Self-determined motivation in language learning beyond the classroom: Interpersonal, intergroup, and intercultural processes

Abstract

A good deal of research has underscored the utility of Self-Determination Theory for understanding students' and teachers' motivational processes in the language classroom. However, learning and using a new language also takes place beyond formal educational contexts during interactions with members of the target language community, where motivational dynamics are no less important. In this chapter, we review research that examines how interpersonal processes involving target language speakers and other significant people (e.g., family members, friends, etc.) support or undermine learners' self-determination, and ultimately their willingness to communicate in the language. We also consider how these interpersonal and intrapersonal processes reciprocally influence societal and cultural dynamics and how the motivational processes involved in language learning are also integral to the process of acculturation.