Demotivation in Second Language Acquisition

Keita Kikuchi is currently an associate professor at Kanagawa University. He obtained an MA in ESL from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and an EdD in TESOL from Temple University. His research interests include curriculum development, educational psychology and second language acquisition, especially individual differences. He has been working in this field for over 10 years.

This is an ambitious and timely exploration into the neglected issue of demotivation. Demotivation has been a pervasive problem for language teachers yet largely ignored by researchers until relatively recently. Through a series of carefully designed studies of learners studying English as a foreign language in Japanese schools, Kikuchi convincingly argues for demotivation and demotivators as the legitimate target of inquiry that expands the breadth of L2 research.

• Introduction1 Understanding Demotivation2 Prior Focus of Demotivation Studies3 The Importance of Demotivators in Second Language Acquisition4 A Survey Study to Test Demotivator Models5 Learner and Teacher Perceptions of Demotivators6 Learner Reflections: Demotivators in Secondary School7 Uncovering Demotivators Beyond the Classroom8 Summary of Findings from Studies of Demotivators9 Motivational Strategies and Demotivation10 Future Explorations of DemotivatorsReferencesAppendices