Integrative Motivation: How Perceptions of the Target Language Country Influence Students' Motivational Pattern

Motivation has been recognized by both psychologists and educators as one of the key elements for a successful learning outcome. In research on motivation in language learning, it is customary to view the construct as a dyadic unity of integrative and instrumental motivation. The former includes the learners' attitudes towards the culture and native speakers of the target language. This research aims to explore whether integrative motivation is ubiquitous in the foreign language classroom. For this purpose, context analysis of the open-ended questionnaires was carried out to examine perceptions that students learning Russian at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) have about Russia, its culture and people. As the results revealed, initially, only scant traces of integrative motivation were detected. However, in the course of the language program, "integrative" drive intensified. The paper proceeds to discuss whether and how pedagogical intervention might alter the learners' motivational pattern. (Contains 2 tables.)