Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and its impact on students’ performance in the EFL classroom

When it comes to learning a second language motivation is key. Therefore, the present study sheds some light onto both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation the main reasons people embark on learning a language as well as how to increase or maintain motivation through the process. To gather the information a mixed research approach was implemented. The participants were eight grade students from a private institution in Heredia, Costa Rica and university students from Ciudad Neily whose age range from 13 to 48. The samples were gathered through a survey to find out their perceptions on the language and possible motivators and how it affected their performance. The results unveiled that intrinsically motivated students outperform students who only possess an instrumental motivation. Additionally, class dynamics along with professors’ attitudes play a vital role when learning a language.