Motivational changes and their affecting factors among students from different cultural backgrounds

[Extract] Introduction: Since the introduction of Dornyei and Otto's Process Model (1998), the fluctuating nature of language learners' motivation has attracted attention from more researchers, and possible factors that may have a positive or negative impact on motivation have been extensively studied (e.g. Gardner, Masgoret, Tennant, & Mihic, 2004; Koizumi & Matsuo, 1993; MaJtsumoto, 2011; William, Burden, & Lanvers 2002). Since the early days of the study of second language (L2) learners' motivation, it has been noted that formal L2 study through classroom instruction may have some detrimental effects on learners' motivation (see Bartley, 1970; Gardner et al. 2004; Gardner, Smythe, Clement, & Gliksman, 1976; Tachibana, Matsuoka,& Zhong, 1996). That is, when learners experience actual L2 study in classrooms, their motivation is likely to deteriorate. In formal L2 education, there seems to be a number of factors that may influence L2 learners' motivation, and researchers (e.g. Chambers, 1999; Dornyei,-z 1994; Kozaki & Ross, 2011; Tanaka, 2005) have studied these in various contexts. These studies suggest that aspects of the learning contexts, including teachers, teaching methods, teaching and learning environments have some important relationship with changes in learners' motivation. At the same time, learners' cultural backgrounds have especially been regarded as a factor which is closely related to their motivation (e.g. Chizwick & Miller, 2005; Matsumoto, 2009; Tachibana et al., 1996; Wen,1997). On the basis of these findings, the current study examines somemotivational changes that have occurred among university students learning second/foreign languages and the differences in their perceptions of the factors affecting their motivation, depending on their different culturalbackgrounds.