INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, we live in a fully globalized world where we all connect with everyone.
Therefore, it is essential to learn a second language because in most areas of knowledge
and human development other languages are very used. For students, learning different
languages is an absolute necessity. It's not a waste of time as many people tend to think,
but it is an investment because this learning not only increases the possibility of getting
a better job but enriches the social and cultural life, as language is the key of culture.
The development achieved by the new societies due to the economic and cultural
integration requires the mastery of different languages. This causes great challenges that
a student must dare in order to enter in a world where we are in constant communication
with other countries with different languages.
The day-to-day education of a second language is mandatorily determined by the
existing need for mastering it, that is to say, we cannot think about our professional
activity without mastering any foreign language that allows us to expand our working
and intellectual opportunities . Professional circumstances and demands of society do
not give place to consider the possibility or not to master more than one language other
than their mother tongue.
Given this circumstance, the students of secondary education (E.S.O.) are aware that
they have to study English as a second language compulsorily at high school, but also
they know that it will be necessary to continue developing their academic and
professional training. In addition to this, the reason why many adults are willing to take
up English may be related to the idea that it is difficult to get a good job without
mastering a second language. It is at this point that we will start thinking about the
feeling of motivation that students of a second language have towards this learning
process.
Within the curriculum of primary and secondary education, the learning of a second
language is included, and depending on the school, even a third foreign language is also
included.
The first language included in the academic program is English. Currently, children
begin to study English in primary (from 6-12 years), even in some schools they
introduce English in nursery education (from3 to 5 years) and they carry on learning it
until the end of secondary education (ESO), and reaching Bachelor (until the age of 18)

as well. If a student begins to study English at the age of six or seven years and gets to
finish his or her courses up to Bachelor, we can count up to eleven years of study of this
second language at least. This means a very long period of time, which the results in
English language proficiency should be more than enough. However, it is not always
like that because there are many factors that are involved in the learning of a second
language and not all the students of English learn in the same way.
According to a recent 1newspaper, Spain has one of the lowest levels of English of the
European Union. With this information we could be able to reach some conclusion
about what are the reasons why after all these years of learning a second language,
students obtain not very good results. Within the exhaustive search of all those reasons
that can explain this imbalance between training time and results, we can stop at a factor
that is increasingly taken into account when analysing the educational processes. This
factor is motivation.
Throughout this paper we will approach the concept of motivation, its definition and / or
description, its most important elements, the types of motivation and which authors
have studied this factor in depth. Especially we will make an approach to what
conditions influence students motivation and also the loss of that motivation, pretty
sure because of, inter alia, their anguished academic results.
We will focus on why motivation is an important element in a learning process, but why
it is still more important in the process of acquiring a second language. Therefore, in
this case, as good teachers of English as a second language, we must focus much of the
effort to understand and assess the elements that we have to generate and, above all, to
maintain motivation in students.
Once, we have introduced the complex issue of motivation within a theoretical
framework and have studied the characteristics that shape the motivational factor of
students, we will analyse a short and simple data collected from a sample of teenagers
and adults that learn English as a second language, in which we will reflect the
theoretical basis with opinions provided by them. Once compared these data, the
realities of the students, we will conclude this paper with a series of arguments and
elements to consider in order to improve the current academic situation of teaching
English as a second language.
1
http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2016/01/13/actualidad/1452706010_25008
1.html

So we will start the theoretical tour approaching to the concept of motivation, to the
meaning it has, from what points of view we understand motivation right now and what
different visions can have different authors and professionals who have worked in this
field.