Motivation——the Major Individual Learner Difference in Second Language Learning

As one of major individual learner differences in second language learning,motivation is frequently used to account for differential success in learning a foreign language.When comes to definition of motivation,Ellis(2006:537) primarily defines motivation is the effort learners were prepared to make to learn a language and their persistence in learning. According to Dornyei(2001a:8) motivation is The choice of a particular action,the persistence with it,the effort expended on it.In other words,motivation is responsible for why people decide to do something,how long they are willing to sustain activity,how hard they are going to pursue it.