فرشاد ناصری

Recent years have witnessed extensive research on motivation in second/foreign language (L2) contexts. Attempts have been made to develop motivation-based techniques and methods to boost learners’ learning outcomes in L2 programs. Yet, studies that have targeted L2 learners’ perceptions about the effectiveness of such programs in online classes remain scarce. This study addressed this gap and delved into L2 learners’ perceptions of two motivation-oriented instructions, namely the ARCS-based (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) and L2MSS vision-inspired (Second Language Motivational Self System) instructions, in an online English course. To this end, 41 learners of English were assigned to two groups. One group was instructed based on the ARCS motivation framework, and the other was instructed based on the L2MSS framework. Then, 10 volunteer participants from each group participated in focus group interviews. Thematic analysis of the data revealed 19 subthemes and 7 main themes, including 4 themes of attention-related pedagogy, relevance-oriented content, confidence-building elements, and sense of contentment/discontentment regarding the ARCS group, and 3 themes of ideal self-orientations, ought-to self-orientations, and situated learning/teaching experiences regarding the L2MSS group. The engaging content and appealing learning environment in the ARCS group and the future perspective enhancement and goal setting in the L2MSS group were motivating factors, creating positive perceptions of the two programs. The findings suggest utilizing attention-catching and vision-building strategies to motivate learners and enhance their L2 learning outcomes in online classes.