Motivational model of English learning among elementary school students in Japan

Assessing the motivational responses of 239 elementary school students among 271 students (141 boys, 130 girls) comprising 63 third (8–9 years old), 62 fourth (9–10 years old), 75 fifth (10–11 years old), and 71 sixth (11–12 years old) grade students in one public elementary school in Tokyo, Japan, this study examined a motivational model of English learning, based on self-determination theory (SDT). This study also explored how developmental differences would appear in the motivational model. Results support the notion that perceived teachers' autonomy support positively predicts intrinsic motivation through students' perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, although some evidence exists for partial mediation. Regarding age differences, the path from students' perceptions of competence to intrinsic motivation showed higher coefficients for students of higher grades than for students of middle grades; the path from perceived teachers' autonomy support to intrinsic motivation showed higher coefficients for students of middle grades than for students of higher grades.