Abstract

The study of language learners’ motivation has long been considered a key, determining factor of success in second/foreign language acquisition. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), the more autonomously motivated learners are, the better they engage in an activity. To sustain autonomous motivation, the learners’ basic psychological needs (BPN) of autonomy, competence, and relatedness should be satisfied. Nevertheless, the role of these three components and their relation to autonomous motivation in the mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) context has not yet been addressed in the literature. Therefore, a social networking mobile application (WhatsApp) has been used to explore how teachers’ informal use of such an application relates to an increase in students’ motivation. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for two groups of Saudi university students enrolled in the English language department at two major universities (N = 447). The structural model revealed a significant improvement in the effects of Time 1 autonomy on Time 2 autonomous motivation as well as in the effects of Time 1 autonomous motivation on Time 2 autonomous motivation exclusively in the experimental group. The two-time repeated measure of ANOVA substantiated the increase in autonomous motivation exclusively among students in the experimental group. This study contributed to greater recognition of the advantages and challenges of applying WhatsApp as a tool of MALL in the educational system.

摘要

长期以来，对语言学习者动机的研究一直被认为是第二语言/外语习得成功的关键决定因素。根据自我决定理论 (SDT)，学习者的自主动机越强，他们参与的活动就越好。为了维持自主动机，学习者的自主性、能力和相关性的基本心理需求 (BPN) 应该得到满足。然而，这三个组成部分的作用及其与移动辅助语言学习 (MALL) 环境中自主动机的关系尚未在文献中得到解决。因此，社交网络移动应用程序 ( WhatsApp) 已被用于探索教师对此类应用程序的非正式使用如何与提高学生的学习动机相关联。对在两所主要大学的英语语言系就读的两组沙特大学生 (N = 447) 采用了准实验设计。结构模型显示时间 1 自主性对时间 2 自主动机的影响以及时间 1 自主性动机对时间 2 自主动机的影响仅在实验组中显着改善。两次重复测量的方差分析证实了实验组学生自主动机的增加。这项研究有助于更好地认识应用WhatsApp的优势和挑战作为教育系统中的 MALL 工具。