Deci and Ryan (1985) put forward another influential dimension in classification -
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, which is widely cited nowadays. Intrinsic means “from
within”. People are intrinsically motivated not because accomplishing the activity they do
brings a reward, but because doing the activity itself is a reward. The feeling of competence
and self-determination are significant factors of intrinsic motivation. Thus, learning is driven
by the learner’s intrinsic motivation-curiosity and interest. Learners with intrinsic motivation
learn the foreign language not because the outside reward but the learning activity itself is the
reward for them.
Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is carried out in anticipation of a reward from
outside and beyond the self, which typically can be money, prizes, grades, and even certain
types of positive feedback. It focuses on something external to the learning activities and
extrinsic motivation is encouraged by outside force.