Original title: Investment and motivation in language learning: What's the difference?
Motivation asks whether someone wants to learn another language. InvestmentA learner’s willingness to take part in the language practices of a particular classroom or community. asks whether they want to take part in the language practicesThe ways people use language in a particular setting. of a particular classroom or community. A learner can be motivated but not invested if those practices feel racist, sexist, elitist, anti-immigrant, or homophobic. A mismatch between a learner’s idea of good teaching and the teacher’s approach can also weaken investment.
Imagine joining a sports club because you love the game. The coach’s rules or the way teammates treat people may make you unwilling to join in, even though you still want to play. In this paper, wanting to learn the language is like loving the game, while choosing whether to join the classroom’s way of doing things is like choosing whether to take part in that club.
Teachers and learners may not see classroom practices the same way. Distinguishing motivation from investment helps teachers notice when a learner’s lack of participation reflects the classroom’s power relations or values, not a lack of desire to learn.
The abstract explains a conceptual distinction and gives examples of how classroom practices and power relations may affect investment. It does not report a new study, measure how common these situations are, or establish which teaching approaches improve investment.
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Investment and motivation in language learning: What's the difference? — Ron Darvin, Bonny Norton — Language Teaching — doi:10.1017/s0261444821000057
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.