Methodology in Language Learning: The Process-Oriented Period
The cognitive–situated approach soon drew attention to another, rather neglected, aspect of motivation: its dynamic character and temporal variation . When motivation is examined in its relationship to specific learner behaviors and classroom processes, there is a need to adopt a process-oriented approach/ paradigm that can account for the daily ups and downs of motivation to learn, that is, the ongoing changes of motivation over time. Even during a single L2 class one can notice that language-learning motivation shows a certain amount of changeability, and in the context of learning a language for several months or years, or over a lifetime, motivation is expected to go through rather diverse phases. Looking at it from this perspective, motivation is not seen as a static attribute but rather as a dynamic factor that displays continuous fluctuation. “Many of the tasks faced by students extend over time, and as noted in chapter 1 of any Introduction to Motivation text, one of the...