Investigating the Influence of Value in Learners’ Motivation to Learn

Motivation among the learners is one of the most critical issues when it comes to engagement in academic activities, perseverance and performance. Based on the ERG Theory by Alderfer, the paper will examine the relationship between three essential motivational dimensions, which include value, expectancy, and affective dimensions against the background of Malaysian undergraduate language learners. The quantitative research design was adopted and a structured questionnaire was administered to 220 undergraduates. Results have shown that the value element of learning motivation serves as a primary driver of learning motivation, which has a strong influence on expectancy beliefs as well as on affective experiences. Extrinsic goal orientation, positive task-value beliefs, and moderate intrinsic orientation were high, moderate, and high respectively. The measures pertaining to expectations were also high in self-efficacy and moderate in affective measures displayed moderate levels of test anxiety. The results confirm previous findings that value, persistence, and emotional involvement are related and the applicability of ERG Theory in educational motivation studies. The implications emphasize the need to ensure that learning environments are designed to add value to tasks, build self-efficacy and resolve affective learning barriers.

Learning motivation, ERG Theory, value, expectancy

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