The Influence of Culture and Identity on Motivation in the English-as-a-Second-Language Acquisition Process: A Quasi-Experimental Study with Ecuadorian University Students

Abstract

Motivation is a key predictor of success in second language (L2) acquisition, yet how culture and identity shape it among Latin American learners remains under-examined. This study used a quasi-experimental design with non-equivalent control and experimental groups (n = 100) to test the effect of an eight-week culturally responsive pedagogical intervention on the motivation of intermediate-level English-as-a-second-language learners at a public university in Ecuador, measured with the validated Spanish version of Gardner’s Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). An independent-samples t-test revealed a statistically significant difference in post-intervention motivation scores between the experimental group (M = 156.1, SD = 31.2) and the control group (M = 134.5, SD = 28.4), t(98) = 3.91, p = 0.002, Cohen’s d = 0.72. The intervention was associated with a medium-to-large increase in motivation, consistent with sociocultural theory, the socio-educational model, the L2 Motivational Self System, and identity-investment theory; because the control group did not receive an equally novel activity, this finding should be read as preliminary evidence for the cultural/identity component specifically. Implications for culturally sensitive language teaching in diverse Hispanic contexts are derived.