How important is motivation in second language learning?

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Didactics - English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: 2,0, Saarland University, language: English, abstract: Motivation in second language learning is an increasingly important area in applied linguistics. The current state of research is characterized by many different approaches, which have developed over time. Today there are still divided views about motivation. The social psychological approach dominated until the early 1990s. Criticized, later supplemented and eventually replaced by pedagogical and psychological concepts. In order to understand the importance of motivation in second language learning it is important to look at different types of motivation after clarifying the definition of the term 'motivation' used in the text below. This paper has been divided into three parts. First, I will give a definition of the term motivation. Then I will focus on different kinds of motivation, especially the distinctions between motivation regarding learning in general by Deci and Ryan and motivation especially in language learning by Gardner. Finally, the practical part deals with motivation in second language classroom in Saarland. Thus, the main question addressed in this paper is: How important is motivation in second language learning?