Must Motivation Come from Within? Narrative of a Language Learning Experience

It has been largely argued that intrinsic motivation is the best and most effective in sustaining language learning. Deci and Flaste (1996) posit that motivation must come from within. While this might be possible and effective in contexts where learners have a personal interest in learning a language, it is not always the case for those learning English as a foreign or additional language. The reasons could be that learners are already struggling with other languages used as medium of instruction in their contexts and/or discipline-specific interests such that their internal drive is tilted towards these. It might therefore take an external fuel to spur their desire to learn English. Also, motivation is a cultural construct, deeply embedded within and shaped by societal norms, values and individual experiences. This article presents a counter argument to Deci and Flaste’s. It leverages Deci and Ryan’s (1985) Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and my personal language learning and teaching experience to show that external factors, contrary to the view that they gradually impede intrinsic motivation, have the potential to foster it and hence makes a case for educators, especially in foreign or additional language learning contexts, to create supportive learning environments that spur and foster learners’ motivation while taking into account socio-cultural and individual differences.