Of all the social issues, however, the most critical is often that of student motivation. I am not using the word “motivation” in a vaguely moral sense, but in a strictly psychological one: I mean not so much “motivation” as “motive.” Human beings operate in terms of reinforcement — reward and punishment. Where these are lacking, there is no response. The truth is that learning a language might result in a good job, a good marriage, a good home. It is tangible rewards such as those that can make a difference, not some abstract “level of motivation.”