Motivonia: Wellbeing and Well-Willing, Two Factors of English Language Learners’ Motivated Behaviour

Drawing on the overlap between concepts of wellbeing and motivation, based on motivonia, human motivation is derived by the wellbeing experienced in the past, present, and well-willing (desired future wellbeing). Due to the long-term procedure of learning a foreign language and the necessity of intended effort and maintaining motivated behaviour, this study investigated the effect of wellbeing and well-willing as two main motivonic factors on English language learners’ intended effort, and probed the impact of English learning wellbeing on learners’ general wellbeing.

The data were collected during the autumn in 2019, through a self-developed quatitative questionnaire entailing 38 Likert-type scales and some demographic items from 193 students of Islamic Azad University of Islamshahr and six secondary schools in Baharestan county, who were attending private language courses as well. Data analysis was performed using multiple linear regression and Pearson correlation tests via SPSS version 26.

The results revealed that the learners’ L2 engaging wellbeing (adjusted R2 = .65, p < .01) and well-willing (adjusted R2 = .34, p < .01) had positive significant effects on their willingness to devote future efforts to learn English. Moreover, the learners’ English learning wellbeing (adjusted R2 = .28, p < .01), but not well-willing, indicated significant effect on their global wellbeing.

The results, in line with motivonia, indicated that policy-makers of wellbeing and education, should consider the ultimate end of any motivational engagement in the direction of promoting wellbeing, and take necessary steps to form and improve well-willing and wellbeing-oriated education in order to enhance motivated behaviour among learners of English.