Intrinsic motivators: factors internal to the individuals that are rewarding in themselves without the need for incentives, for example, self-esteem (Jordan, Carlile, & Stack, 2008, p. 157). According to Bernstein (2016), p. 344, “intrinsic motivation” is the drive to perform a task for its own reason out of delight or satisfaction. Tasks and behaviors are cheerfully carried out by people who are intrinsically driven because they appreciate them. Simply involving in the activity is reward worth.
Likewise, learners who act based on intrinsic motivation are participating in the lessons because they are gratifying, and they find them pleasurable.
Intrinsic motivation is generally more effective and enduring compared to extrinsic motivation (Gagné and Medsker, 1996). Deborah Stipek (2002, pp. 127-9) demonstrates the advantages of intrinsic motivation according to the theory and empirical research as follows:
- Learners pursuit their learning activities outside the school,
- They are more likely to select challenging tasks for their deep understanding,
- Intrinsic motivation is more valuable for promoting understanding and conceptual learning as they are committed to understanding things they love,
- It also fosters great creativity as learners keep engaging and researching for their self-actualization and lastly
- Learners has enjoyable and pleasurable time which results in more active involvement.
In addition, Jordan, Carlile and Stack (2008, p. 158) found that intrinsic motivation is much more likely to help learners to:Engage in tasks and pursuits on their own initiative, resulting in self-directed and self-regulated learning strategies over long periods of time;
- Participate in profound learning rather than cursory learning;
- Experience higher levels of self-satisfaction, self-efficacy, and competence. Thus, it is extremely productive to accelerate students’ intrinsic motivation towards their learning process by providing them with the activities which are aligned with their favorite.
Extrinsic motivators: High grades, praise, or money are examples of outside variables that influence people’s decision to react (Jordan, Carlile, & Stack, 2008, p. 157). It refers to taking some action in order to obtain a reward or good result (Bernstein, 2016, p. 334 Extrinsically driven individuals behave on the basis of what they stand to earn rather than because it is enjoyable. They are not concerned with the action itself; they are only interested in the rewarding outcome. While intrinsic motivation is based on internal forces, extrinsic motivation is dependent upon external factors and outcomes. Typical extrinsic motivators in ESL / EFL include punishments such as reproof, low grades or rejection, and rewards such as high grades, acceptance and praise (Jordan, Carlile, & Stack, Ibid.). Extrinsic motivation can originate from a variety of sources. They are external regulation, introjected regulation, identification and integration regulation (Elliot, Dweck, & Yeager, 2017, p. 216).
- External regulation refers to when one takes some action in order to satisfy an external appeal, demand or to receive some reward. For example, speaking English well so that they can get well-paid job.
- Introjected regulation involves engaging in activities primarily to uphold one’s self-esteem or pride, or to evade feelings of blame or anxiety. For example, learning English because it is the main requirement for the job markets.
- Identification, which is more autonomous than external and introjected regulation, refers to recognizing the significance of a behavior and accepting it as one of personal values. For example, learning to speak English because one thinks it is relevant to being an international business professional, which one has identified as one of one’s life goals.
- Integrated regulation, the most autonomous, refers to when the regulations have been completely integrated into the self, to the point where they are a part of your self-dignity, values, and needs. Integrated regulation is not part of intrinsic motivation, for the behaviors are done in order to attain some external outcomes, even though the behavior itself is something that one values. For example, spending an hour a day to practice English speaking skills because one believes that such habitual activities can help him / her to reach the objectives, even though one does not enjoy practicing it.
In short, motivation derived from sources outside of the person is known as extrinsic motivation. Individuals who are extrinsically motivated to work on tasks due to the fact that they believe their participation will result in desirable outcomes.
In conclusion, Mitchell and Myles (2001, p. 12) indicated two basic reasons in which learners should have for learning a second language. Firstly, developing the knowledge which is intrinsically motivated, and can also contribute to a better understanding about the nature of language and intercultural communication. Secondly, such knowledge will be useful to fulfill learners’ prospects in one way or another way. In that regard, learners should be possessed intrinsic motivation initially and then establish the incentives towards learning which is the so-called learning goals or expectation driven by extrinsic motivation.
