https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4450-0931
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Abstract
The study of language learners’ motivation has long been considered a key, determining factor of success in second/foreign language acquisition. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), the more autonomously motivated learners are, the better they engage in an activity. To sustain autonomous motivation, the learners’ basic psychological needs (BPN) of autonomy, competence, and relatedness should be satisfied. Nevertheless, the role of these three components and their relation to autonomous motivation in the mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) context has not yet been addressed in the literature. Therefore, a social networking mobile application (WhatsApp) has been used to explore how teachers’ informal use of such an application relates to an increase in students’ motivation. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for two groups of Saudi university students enrolled in the English language department at two major universities (N = 447). The structural model revealed a significant improvement in the effects of Time 1 autonomy on Time 2 autonomous motivation as well as in the effects of Time 1 autonomous motivation on Time 2 autonomous motivation exclusively in the experimental group. The two-time repeated measure of ANOVA substantiated the increase in autonomous motivation exclusively among students in the experimental group. This study contributed to greater recognition of the advantages and challenges of applying WhatsApp as a tool of MALL in the educational system.
Disclosure statement
The researchers declare no conflict of interest.
Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Abdullah Alamer
Abdullah Alamer is an assistant professor in the Department of English at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Saudi Arabia. He has received his PhD from The University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. His PhD thesis was nominated for the top 10% theses that make an outstanding contribution to the field. Abdullah’s main interest lies in research with second language motivation, and psychological factors associated with the success in language learning by using advanced quantitative methods such as SEM and ESEM. Abdullah has published in the top journals in the field including: Language Teaching Research, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, System, and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL).
Ahmed Al Khateeb
Ahmed Al Khateeb is an associate professor and Chair of English Language Department at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. He holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and Modern Languages from the University of Southampton in the UK. He is a winner of Fulbright scholarship and visiting scholar at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His research interests include technology-enhanced language learning (TELL), advanced learning technologies, telecollaboration and language learning, intercultural communication and psychology of language learners and their cognitive behaviours.