There are a number of language learner motivation models that were[citation needed] developed and postulated in fields such as linguistics and sociolinguistics, with relations to second-language acquisition in a classroom setting.
Gardner formulated the socio-educational model suggesting that learning an L2 cannot be solely explained by people's aptitude or their competency to acquire as many languages.
[6] By simply regarding aptitude as the only factor, researchers dismiss the social, contextual and pragmatic reasons that drive people to learn other languages.
In the linguistic component, learners tend to develop L2 proficiency and fluency, whereas in the non-linguistic outcomes, they undergo changes in attitudes towards the culture where the L2 came from.
[7] Finally, when the learners have already acquired experience and knowledge of the L2, they gain varying positive outcomes such as fluency and appreciation of the other culture.
[10] More characteristics were added to describe the variables affecting each of the individual factors; these were compiled in the Attitude Motivation Test Battery developed by Gardner.
Gardner also created the Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) to quantitatively measure the four main factors and their sub-units, and to predict L2 performance/outcome of the learning.
In Gardner's review of the Socio-educational Model, he named the four overarching variables which are measured in the AMTB: (1) integrativeness, (2) attitude toward learning situation, (3) motivation and (4) language anxiety.
The AMTB assesses this variable by accounting for the extent to which the learner is generally interested in foreign languages, as well as his/her preset attitudes towards the community where the L2 comes from.
[7] Contrary to integrativeness, the attitude towards learning situation accounts for the education context of L2 acquisition and the affective facts that correspond with it.
[3] Of these social contextual factors, Dörnyei (2005)[3] argues linguistic self-confidence plays the most important role in motivation in learning a second language.
[3] Cognitive psychologists argued that how one thinks about one's abilities, possibilities, potentials, limitations, and past performances has major influences on motivation.
[3] In this line of research it was found that in the language learning classroom, teachers that were autonomy supportive and non-controlling promoted intrinsic and self-determined orientations of motivation in students.
[3] Consistent with this theory, Ushioda identified two attributional patterns associated with positive motivational outcomes in language learning.
[3] This cognitive perspective arose from a supposed “constructivist movement” that stemmed mostly from the work of Jean Piaget and that also encompassed personal construct psychology (developed by George Kelly (psychologist)).
[13] This brings the learner into central focus in learning theory as everyone is constructing their own sense of the world, which is key to the constructivist perspective.
Four key elements (the learner(s), the teacher, the task, and the context) are outlined by this model as affecting the teaching-learning process as they interact with and act on each other.
During the preactional phase, the major motivational influences are the values associated with L2 learning, attitudes towards the L2-speaking community, learners’ expectations and beliefs, and environmental support.
During the postactional stage the major motivational influences are the learners’ attributional styles and biases, self-concept beliefs, and received feedback during the L2 learning process.
[17] The ought-to L2 self includes the attributions a person believes they should have in order to meet expectations or avoid negative outcomes, which is associated with extrinsic motivational orientations.
According to some studies, humor has a positive impact on classroom engagement and can strengthen the relationship between teachers and L2 learners, improve problem-solving, and make classwork more personal, enjoyable, and comfortable (Wandersee, J.
Also, Farahani and Abdollahi (2018) found that utilizing humor as a technique in L2 speaking class has cognitive benefits for L2 students’ learning development.
The author also states that utilizing humorous material in the L2 classroom enables L2 learners to tell jokes and participate in different conversational exchanges.