Long arguments can be put forward to prove that motivation is one of the key issues in language learning and that skills to motivate learners are crucial for language teachers, but you would not be reading this book if you were not aware of this. So, instead of doing the compulsory ‘rounds’ of highlighting the significance of motivation for teachers/students/researchers/educational policy-makers and practically everybody else, let me start this book by taking a very different approach.

Is there such a thing as ‘motivation’?

Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as ‘motivation’. Of course such a statement cannot stay in the introduction of a book on motivation without immediate qualification. What I mean is that ‘motivation’ is an abstract, hypothetical concept that we use to explain why people think and behave as they do. It is obvious that in this sense the term subsumes a whole range of motives- from financial incentives such as a raise in salary to idealistic beliefs such as the desire for freedom- that have very little in common except that they all influence behaviour. Thus, ‘motivation’ is best seen as a broad umbrella term that covers a variety of meanings.

Why do we use ‘motivation’ if its meaning is so vague? My guess is simply because it is a very convenient way of referring to what is a rather complex issue.