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BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS, MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATIONS, EFFORT, AND VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE

A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2021

Abdullah Alamer Open the ORCID record for Abdullah Alamer [Opens in a new window]
Abdullah Alamer*
Affiliation:
Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Saudi Arabia King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia University of New South Wales (UNSW), Australia
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Abdullah Alamer, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Al-Hasa campus, Saudi Arabia. E-mail: aa.alamer@kfu.edu.sa
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Abstract

This study examined an integrated process model of second language motivation based on the framework of self-determination theory (SDT). Specifically, this research investigated the extent to which satisfying basic psychological needs (BPN) are related to SDT orientations and, in turn, to the effort expended and how these factors relate collectively to vocabulary knowledge. Revised scales assessing students’ BPN (the Basic Psychological Needs of Second Language Scale) and SDT orientations (the Self-Determination Theory of Second Language Scale) were considered and tested using a higher-order confirmatory factor analysis solution. The results of the structural model showed that BPN were only directly related to vocabulary knowledge, which indicated their direct importance for the attainment of the vocabulary. No other indirect effects through SDT orientations or effort were identified. Nonetheless, SDT orientations were both directly and indirectly linked to vocabulary knowledge over and above the role of expended effort. The results elucidated motivational pathways that yielded pedagogical implications for language learning.

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Type
Research Article
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Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 44 , Issue 1 , March 2022 , pp. 164 - 184
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© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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