A Study on the Role of Motivation in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching

Motivation has been called the ―neglected heart‖ of language teaching. As teachers, we often forget that all of our learning activities are filtered through our students' motivation. In this sense, students control the flow of the classroom. Without student motivation, there is no pulse, there is no life in the class. When we learn to incorporate direct approaches to generating student motivation in our teaching, we will become happier and more successful teachers. This paper is an attempt to look at EFL learners' motivation in learning a foreign language from a theoretical approach. It includes a definition of the concept, the importance of motivation, specific approaches for generating motivation, difference between integrative and instrumental motivation, difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, factors influencing motivation, and adopting motivational teaching practice.