Introduction

초록

In our daily lives, we often use expressions such as “I’m not motivated to do this work” or “Brad is so motivated to learn how to play the new PlayStation game.” The word motivation, in these cases, is not different from the person’s desire or willingness to start (and also continue) the task at hand. Because the use of motivation is often related to the on-the-spot, here-and-now situation, a historical analysis of the origin of any particular type of motivation is not usually conducted. For example, although Sumin, an EFL (English-as-a-foreign language) student in South Korea, may say, “I’m quite motivated to learn English,” the reason for Sumin’s motivation is not sought. Instead, teachers and parents have often used the student’s motivation to increase the student’s levels of learning engagement and eventual proficiency in a foreign language. The fundamental reason for wanting to or not wanting to learn English is not usually the main theme of investigation. Sumin may not want to learn English because she does not imagine herself going abroad. She may not be motivated to learn English because she does not particularly like the current president of the U.S. We can find various reasons for generating, maintaining, or terminating the motivation to learn English. © 2021, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.