (Ed.), The oxford handbook of applied linguistics (2nd ed., pp. 244–259). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumann, J. H., & Wood, L. A. (2004). The neurobiology of motivation. In J. H. Schumann, et al. (Eds.), The neurobioloy of learning: Perspectives from second language acquisition (pp. 23–42). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumann, J. H., Crowell, S. E., Jones, N. E., Lee, N., Schuchert, S. A., & Wood, L. A. (2004). The neurobiology of learning: Perspectives from second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serafini, E. J. (2013). Cognitive and psychosocial factors in the long-term development of implicit and explicit second language knowledge in adult learners of Spanish at increasing proficiency. Doctoral dissertation. Retrieved from https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/559512.

  • Sorace, A. (1996). The use of acceptability judgments in second language acquisition research. In W. Ritchie & T. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 375–409). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ullman, M. T. (2001). The neural basis of lexicon and grammar in first and second language: The declarative/procedural model. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 4, 105–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ullman, M. T. (2004). Contributions of memory circuits to language: The declarative/procedural model. Cognition, 92, 231–270.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ullman, M. T. (2005). A cognitive neuroscience perspective on second language acquisition: The declarative/procedural model. In C. Sanz (Ed.), Processing approaches to adult SLA: Theory and practice (pp. 141–178). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, R. (2013). Investigating linguistic knowledge of a second language and its relationship to general language proficiency and individual learner differences in an EFL context. Doctoral dissertation. Retrieved from https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/handle/2292/20499.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge collaborations by Ali Salehnia and the teachers in the language institute where the data were collected. The authors also thank all of the participants who voluntarily took part in this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Literature and Foreign Languages, English Department, University of Kashan, Qotb Ravandi Blvd., Kashan, Iran

    Amirabbas Rafiee Fazel, Mehdi Latifi & M. Raouf Moini

Authors
  1. Amirabbas Rafiee Fazel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mehdi Latifi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M. Raouf Moini
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amirabbas Rafiee Fazel.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rafiee Fazel, A., Latifi, M. & Moini, M.R. Motivation Among Pre-intermediate Iranian Language Learners: From Explicit Knowledge Toward Implicit Syntactic Development. J Psycholinguist Res 47, 931–945 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-018-9567-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-018-9567-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation