MOTIVATION TO LEARN AND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

Yasmeen M. Lukmani
University of California a t Los Angeles

Marathi-speaking high school students were tested on English

proficiency and the nature of their motivation for learning English.
The results showed that they were instrumentally motivated to
learn English and that instrumental motivation scores correlated
significantly with English proficiency scores. They regarded the
two communities, Marathi -speakers and English-speaking Indians,
a s their reference groups for different areas of their life, and
saw themselves a s based in their own cummunity but reaching
out to modern ideas and life-styles.

The importance of motivation in learning a second language has

long been recognized by both teachers and researchers. Motivation,
of course, means very different things to different people. For the
purpose of this study, I have accepted the two major types of mo-
tivation first suggested by Lambert (1959).
The reasons that learners give as motivating them to acquire
a new language can be categorised as either integrative or instru-
mental. Many learners wish to acquire a new language in order to
identify with or become p a r t of a new social or cultural group.
They wish to integrate themselves into the culture of the new lan-
guage group. Other learners may wish to use the language only
as a way of furthering their careers, for reading original publi-
cations rather than translations, for trade purposes, for travel,
etc. The language is acquired as an instrument to help them at-
tain these goals. This classification is not necessarily a dichotomy.
Many learners give reasons which overlap the two categories but
most do show a preference for one of the two types.
How can such motivation be measured? The most direct way
is to ask the learner why he is learning the language. More in-
direct measures, such as tapping his attitudes towards his culture,
himself, and the new culture have also been used.
Why a r e these two categories important, why should they be
separated? For the teacher, the reasons are obvious as different
materials would be used according to the goals of the students.
Even more important are the findings of two previous studies (Lam-
bert 1959, Spolsky 1969), which showed that learners who are in-
tegratively motivated succeed in learning the language. Their pro-
ficiency scores in the new language a r e much higher than those
who give instrumental reasons for learning the language.
261
262 LANGUAGE LEARNING, VOL. 22, NO. 2

Lambert (1959) tested English-speaking students learning French

in Montreal. Subsequent studies on other groups of students bore
out his hypothesis that English proficiency scores were related to
integrative motivation. Anisfeld & Lambert (1961), testing English-
speaking Jewish students learning Hebrew, found that, contrary to
expectation, instrumentally motivated students performed better on
Hebrew tests. However, as their instrumental motivation consisted
of becoming a rabbi, a Hebrew teacher, etc., this w a s taken as
being an expression of their identification with the Jewish com-
munity. This therefore, seemed to confirm their hypothesis that
integration with the community was linked with proficiency in the
language. Lambert, Gardner, Barik & Tunstall (1963) tested Ameri-
can students attending a six-week French summer school in the
United States and found that the extent of their identification with
French culture was linked with achievement in French. Spolsky
(1969) tested three groups of foreign students attending universities
in the United States and found that on the more sensitive of the
two tests he administered, integrative motivation accompanied high
scores in English.
This finding deserved further investigation. Consequently, a
study was designed to test whether Marathi-speaking high school
students in Bombay were integratively motivated to learn English
and whether their motivation scores were related to proficiency
in English. Their attitudes towards the Marathi and English-speaking
Indian communities were also determined as an indirect measure
of their cultural leanings. In addition, their self-concept and ideal
self-concept was tested to determine the measure of their self-
satisfaction.
It was hypothesised that: a) instrumental motivation s c o r e s
would be higher than integrative motivation scores; b) integrative
motivation scores would correlate highly with English proficiency
scores (as measured by the cloze procedure); c) subjects would
rate their membership group, the Marathi-speaking community,
higher than English-speaking (i.e. westernized) Indians on the given
traits; d) there would be a significant correlation between ideal
self-concept scores and ratings for their own community; e) self-
concept scores would correlate significantly with their ratings for
their own community.

METHOD

Subjects
Sixty girls from a graduating high school class where Marathi
was the medium of instruction served as the Ss. They came from
 MOTIVATION 2 63

average to lower-middle class families and belonged to a com-

paratively non-westernized section of Bombay society. They had
all studied English as a second language for approximately 7 years
and could be considered f a i r l y typical of the average Marathi-
speakingfemale high school student. The original plan to have an
equal number of male and female students had to be abandoned
for practical difficulties in finding a suitable school.

Experimenters
Two native Marathi-speaking women served as the E s . They
were dressed in neither too traditional nor too modern a manner
and could pass off as members equally of the Marathi or English-
speaking community of Indians. They spoke only in Marathi.

Materials and Procedures

Three sources were used to obtain a valid s e t of materials.
1) An experiment was run on Indians in the United States, for
these formed the only comparable group readily available for study.
It was designed to elicit ethnic group labels relevant for describing
the Marathi and English-speaking Indian communities as well as
to ascertain the range and intensity of these labels.
2) A set of papers on ‘(My reasons for studying English,’’
written by foreign students studying English as a Second Language
at UCLA was analyzed. This was useful in preparing the integra-
tive versus instrumental reasons for studying English in the direct
questionnaire.
3) The questionnaires used by Spolsky (1969) provided the
basic format.
Four tests were devised for use in the experiment, but of
these only three were actually used. These were, in order of pre-
sentation: 1) Indirect Questionnaire, 2) Cloze Test, 3) Direct Ques-
tionnaire.
The indirect questionnaire consisted of 4 parts, namely, ratings
for 1) the Marathi-speaking community (MAR), 2) the English-
speaking community (ENG), 3) self-concept (SELF), and 4) ideal
self-concept (IDEAL). Each part had the same set of 17 traits on
a semantic differential scale. The traits were selected for their
relevance to the S s in determining what they considered to be a
desirable reference group image and for assessing their level of
self-satisfaction. An 18th trait “similarity to self” was added to
the Marathi and English group sections. Ss were asked to mark
the polarised traits on a 6-point scale. To protect against order
effects, the traits were randomly ordered on the page, with a dif-
ferent order for each of the parts, s o that the Ss would be forced
264 LANGUAGE LEARNING, VOL. 22, NO. 2

to respond to each part separately. Negative and positive traits

were also counterbalanced in the two columns.
For the cloze test, a passage judged to be of a suitable level
of English and also interesting enough to encourage Ss to complete
the task, was selected and every 6th word left blank. This was
taken to be a global test of English proficiency (Darnel1 1968:
Oller 1971). Acceptability in context and in the actual sentence
formed the criterion of a correct response.
The direct questionnaire consisted of five instrumental and
five integrative reasons for learning English and Ss had to check
one of five possible reactions to the reasons, ranging from “Very
important for me” to “absolutely not important for me”. The
reasons were selected for their relevance and applicability to the
Ss and the two kinds of reasons were randomly ordered on the
Page -
This order of presentation was chosen in order to get responses
to traits (on the indirect questionnaire) unbiased by reasons for
learning English (on the direct questionnaire).
The fourth test was unfortunately lost in the mail and never
reached the E s . This was a matched guise test (Lambert, Hodgson,
Gardner & Fillembaum 1960, Lambert, Frankel & Tucker 1966,
Hensley 1970) designed to elicit stereotypic views about the Marathi
and English-speaking groups by assessing personality through speech
characteristics. Six identical passages were tape-recorded in
Marathi and English by three fluently bilingual males and the Ss
were to have rated them on the same semantic differential scale
used in the indirect questionnaire.
All the Ss sat in the same room for the experiment. Papers
were handed out after an explanation of the purpose of the experi-
ment and preliminary instructions. Everything, except for the
English tape-recorded passages and the cloze test passage itself,
was presented in Marathi.

RESULTS

The r a w data for instrumental and integrative motivation and

cloze test scores a r e presented as mean scores in Table 1.
The total scores for the individual instrumental-integrative
reasons a r e presented in Table 2.
Table 3 shows the responses given for the 17 (18) traits in
the indirect questionnaire on SELF, IDEAL, MAR and ENG.
First, a t-test was run on motivation scores: instrumental mo-
tivation was found to rank significantly higher than integrative mo-
tivation ( t = 6.20, p < .001).
 MOTIVATION 265

TABLE 1
Mean scores on direct and cloze tests

Groups M e a n Scores Standard Deviation

Instrumental 21.900 2.441
Integrative 19.950 2.158
Cloze Test 48.517 14.474

TABLE 2
Total scores
on instrumental-integvative motivation reasons

Item Instrumental Item Integrative

l.* 247 2. 219
3. 243 4. 260
5. 272 6. 231
7. 273 8. 251
10. 239 9. 264
Totals 1299 1200

*Numbers refer to o r d e r of questions in direct questionnaire.

Secondly, a Pearson Product-Moment correlation was per-

formed to test the correlation of motivation and English proficiency
as measured by the cloze test. Cloze test scores correlated sig-
nificantly with instrumental motivation (p < .001) but not with in-
tegrative motivations (See Table 4).
Next, the differences on responses to individual traits for the
four groups were looked at separately (See Table 5). The English
group scored higher than the Marathi on:
successful (t=3.99, p < .001)
high standard of living (t=3.09, p < .OJ)
modern (t=2.91, p < .01)
cultured (t=2.91, p < .01)
independent (t=2.67, p < .01)
IDEAL scored higher than both the English and Marathi groups
on:
reliable (ENG: t=3.75, p < ,001)
(MAR: t=3.65, p < .001)
266 LANGUAGE LEARNING, VOL. 22, NO. 2
TABLE 3
Summary of mean scores on traits
~~ ~ - ~~~

Trait
no. Traits SELF IDEAL MARATHI ENGLISH
1. capable 5.183 5.283 5.267 5.200
2. interesting 4.900 5.150 5.017 5.283
3. happy 5.400 5.317 5.067 5.233
4. modern 4.467 4.867 4.417 5.117
5. social graces 4.900 5.117 5.033 4.950
6. educated 5.217 5.117 5.183 5.300
7. successful 4.983 5.133 4.733 5.333
8. self-confidence 5.067 5.283 5.267 5.267
9. open (frank) 5.250 5.233 5.033 5.050
10. intelligent 4.950 4.833 4.800 4.867
11. independent 4.900 5.083 4.767 5.100
12. cultured 5.167 5.150 4.833 5.250
13. reliable 5.517 5.683 5.167 5.233
14. high standard 5.383 5.217 4.817 5.317
of living
15. attractive 4.933 5.000 4.733 4.883
16. impressive 5.133 5.200 5.017 5.333
17. bright future 5.1 00 5.250 4.983 5.017
18. similarity to self 4.600 4.533

Totals 5.085 5.171 4.929 5.125

There was a trend (not at the selected level of significance)

towards showing that IDEAL was scored higher than the Marathi
group on:
successful (t=2.45, p < .05)
independent (t=2.45, p < -05)
high standard of living (t=2.33, p < -05)
bright future (t=1.99, p < .05)
modern (t=1.98, p < -05)
The English group was rated higher than SELF on:
modern (t=3.63, p < .001)
successful (t=2.95, p < -01)
 MOTIVATION 2 67
TABLE 4
Summary of intercorrelations

INTEG INSTRUM CLOZE SELF IDEAL MAR ENG

INTEG 1.000 0.443 0.257 0.145 0.163 0.320 0.250
P .001 .001 -047 .269 .215 .013 .054
INSTRUM 0.443 1.000 0.411 0.123 0.101 0.343 0.236
P .001 .001 .001 .349 .441 .007 ,069
CLOZE 0.257 0.411 1.000 0.160 0.374 0.267 0.076
P -047 .001 .001 221 -003 -033 .566
SELF 0.145 0.123 0.160 1.000 0.581 0.584 0.680
P .269 .349 221 .001 .001 .001 .001
IDEAL 0.163 0.1 01 0.347 0.581 1.000 0.274 0.447
P .215 .441 .003 .001 .001 .034 .001
MAR 0.320 0.342 0.276 0.584 0.274 1.000 0.636
P .013 .007 .033 .001 .034 .001 -001
ENG 0.250 0.236 0.076 .680 0.447 0.636 1.000
P .054 .069 .566 .001 .001 .001 -001

and there was a trend showing that it was higher on:

interesting (t=2.03, p < .05)
On the other hand, there was a trend showing that SELF was rated
higher than the English group on:
reliable (t=2.60, p < .05)
Ss rated SELF higher than their membership group, the Marathi-
speakers, on:
high standard of living (t=4.20, p < .001)
and there w a s a trend showing that they also rated themselves
higher on:
reliable (t=2.43, p < .05)
happy (t=2.32, p < -05)
There was a trend towards rating IDEAL higher than SELF on:
modern (t=2.35, p < .05)
268 LANGUAGE LEARNING, VOL. 22, NO. 2

TABLE 5
Summary of t-tests on mean sc0Ye.s of traits
~

Groups Traits df t P
MAR-ENG successful 59 3.99 .001
high standard of living 59 3.09 .01
modern 59 2.91 .01
cultured 59 2.91 .01
independent 59 2.67 .01
IDEAL-ENG reliable 59 3.75 .001
IDEAL-MAR reliable 59 3.65 .001
successful 59 2.45 .05
independent 59 2.45 .05
high standard of living 59 2.33 05
bright future 59 1.99 .05
modern 59 1.98 .05
SELF-ENG modern 59 3.63 .001
successful 59 2.95 .01
reliable 59 2.60 .05
interesting 59 2.03 .05
SELF-MAR high standard of living 59 4.20 .001
reliable 59 2.43 .05
happy 59 2.32 .05
IDEAL-SELF modern 59 2.35 .05

Mean scores on ratings for the English and Marathi groups

show that English is ranked minimally higher. Of the four groups,
Marathi ranks lowest, and then in ascending order, SELF, ENG and
IDEAL.
Correlations were also run on 1) totals for motivation and
reference group ratings, and 2 ) between the groups and the English
proficiency test. These data appear in Table 4. The correlations
show that:
IDEAL scores correlated more closely with the English group
(p < .OOl) than with the Marathi group (p < .03).
Scores on $ELF correlated significantly with the scores both
of the English group (p < .OOl) and of the Marathi group (p < .001).
 MOTIVATION 269

Scores on SELF correlated significantly with those on IDEAL,

(p < .001).
Ratings for instrumental and integrative motivation were sig-
nificantly related (p < .OOl).
Integrative motivation scores correlated significantly with
Marathi ratings (p < .Ol), but not with English ratings (p < .07).
Cloze test scores did not correlate at the chosen level of sig-
nificance with either the Marathi (p < .03) or English group ratings
(p < .56), but the correlation is very much better for the Marathi'
than for the English group.

DISCUSSION

The two questionnaires, direct and indirect, were intended to

be different measures of the same attitudinal area. It was con-
sidered that the results would be more reliable if the two ques-
tionnaires yielded the same information, for instrumental motiva-
tion scores were intended to correspond to Marathi ratings and
integrative motivation scores to English group ratings. Did they
in fact, actually correspond?
The data showed that the students were more highly motivated
to learn English for instrumental than for integrative reasons. In
other words, they showed little desire to identify with English-
speaking Indians. However, the ratings on the traits showed that
the Marathi group was ranked lower than the English group (see
Table 3), and also that there was a significant relationship between
ideal self-concept ratings and the English group rather than between
ideal and Marathi (see Table 4).
In this case, the results do not decisively show that the same
area was being measured by the two tests, so a r e we to assume
that one test was a more adequate measure than the other?
Before we make this rather arbitrary assumption, let us con-
sider the specific traits on which the English group was rated sig-
nificantly higher (see Table 3). Westernized Indians, even after
Independence, continue to constitute the elite of society. The traits
that are overwhelmingly ascribed to them, a r e factual. With the
rapidly changing social conditions in India, these traits can, to a
large extent, be acquired by poung Marathi-speaking Indians, without
the necessity of their becoming westernized. In fact, ideally, they
showed a desire to be much less modem than they perceive the
English group to be (this difference narrowly missed being statis-
tically significant: s e e Table 3). This indicates that though they
regard the English community as being more successful, more
270 LANGUAGE LEARNING, VOL. 22, NO. 2

modern, more independent, more cultured, and as having a higher

standard of living than the Marathi community, they do not wish
to identify themselves with it. All they want is the better condi-
tions of living which a r e associated with it.
It becomes evident that the English group ranks higher than
the Marathi and is significantly related to ideal self-concept chiefly
on the basis of these five specific traits. This is borne out by 1)
the fact that English proficiency is more closely related to Marathi
group ratings (see Table 4) and 2) by the individual ratings on in-
strumental and integrative motivation reasons (see Table 2).
The two integrative reasons that a r e ranked very high a r e
concerned with modernity and the acquisition of new ideas for
becoming a better person. These do not imply that the reference
group leanings of the students have changed over to English-
speaking Indians. In fact, these two integrative reasons a r e very
similar in kind to the five above-mentioned traits.
On the basis of this, we can conclude that in this typical group
of Marathi-speaking high school students in Bombay, 1) instru-
mental motivation has been shown to be higher than integrative
motivation, and 2) that the English-speaking community of Indians
is not necessarily considered their reference group, but it does
represent some characteristics which they wish to acquire.
Let US now consider the self-concept of the students in the
light of these findings. Their self-perception seems to correspond
significantly to the way they perceive both the English and Marathi
groups. Moreover, the total mean scores on self-concept lie ap-
proximately half-way between those of the Marathi and English
groups and a r e only slightly lower than scores on ideal self-concept
(see Table 3 ) . This suggests that they have a high self-concept
and a high opinion of both the Marathi and English communities.
The English community was ranked higher than self on modern
and successful, while the Marathi community was lower than self
on h g h standard of living. There w a s a trend towards regarding
themselves as more reliable than either the English or Marathi
group, and ideally, they wished to be much more reliable than the
two groups. This trait, interestingly enough, scored highest in the
list of characteristics descriptive of the Marathi-speaking com-
munity sent out to Marathi-speaking Indians in the United States.
It appears to be a major value for that community.
Contrary to expectation and to the results of previous studies
by Lambert and S polsky, proficiency in English was significantly
related to instrumental and not to integrative motivation. English
proficiency did not correspond significantly with ratings on either
the Marathi or English groups, but it was much more closely
 MOTIVATION 27 1

related to Marathi ratings (see Table 4). This indicates that English
proficiency a r i s e s from a desire to use English not as a means
of entry into a reference group, but as a tool with which to under-
stand and cope with the demands of modern life.
The marked difference in my results from those of previous
studies is perhaps due to a large extent to the widely different
social conditions in which proficiency in English and the nature of
the students’ motivation has been studied. French-speaking Canadians
learning English, English-speaking J e w s studying Hebrew, English-
speaking Americans studying French and foreign students coming
to the United States for study, learning English, a r e in a completely
disparate situation from that of a post-colonial society which while
torn by a struggle between tradition and modernity (modernity, to
some extent being represented by English), is determined to e s -
tablish its own identity. Under such circumstances, new reference
groups have to be forged. These may draw heavily on certain
characteristics of western society, but are ultimately, of indigenous
origin. Hence, the orientation towards English, in a healthy situa-
tion of this kind, could only be instrumental.
A look at the individual ratings of the given reasons for learning
English (see Table 2) confirms this. The students indicate that the
reasons a r e important for them in this order: 1) getting a good
job, 2) coping with university classes, 3) travelling abroad, 4) ac-
quiring new ideas and broadening their outlook, 5) becoming more
modern, 6) reading advanced technical literature, 7) getting access
to international books, journals, etc., 8) acquaintance with people in
touch with the latest trends in thought and behavior in the west,
9) becoming friendly with English-speaking Indians, and 10) thinking
and behaving like English-speaking Indians.
The first three mentioned here a r e instrumental reasons, the
first two being matters of immediate concern. The third expresses
a fervent hope, for travelling abroad has become a status symbol.
The fourth and fifth reasons (which I had classified as integrative)
a r e rated f a i r l y high because these do not imply rejecting the
Marathi group characteristics or identifying with the English group.
These only indicate a desire to become better and more complete
human beings by being exposed to the best ideas current in the
world. The sixth and seventh reasons which a r e instrumental, a r e
rated f a i r l y low perhaps because their interest in these a r e a s has
not yet developed. Perhaps university students of the same back-
ground might rank these higher. The three reasons ranked lowest
a r e integrative. Of these, friendliness with those in touch with the
west, and with the English-speaking, a r e rated considerably higher
than the ability to think and behave like English-speaking Indians.
272 LANGUAGE LEARNING, VOL. 22, NO. 2

Thinking and behaving like English-speaking Indians is rated s o

low because it implies a clear rejection of the norms of Marathi
society. This, they would find quite unacceptable.

CONCLUSION

Marathi-speaking high school students (all female), from com-

paratively non-westernized families in an average income-bracket,
were tested on English proficiency and the nature of their moti-
vation for learning English. The results showed that Marathi-
speaking students were instrumentally motivated to learn English
and that instrumental motivation scores correlated significantly with
English proficiency scores. In other words, the higher their moti-
vation to use English as a means of career advancement, etc., the
better their English language scores.
Their concept of their own community and of westernized In-
dians, their self-concept and ideal self-concept were assessed on
ratings of specific traits. Both the Marathi and English-speaking
communities were rated high, the English a little higher than the
Marathi. Of the four groups, Marathi ranks lower than the English
and then, in ascending order, self-concept, English group, and then
ideal self-concept, but the total differences in scores were not
significant. The English rather than Marathi group ratings were
significantly related to ideal self-concept, but the traits on which
English was marked higher were factual, relating to modernity
and better standards of living which the Ss could acquire without
becoming westernized. The two communities were their reference
groups for different areas of their life, and saw themselves as
based in their own community but reaching out to modern ideas
and life-styles.

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