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is always considered the important psychological factors that affect foreign languages learning. Furthermore, motivation is foreign languages learner’s competence source, which can stimulate the individuals learning, keep their learning activity and make learning behavior develop a certain goal.
Motivation contains learner’s efforts, intense learning, desire and active learning attitude. (Gardner & Lambert, 1972) Traditionally, foreign languages learning motivation can be divided into three types: instrumental motivation, integrative motivation (Gardner & Lambert, 1972; Gardner, 1985), and resultant motivation (Ellis, 1994: 509-15). Instrumental motivation means learning the language for an ulterior motive unrelated to its use by native speakers, to pass an examination, to get a certain kind of job, and so on (Cook; 97, 2000). The kind of people who hold the instrumental motivation put emphasis on the actual values and material gain brought by foreign language learning. Nowadays, the motivation of the majority of Chinese students studying foreign languages belongs to the instrumental motivation. The so-called integrative motivation means that the learners have real interest in their target languages and hope to acquaint themselves with culture, history and social knowledge of target languages, and can communicate with the native people fluently. Gardner (2001) holds that people who hold the instrumental motivation may be more successful than those who hold integrative motivation.
Research shows that during foreign language learning, some learners learn foreign languages with an integrative motivation, or with an instrumental one, or indeed with both (Cook, 97: 2000). The stronger the learning motivation is, the bigger the possibility of success is. No matter what kind of motivation you choose, all of them can play a promoted role in foreign language learning, which has to be learner’s main motivation. Comparatively, integrative motivation plays a key role in the success of foreign language learning (Gardner & Lambert, 1972).
Compared with the traditional classification of motivation, however, cognition psychologists are inclined to divide motivation into intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation (crooks, G & R. Schmidt, 1989: 217-56). Intrinsic motivation is the stimulation or drive stemming from within oneself. He defines intrinsic motivation as follows: intrinsically motivated activities are ones for which there is no apparent reward except the activity itself. People seem to engage in the activities for their own sake and not because they lead to an extrinsic reward, but intrinsic behaviors are aimed at bringing about certain internally rewarding consequences, namely, feeling of competence and self-determination. However, extrinsic motivation means “from the outside”. The questions “what can I get if I do this thing?” and “what’s the reward from my parents if I pass the exam?” reflect the extrinsic motivation. He also states that extrinsic motivation occurs when a foreign language learner performs an act to gain something outside the activity itself, such as passing an exam, or obtaining financial rewards. They are doing an exam, or obtaining financial rewards not because they want to, but because they feel they need to. They feels it is useful because there will be an outcome. In other words, extrinsic motivation is encouraged by outside forces; behavior is performed because of the expectation of an o