PDF Download
PubReader
Export Citation
Email the Author
Share Facebook
Share Twitter
Cited by 0 Article
Metrics (View:102)
QR Code of this Article:
Article
Relatedness and Autonomy Support in Korean L2 Classrooms: Effects on Learners’ Goals, Persistence, and Stress
1, 1,†
Received: Jun 30, 2025 ; Revised: Oct 16, 2025 ; Accepted: Nov 08, 2025
Published Online: Dec 31, 2025
ABSTRACT
Learning a new language can be both stimulating and challenging, particularly in intensive programs. This study examines the relationship between needs-supportive teaching and Korean L2 learners’ motivations and learning attitudes. University students completed surveys that assessed their perceptions of autonomy- and relatedness-supportive teaching, as well as intrinsic and extrinsic goals, and learning outcomes, including stress and persistence. The results highlighted the central role of relatedness support; learners who perceived stronger relational behaviors such as warmth, attentiveness, and encouragement reported higher intrinsic goal endorsement, greater persistence, and lower learning-related stress. Intrinsic goals were also positively linked to the learners’ willingness to continue studying Korean. Autonomy support did not emerge as a unique predictor when modeled alongside relatedness support, likely reflecting their interrelated contributions to adaptive motivation. These findings underscore the importance of fostering relationally supportive teacher–student interactions to promote self-determined, resilient, and engaged learners. Practical implications of L2 instruction include enhancing relational support, reducing stress, and sustaining long-term engagement.
Keywords: Korean L2 education; goal contents; need-supportive teaching
References
1.
Adie, J. W., Duda, J. L., & Ntoumanis, N. (2012). Perceived coach-autonomy support, basic need satisfaction and the well- and ill-being of elite youth soccer players: A longitudinal investigation. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 13(1), 51-59 .
2.
Al-Hoorie, A. H., Oga-Baldwin, W. L. Q., Hiver, P., & Vitta, J. P. (2022). Self-determination mini-theories in second language learning: A systematic review of three decades of research. Language Teaching Research, 29(4), 1603-1638 .
3.
Assor, A., Kaplan, H., & Roth, G. (2002). Choice is good, but relevance is excellent: Autonomyenhancing and suppressing teacher behaviours predicting students' engagement in schoolwork. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72(2), 261-278 .
4.
Auerbach, R. P., Webb, C. A., Schreck, M., McWhinnie, C. M., Ho, M.-H. R., Zhu, X., & Yao, S. (2011). Examining the pathway through which intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations generate stress and subsequent depressive symptoms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30(8), 856-886 .
5.
Bao, X. H., & Lam, S. F. (2008). Who makes the choice? Rethinking the role of autonomy and relatedness in Chinese children's motivation. Child Development, 79(2), 269-283 .
6.
Behzadnia, B., Mohammadzadeh, H., & Ahmadi, M. (2017). Autonomy-supportive behaviors promote autonomous motivation, knowledge structures, motor skills learning and performance in physical education. Current Psychology, 38(6), 1692-1705 .
7.
Choi, J. S. (2015). The relation among perceived teacher autonomy support, engagement and achievement of Chinese-speaking learners of Korean: The mediating effect of self-determined motivation. Korean Education 104, 401-428 .
8.
Cox, E. M., Williams, G. C., Hedberg, V. A., & Deci, E. L. (1997). Adolescent risk behaviors and their relationship to personal aspirations and parental autonomy support. Pediatric Research, 41(3). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199704001-00025 .
9.
Davis, W. S. (2022). Autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence: Exploring the interdependence of basic needs satisfaction in postsecondary world language education. Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 4(1), Article e415422. https://doi.org/10.52598/ jpll/4/1/2 .
10.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268 .
11.
Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., Gagné, M., Leone, D. R., Usunov, J., & Kornazheva, B. P. (2001). Need satisfaction, motivation, and well-being in the work organizations of a former eastern bloc country: A cross-cultural study of self-determination. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(8), 930-942 .
12.
Dewaele, J. M., & Li, W. (2021). The influence of teaching styles on the motivation of higher education students. Learning and Individual Differences, 85, 101940 .
13.
Dincer, A., & Yeşilyurt, S. (2017). Motivation to speak English: A SDT perspective. PASAA, 53(1), 1-25 .
14.
Dincer, A., Yeşilyurt, S., & Noels, K. A. (2019). Self-determined engagement in language learning: The relations among autonomy-support, psychological needs, and engagement. Cumhuriyet International Journal of Education, 8(4), 1130-1147 .
15.
Dörnyei, Z. (2009). The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 9-42). Multilingual Matters .
17.
Ferber, K. A., Bradshaw, E. L., Noetel, M., Wong, T. Y ., & Ryan, R. M. (2024). Does the apple fall far from the tree? A meta-analysis linking parental factors to children's intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Psychological Bulletin, 150(10), 1155-1177 .
18.
Froiland, J. M., & Worrell, F. C. (2016). Parental autonomy support, community feeling and student expectations as contributors to later achievement among adolescents. Educational Psychology, 37(3), 261-271 .
19.
Fryer, L. K., Ginns, P., & Walker, R. (2014). Between students' instrumental goals and how they learn: Goal content is the gap to mind. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 84(4), 612-630 .
20.
Furrer, C., & Skinner, E. (2003). Sense of relatedness as a factor in children's academic engagement and performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(1), 148-162 .
21.
Girelli, L., Alivernini, F., Lucidi, F., Cozzolino, M., Savarese, G., Sibilio, M., & Salvatore, S. (2018). Autonomy supportive contexts, autonomous motivation, and self-efficacy predict academic adjustment of first-year university students. Frontiers in Education, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2018.00095 .
22.
Hope, N. H., Holding, A. C., Verner-Filion, J., Sheldon, K. M., & Koestner, R. (2018). The path from intrinsic aspirations to subjective well-being is mediated by changes in basic psychological need satisfaction and autonomous motivation: A large prospective test. Motivation and Emotion, 43(2), 232-241 .
23.
Inguglia, C., Ingoglia, S., Liga, F., Lo Coco, A., & Lo Cricchio, M. G. (2014). Autonomy and relatedness in adolescence and emerging adulthood: Relationships with parental support and psychological distress. Journal of Adult Development, 22(1), 1-13 .
24.
Jang, H. (2008). Supporting students' motivation, engagement, and learning during an uninteresting activity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(4), 798-811 .
25.
Jang, H., Kim, E., & Reeve, J. (2016). A new autonomy-supportive way of teaching that increases conceptual learning. Journal of Experimental Education, 84(4), 586-609 .
26.
Jang, H., Reeve, J., & Deci, E. L. (2010). Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 588-600 .
27.
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1993). A dark side of the American dream: Correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 410-422 .
28.
Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1996). Further examining the American dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(3), 280-287 .
29.
Kim, T. Y., & Kim, Y. (2020). Structural relationship between L2 learning motivation and resilience and their impact on motivated behavior and L2 proficiency. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-020-09721-8 .
30.
Koh, H. J., & Kim, Y. J. (2011). A study on the types of self-determination motivation and the correlation with the academic achievements for Chinese speaking Korean learners. Journal of Korean Language Education, 22(1), 1-26 .
31.
Lee, S. (2025, April 9). Korea ranks 10th in OECD for int'l student growth. The Korea Herald. Retrieved from https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10461533 .
32.
Lekes, N., Gingras, I., Philippe, F. L., Koestner, R., & Fang, J. (2009). Parental autonomysupport, intrinsic life goals, and well-being among adolescents in China and North America. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(8), 858-869 .
33.
Li, C., Kee, Y. H., Kong, L. C., Zou, L., Ng, K. L., & Li, H. (2019). Autonomy-supportive teaching and basic psychological need satisfaction among school students: The role of mindfulness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(14), Article 2599 .
34.
Li, Z. (2015). An analysis of relationship between motivation for self-determination and self-regulated learning of Chinese Korean learners. Journal of Korean Language Education, 26(3). 201-245 .
35.
Ling, Y., He, Y., Wei, Y., Cen, W., Zhou, Q., & Zhong, M. (2016). Intrinsic and extrinsic goals as moderators of stress and depressive symptoms in Chinese undergraduate students: A multi-wave longitudinal study. BMC Psychiatry, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888016-0842-5 .
36.
Mahmoodi, M. H., & Yousefi, M. (2021). Second language motivation research 2010-2019: A synthetic exploration. The Language Learning Journal, 50(3), 273-296 .
37.
McEown, M. S., & Oga-Baldwin, W. L. Q. (2019). Self-determination for all language learners: New applications for formal language education. System, 86, 102-124 .
38.
Mercer, S., & Ryan, S. (2010). Teaching and learning in the language classroom. Oxford University Press .
39.
Metheny, J., McWhirter, E. H., & O'Neil, M. E. (2008). Measuring perceived teacher support and its influence on adolescent career development. Journal of Career Assessment, 16(2), 218-237 .
40.
Milyavskaya, M., & Koestner, R. (2011). Psychological needs, motivation, and well-being: A test of SDT across multiple domains. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(3), 387-391 .
41.
Nam, A. R. (2012). Exploring motivation and attitude: Learning persistence of university learners beyond the first year Korean. Journal of the International Network for Korean Language and Culture, 9(2), 119-143 .
42.
Neufeld, A., Mossière, A., & Malin, G. (2020). Basic psychological needs, more than mindfulness and resilience, relate to medical student stress: A case for shifting the focus of wellness curricula. Medical Teacher, 42(12), 1401-1412 .
43.
Niemiec, C. P., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2009). The path taken: Consequences of attaining intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations in post-college life. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(3), 291-306 .
44.
Noels, K. A. (2001). Learning Spanish as a second language: Learners' orientations and perceptions of their teachers' communication style. Language Learning, 51(1), 107-144 .
45.
Noels, K. A., Pelletier, L. G., Clément, R., & Vallerand, R. J. (2000). Why are you learning a second language? motivational orientations and self‐determination theory. Language Learning, 50(1), 57-85 .
46.
Noels, K. A., Pelletier, L. G., Clément, R., & Vallerand, R. J. (2003). Why are you learning a second language? Motivational orientations and self-determination theory. Language Learning, 53(1), 33-64 .
47.
Noels, K. A., Pelletier, L. G., Clément, R., & Vallerand, R. J. (2019). Why are you learning a second language? Motivational orientations and self-determined motivation. Language Learning, 69(3), 634-669 .
48.
O'Reilly, E. N. (2014). Correlations among perceived autonomy support, intrinsic motivation, and learning outcomes in an intensive foreign language program. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(7), 1313-1318 .
49.
Oga-Baldwin, W. L. Q., & Ryan, R. M. (2025). Competence need satisfaction in language learning (and beyond): Current state of the evidence and directions for exploration. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 15(2), 279-299 .
50.
Patall, E. A., Vasquez, A. C., Steingut, R. R., Trimble, S. S., & Pituch, K. A. (2017). Supporting and thwarting autonomy in the high school science classroom. Cognition and Instruction, 35(4), 337-362 .
51.
Reeve, J. (2006). Teachers as facilitators: What autonomy-supportive teachers do and why their students benefit. The Elementary School Journal, 106(3), 225-236 .
52.
Reeve, J. (2012). A self-determination theory perspective on student engagement. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 149-172). Springer .
53.
Reeve, J. (2016). Autonomy-supportive teaching: What it is, how to do it. In: Liu, W., Wang, J., Ryan, R. (Eds.) Building autonomous learners. Singapore: Springer .
54.
Reeve, J., & Cheon, S. H. (2021). Autonomy-supportive teaching: Its malleability, benefits, and potential to improve educational practice. Educational Psychologist, 56(1), 54-77 .
55.
Reeve, J., & Jang, H. (2006). What teachers say and do to support students' autonomy during a learning activity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 209-218 .
56.
Reeve, J., Jang, H., Carrell, D., Jeon, S., & Barch, J. (2004). Enhancing students' engagement by increasing teachers' autonomy support. Motivation and Emotion, 28(2), 147-169 .
57.
Ryan, A. M., & Patrick, H. (2001). The classroom social environment and changes in adolescents' motivation and engagement during middle school. American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 437-460 .
58.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Press .
59.
Sparks, C., Dimmock, J., Lonsdale, C., & Jackson, B. (2016). Modeling indicators and outcomes of students' perceived teacher relatedness support in high school physical education. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 26(2016), 71-82 .
60.
Sparks, C., Dimmock, J., Whipp, P., Lonsdale, C., & Jackson, B. (2015). "Getting connected": High school physical education teacher behaviors that facilitate students' relatedness support perceptions. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 4(3), 219-236 .
61.
Tong X. L. (2018). A study on the research trends of language learning motivation studies in Korean language education. The Academy for Korean Language Education, 114, 193-224 .
62.
Ushioda, E. (2011). Language learning motivation, self and identity: Current theoretical perspectives. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 24(3), 199-210 .
63.
Vallerand, R. J. (1997). Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 29, 271-360. https://doi.org/10.1016/S00652601(08)60019-2 .
64.
Vallerand, R. J. (2000). Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory: A view from the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 312-318. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_06 .
65.
Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., & Deci, E. L. (2006). Intrinsic versus extrinsic goal contents in SDT: Another look at the quality of academic motivation. Educational Psychologist, 41(1), 19-31 .
66.
Vansteenkiste, M., Matos, L., Lens, W., & Soenens, B. (2007). Understanding the impact of intrinsic versus extrinsic goal framing on exercise performance: The conflicting role of task and ego involvement. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 8(5), 771-794 .
67.
Vansteenkiste, M., Simons, J., Lens, W., Sheldon, K. M., & Deci, E. L. (2004a). Motivating learning, performance, and persistence: The synergistic effects of intrinsic goal contents and autonomy-supportive contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(2), 246-260 .
68.
Vansteenkiste, M., Simons, J., Lens, W., Soenens, B., & Matos, L. (2005). Examining the motivational impact of intrinsic versus extrinsic goal framing and autonomy-supportive versus internally controlling communication style on early adolescents' academic achievement. Child Development, 76(2), 483-501 .
69.
Vansteenkiste, M., Simons, J., Lens, W., Soenens, B., Matos, L., & Lacante, M. (2004b). Less is sometimes more: Goal content matters. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(4), 755-764 .
70.
Wang, Y., King, R. B., Wang, F., & Leung, S. O. (2021). Need-supportive teaching is positively associated with students' well-being: A cross-cultural study. Learning and Individual Differences, 92, Article 102051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102051 .
71.
Yang, Y., Li, W., & Zhang, Y. (2025). The role of autonomy-support and links with well-being, engagement, and achievement in Korean L2 learners. Language Research, 61(1), 1-22 .
72.
Zhang, Y., Zhang, J., Gu, J., & Tse, H. H. M. (2021). Employee radical creativity: The roles of supervisor autonomy support and employee intrinsic work goal orientation. Innovation, 24(2), 1-19 .