THE ROLE OF INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (BASED ON ARMENIAN-KUWAITI STUDY SAMPLE)

Abstract

The paper discusses the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in English language acquisition process. The paper presents the results of the research carried out in Armenian and Kuwaiti classrooms, which rejects the statement that extrinsic motivation “kills” intrinsic motivation and brings forward the statement that it is hard to give preference to any type of motivation: as long as intrinsic or extrinsic motivation can help learners reach their academic or practical aims, the type of motivation is not that important. Despite the unanimous opinion prevailing in psychological literature, stating that the intrinsic type of motivation is more encouraging and productive, an attempt is made to show that extrinsic motivation is the only factor for the overwhelming majority of Kuwaiti students that urges them to attend classes.