AN OVERVIEW OF L2 MOTIVATIONAL RESEARCH IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

L2 motivational research has 60 years of history. During this period many models of L2 motivation have been presented extended from the socio-educational model of Gardner and Lambart (1959) to Dörnyei’s (2009) L2 Motivational Self System. However, only three models; socio-educational model, willingness to communicate in L2 and the L2 Motivational Self System have been explored and validated in the context of Pakistan. Moreover, willingness to communicate has been investigated with other factors; L2 anxiety and Self Perceived Communicative Competence. This overview shows that these studies use very limited data yet the findings have been generalized to a large population. Especially, the L2 motivation has not been studied in multiple factors; the age of the L2 learners, educational backgrounds, educational level, and educational field. Moreover, there is a lack of research that mainly focuses on classroom-situated and context-situated motivational strategies. It shows a huge gap between theoretical considerations and practical implications of the L2 motivational research in the present context.