Ali Mohammad Fazilatfar - Departement of foreign languages, Yazd University

In the past decade, the field of the motivation research has experienced an extremely transition from thestatic and fixed approach of looking at L2 motivation to a more dynamic perspective. The aim of this study wasto assess the relationship between motivation (intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation,and external regulation), psychological reactance (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), language learningprocess, and the possible relation to gender and level of education on these two constructs. To this end, the presentstudy investigated the possible interactions between L2 learning process and the kinds of motivation of Iranianundergraduate and graduate students learning English in Iran from Isfahan and Yazd Universities. 60 male andfemale participants took part in the study. Their gender and English language proficiency level were consideredas other two variables of the study. A questionnaire was designed and piloted. It included some items dealing withthe participants’ basic psychological needs and motivational orientations in relation to their language learningprocess. Results showed a pattern of correlations reflecting a continuum of increasing self-determination fromless self-determined forms of motivation (external motivation) to more self-determined forms of motivation(intrinsic motivation). The findings also indicated psychological needs are more strongly related to intrinsicmotivation than to external one. The implications of the study can help language practitioners to have a betterperspective toward the role of different kinds of motivations and psychological needs for the improvement oflanguage learning process and English classes.

SLA, Motivational orientation, Psychological needs, Self-determination