First Language or Motivation，Which Has Decisive Influence on the Success of Second Language Acquisition

In terms of the issue “first language or motivation，which has decisive influence on the success of second language acquisition”，some researchers consider that most mistakes made by L2 learners come from the disturbance of L1. In addition，ones first language acquisition affected SLA most and it was a large interference for the study of L2. However，others hold a different opinion and figured that learners cannot attribute almost all the errors to their L1，whats more，motivation rather than first language is the determinant of success in L2 and it affects the accuracy of L2 mostly. I will elaborate the development and effects of issues centered on first language and motivation，then discuss why I think motivation is the most critical factor in SLA，and explain the reasons.

The Effect of First Language on Second

First Language and Second Language

First language refers to the language that is acquired since ones early childhood，it is also called mother tongue or native language（Sinha，Banerjee，Sinha，& Shastri，2009）. According to Lantolf & Poehner（2008），the learning of second language is quite different from L1 in some aspects. L1 is usually acquired naturally and freely and learning often starts from infancy. However，L2 is learned in a classroom environment which is controlled and in this circumstance the main sources of study are textbooks and teachers. Furthermore，learning in a second language context is goal centered，the intention of a L2 learner is stronger than L1 learner. Generally，people study the second language for employment，education or other purposes（Derakhshan & Karimi，2015）. When discussing the issue about whether to teach L2 through the use of L1，language teachers often hold different opinions，some of them think explaining some difficult problems through first language can make students easier to understand，but others think that L1 is a big interference for the study of L2 and forbid the speaking of it in classes（Channa，Gilhooly，Lynn，Manan，& Soomro，2017）.

Interference from First Language

Almost all the previous researchers show that ones first language interferes second language acquisition. I totally agreed with that and believed most errors of L2 learners were resulted from their L1. The results from Nassaji（2013）on the transfer of L1 in L2 writing indicated that when learners write in L2，their writing was really affected by their mother tongue. Another research about consonant cluster by Fatemi，Sobhani and Abolhassan（2012）showed that when the structure was different in L1 and L2，learners would feel difficult to pronounce because of the unacquainted phonological rule. Whether a learner speaks or writes in L2，they always have to rely on the structure of their L1. Therefore，the differences of structures in L1 and L2 decide that the interference is unavoidable.

Beardsmore（1982）states that in the learning process of second language，the main difficulties are in phonology，vocabulary and grammar，all of which could be affected by the habits of L1 and then errors produce. The errors can be grouped into three types，namely developmental error，ambiguous error as well as unique error. Among them developmental error presents the mistake that is unrelated to L1，ambiguous errors include the developmental error and errors from interference. The last one is unique error，it is neither developmental error nor interference error and actually it is the outcome of habits in first language and it should not be brought into the study of second language（Dualy，Burt，& Krashen，1982）. When speaking foreign languages，L2 learners are often required to transfer their original culture，meaning and form. Therefore，during the procedure of transforming，habits of L1 are also unavoidably transferred and errors occur（Beebe & Seliger，2006）. Beardsmore（1982）also mentions that the problems learners encountered about vocabulary，grammar and phonology are caused by the transferring of habits in L1.

Interference is inevitable，however，I have found that the degree of it is different and the extent depends on the similarity between L1 and L2. Hayati（1998）explains that the more differences between the two languages，the more interference would produce and it will be more difficult for the learner to study a second language. In the same way，the more similarities the two languages share，the interference would be less and it will be more simple for learners. For example，English and French belong to the same language family，the Indo-European languages，naturally whose L1 is English would find it is easier to learn French than to study others like Chinese. So it is not always the largest hurdle in L2 learning and in fact it helps study to some extent.

Role of First Language in Second Language

Many people refuse to use their native language when they learn second language in order to avoid the interference of L1. It is also reflected in the class，some L2 teachers restrict and even forbid the speaking of L1 in their classes，Instead，they encourage students to communicate with the target language as frequently as possible since that can increase the proficiency of the L2. Ellis（2009）proposed a theory called “negative transfer”，it signifies that in SLA，language transfer is common and before learners start the learning of another language，they fully depend on their L1 for communications with others for a long time. Therefore the structure and habits are deep-rooted and will be brought into the study of another language. However，it is not saying that the benefits of L1 can be totally ignored.

During the history of second language teaching and learning，the development of motivation can be divided into three periods（D?rnyei & Ushioda，2011），namely social psychological phase，cognitive-situated phase as well as process-directed phase. The stage of social psychological started from 1959 and ended in 1990. According to the study of Gardner（2010）in bilingual context，motivation is a complex concept，he states that motivation helps people to set up and reach their aim and in the context of second language learning，the motivation of learner have to be understood by knowing the social culture of L2 community. His theory about motivation signifies that the connection between ones motivation and objective is close，motivation affects goal and vice versa. And then two commonly used concepts in the theory of motivation were put forward by the author，one is integrative orientation，the other one is instrumental orientation. The former means the leaner study with an active attitude towards the community of the second language and the later refers to study L2 for some clear purpose. It has to be mentioned that theoretical researchers by Gardner can be considered to be the foundations of other studies in motivation.

The next stage is cognitive-situated phase which began and developed during 1990s.

In this period，the research emphasizes had been brought back to the area of psychology，the requirements of both learners and teachers as well as the classroom context were supposed to be more important than the social context. D?rnyei（1994）put forward three levels of motivation in this period，the first is language level，it confirms the importance of language and community，the second is leaner level，it includes the personality and cognitive progress of learners. The last is the level of learning situation，course，group and teacher are the most important levels in the class.

The studies of motivation is this stage had become more specific.

Process-oriented stage is the last one and the studies on the learning motivation in L2 mainly focus on three aspects. The first is the term of motivation during engagement proposed by Williams and Burden，it refers to all the feelings and behaviors in the procedure of L2 learning. Then the second is the theory about the temporary motivation of students，which emphasizes the motivation in the learning experiences of L2 learners and the third is the theory came from D?rnyei and Otto about action stage and motivational stage. In action period，aims are transferred to achievements while in motivational period，motivation drives pre-actional（the built of the aim），actional（to attend classes）and post-actional（external feedback）（D?rnyei & Ushioda，2011）. This period clearly shows a more special interest in language learners and their specific circumstances.

It is well known that a learner who is successful in the study of L2 must be a motivated learner. Motivation can be regarded as the best predictor of SLA. I will discuss the importance and positive effects of motivation from two perspectives，one is motivation in learning process and another is motivation in learning outcomes.

The Effect of Motivation on Learning Process

Motivation determines the reason why we learn a foreign language，to what degree we should work hard during learning process and what kind of results we will obtain. L2 learners with high motivation can take part in classroom activities actively while lower motivated students perform passively in language learning classroom.

During the learning progress，learners may hold different learning motivation. From social psychological perspective，Gardner put forward major types of orientations，the integrative orientation and the instrumental orientation. Motivation which is integrative-centered is related to interests for culture and language learning，whereas learners with instrumental-centered motivation concerns practicability in the study of L2. Moreover，motivation could also be classified into extrinsic motivation as well as intrinsic motivation based on the theory of self-determination（Deci & Ryan，2000）. Extrinsic motivation drivers learners to study for awards while intrinsic motivation，it has and have little to do with the language itself. While intrinsic motivation is closely associated with the needs of L2 learners themselves，such as the requirement for study aboard，the desire to acquire more employment opportunities or merely personal interest in language learning（Lepper，Henderlong，& Iyengar，2005）. According to my foreign language classroom observation experience in a secondary school in China，students in the classroom usually presented different expressions. There were some students who always performed actively from the beginning to the end of the class，they volunteered to participate in activities such as role play and they would like to take advantage of every chance to practice English so as to make themselves be proficient in the language as soon as possible. These students were motivated by intrinsic motivation and they learned L2 language for their curiosity，interests and pleasure. There were also some students who performed actively because the teacher had told them that some prizes and scores would be obtained after the class if they could take an active part in the class which drove some learners to compete against others to answer questions asked by the teacher in order to get some prizes and these students were definitely study out of external motivation. L2 learners with extinct motivation actually study in a participate in classroom activities passively. On the contrary，students drove by intrinsic motivation fulfill tasks in spontaneity and much easier to acquire success in L2 learning.

The Effect of Motivation on Learning Outcomes

According to Tian Mao（2008），the effect of motivation on study achievement is usually reflected through learning efficiency and learning strategy. L2 learners who have stronger motivation will autonomously search for effective learning strategies as possibly as they can and certainly they can study more efficiently. That is why learners with higher motivation can master a language better in a shorter time. Lepper，Henderlong and Iyngar（2005）have conducted a research to prove that motivation is associated with achievement outcomes. The results showed that the relation between classroom behaviors and internal motivation is active，but the relation between external motivation and performance in classes was negative. In a word，motivation affect outcomes and sometimes results react on motivation.

The Predictor of Success

Consequently，I believe motivation is an original and primitive force of achieving something，it can decide the success or failure and if a person is unwilling to do something at the beginning，he or she definitely cannot be successful. It is motivation that predict the success of doing something，no matter in employment or education.

With the effect of motivation in my mind，students motivation in the class should be well developed and a language teacher is also supposed to help learners set up clear learning objectives and inspire their interests in language study.

Conclusion

To conclude，there are a lot of factors that affect the learning of second language acquisition，including motivation，learners first language，age as well as personality. However，the effect of each is different and even though ones first language can be interfered in some aspects，we cannot just say that it determines the success of L2 learning. Similarly most of the mistakes made in L2 cannot be blamed to L1，because L1 really have many positive effects in SLA and who are good at first language often show talents in study the second. It is motivation that plays a decisive influence in SLA，a clear and strong motivation can inspire students potential to study and increase their learning efficiency and effectiveness and the internal motivation have more positive role. Since when a person has strong desire to do something from the inside，he or she will try their best to find methods and approaches to reach the goal. If motivation could be utilized appropriately by teachers，the work of education in second language would be much easier and likewise and L2 learners would also find it much easier to learn in a relax and effective way and at the same time enjoy the pleasure in second language learning.

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作者簡介：

吴迪（1990-），女，江苏省南京人，汉，墨尔本大学教育学硕士，河海大学翻译硕士。江苏省翻译协会会员。研究方向：二语习得，翻译理论与实践。

（作者单位：苏州国际外语学校）