Date Approved

5-25-2022

Graduate Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Applied Linguistics (M.A.)

Degree Program

English

First Advisor

Dan Brown

Academic Year

2021/2022

Abstract

Post-pandemic L2 learning is a landscape of new challenges and opportunities for language learning. One of these challenges is maintaining learner motivation in an online environment. Motivation plays a crucial role in L2 learning success, which requires educators to better understand how to support learner motivation, a focus that had not yet been widely researched for the online environment. This study begins to address this gap in research by examining the relationship between learner and instructor perspectives in online L2 classrooms and learner motivation. Using a survey instrument to measure learner perceptions of four variables; class design, teacher presence, and guidance on developing self-efficiency, which have been the focus of previous motivation and online learning research, this study compares these perceptions with motivation perceptions to better understand relationships between them. The study also investigated potential gaps in instructor and learner perceptions of online learning to explore the possible influence shared perceptions could have on L2 online motivation. Results did show gaps in learner and instructor perceptions for all variables and that the gaps in some cases narrowed over the course of the semester as learners and instructors developed shared understanding. Correlations between motivation and some independent variables(e.g. interaction and autonomy) also showed strong relationships. However, motivation was found to remain stable and even increase despite instances of student-instructor disagreement. Future research to consider how to use this information and negotiate shared perceptions with larger sample sizes is discussed.

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