“We Are Here to Learn Something Useful”: Contextualization of Adult Learners’ Motivation

There has been an increasing interest to understand students’ achievement motivation in foreign language learning, but previous studies primarily relied on quantitative data of questionnaires to generalise students’ learning orientations without considering contextual factors. Considering the context-dependent nature of learning motivation, it is necessary to obtain a deeper understanding of motivational developments under various learning contexts. In terms of the research target, while younger students in K-12 education have been the focus, the understanding of adult learners’ achievement motivation in foreign language learning is insufficient. To fill in those gaps, the present study examined adult learners’ motivational changes under different contexts in a foreign language classroom. An ethnographic multi-case study was adopted, focusing on six students. Findings showed that all the 6 students demonstrated an extrinsic-oriented motivation in the foreign language course that focused primarily on the utility of learning. The reasons shaping such a motivational orientation were observed to be stable among high-achieving students, while fluctuating among low-achieving students due to the change of learning contexts in the classroom, such as the context of peer comparison and the context of high-stake exam. Those context-dependent changes across time could provide pedagogical insights to the instructors with adult learners.