Examining the Dynamic Interface between Motivation and Affect in Foreign Language Development with the Moderating Role of Gender and Working Memory

Motivation and affect as two salient variables in L۲ development are no longer seen as the stable individual difference factors they were once believed to be. Influenced by process-oriented approaches and by increasing understanding of how the complex dynamic system theory (CDST) works, researchers have been emphasizing the holistic, non-modular, dynamic and changeable nature of motivation and affect to-date. Accordingly, this study utilized the principles underlying the CDST perspective to examine the interrelationships between Iranian EFL learners’ motivational and affective factors mediated by working memory and gender over an academic semester. To this end, ۴۴۵ pre-intermediate male and female students completed the motivation questionnaire and L۲ Enjoyment Scale four times with one-month intervals during an academic semester and Working Memory Scale once in the beginning of the term. Relationships that emerged indicated both motivational and affective stability and fluctuation over a semester of instruction at one month intervals. The findings also illustrated how these factors are inseparable from students’ learning context. Implications of study and directions for further research were also discussed.

کلیدواژه ها:

Complex Dynamic System Theory ، ideal L۲ Selfown/other ، ought-to L۲ Selfown/other ، L۲ Enjoyment ، Working memory