Article history

 
Introduction 
There‟s no doubt that motivation is crucial to success for most fields of 
learning, in that we need to have a desire to do something to succeed it. Without such 
motivation, we will almost certainly do not engage in some activities or do not make 
the necessary effort to complete an action or to achieve a specific goal. 
When we speak about English language learning success or failure, we often 
associate it with the motivations of language learners. Due to the vital role of 
motivation in learning English as a foreign language (EFL), it is necessary for the 
EFL teachers to take care of their students' motivation and to arouse their interest in 
learning and to maintain this state of arousal. This paper is an attempt to look at a 
theoretical approach to motivation including what motivation means, kinds of 
VISION: JOURNAL FOR LANGUAGE AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING, 2017 
VOL.6, NO.1, 20-28 
http://dx.doi.org/10.21580/vjv6i11580 
 

---

Lalu Thohir 
|21
motivation and what can drive language learners motivated for learning. Besides, to 
have a better point of view concerning learning English in the context of the 
educational program in Indonesian, it is worth noting the distinction between 
language learning and language acquisition and between foreign language and 
second language. 
Language Learning and Language Acquisition 
 
Language knowledge stems from two sources: what is learned and what is acquired. 
Learning is the conscious process of studying and intellectually understanding the 
grammar of the second language. The acquisition, on the other hand, refers to the 
unconscious absorption of general principles of grammar through real experiences of 
communication using the second language. It is the basis for most first language 
ability and regarding the second language is commonly known as „picking up a 
language' (Terral, 1977). 
Some theorists use „learning' and „acquisition' synonymously. Others maintain 
a contrast between the two terms, using „learning' to mean a conscious process 
involving the study of explicit rules of language, as is often typical of classroom 
learning in a foreign language and using „acquisition' to refer to a nonconscious 
process of rule internalization resulting from exposure to comprehensible input when 
the learner's attention is on meaning rather than form, as is more common in a second 
language context. Still, others use „acquisition' only concerning the learning of one's 
first language (Richards &Schmidt, 2002). 
Krashen (2009:10) views the distinction between acquisition and learning from 
the ways of people develop competence in a second language. The first way 
islanguage acquisition, a process similar, if not identical, to the way children develop 
ability in their first language. Language acquisition is a mental process; language 
acquirers are not usually aware of the fact that they are using the language for 
communication. Other ways of describing acquisition include implicit learning, 
informal learning, and natural learning. In non-technical language, the acquisition is 
"picking up" a language. The second way to develop competencein a second 
language is by language learning. Krashen uses the term "learning" to refer to 
conscious knowledge of a second language, knowing rules, being aware of them, and 
being able to talk about them. In non-technical terms, learning is "knowing about" a 
language, known to most people as "grammar" or "rules." Some synonymous include 
the formal language of a language or explicit learning. In short, as it is stated in 
Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education (2008:470), Krashen uses the term learning to 
refer to a conscious process of language development that occurs as a result of direct 
teaching. In contrast, the acquisition is a subconscious process of language 
development that occurs as the result of exposure to meaningful messages in a 
language.

---

22| 
VISION: JOURNAL FOR LANGUAGE AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING