Defining oracy: Second language listening and speaking motivation in higher education and the role of demographic factors

Since listening and speaking are two integral skills for effective second language (L2) communication, enhancing learners’ motivation to listen to and speak in the target language will engage them in the learning process, eventually leading to improvements in these two skills. Yet despite its importance, L2 listening and speaking motivation is underexplored in the current literature. Drawing on self-determination theory, this study adapted, validated, and administered one L2 listening motivation scale and one L2 speaking motivation scale to 863 undergraduate students from different regions of China. Correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and inferential statistical analyses (e.g., ANOVA) were used to compute the data. The results revealed that the learners were both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to listen to and speak in English. A strong association between L2 listening motivation and speaking motivation was observed. Furthermore, gender, geographical, and disciplinary differences were found in the two kinds of motivation, and overseas experience also affected the learners’ motivation. The results provide insights into L2 learner motivation in specific linguistic domains and yield pedagogical implications for L2 teaching and learning.