Language learning motivation is multifaceted, and within educational research, motivation is one of the most frequently studied aspects. The impetus of the current study is to further explore the impact of sociocultural diversity on international and local students’ motivation as well as its impact on the language acquisition process. This study uses the theory of integrative motivation introduced during the social-psychological period by R. Gardner and W. Lambert, attribution theory and its implications for task persistence and goal attainment as developed by B. Weiner, and the self-determination theory with its categories of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation developed during the cognitive-situated period by R. Ryan (2009) and R. Deci. This study was conducted at the high school level in Kazan Federal University (Russia) and includes international and local students enrolled in foreign language studies. In this research, the impact of sociocultural motivation is analyzed through the psychological process in interaction with social and cultural environment and may serve as a tool for teachers to support developmental strategies. The results indicate that there are differences in attitudes and motivation of international (IS)  vs. local (LS) students based on their socio-cultural background. The sample consisted of 207 students of Foreign Languages Department in Kazan Federal University: 61% Russians, 39% international (from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tadzhikistan). The students took a survey (questionnaire/interviews) that measured their perception of the classroom psychosocial learning environment and their motivation to study foreign languages. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. There were statistically significant associations between student perception and motivation for learning a foreign language. The three scales of orientation for diploma, profession and involvement emerged as having the most impact on students’ motivation to study.

Findings aim to increase intercultural understanding between international students and foreign language teachers as well as to improve university policies that address students’ needs. International students acquire values of the new sociocultural environment, they have to establish social contacts, overcome a language barrier and integrate with the new society. Their success in educational activity has to do with the social environment of higher institution and stimulate their intellectual activity. Sociocultural adaptation is considered to be one of the main conditions which accompanies the stress which international students experience at their coming into new life. Motivation that initiates and sustains behavior is one of the most significant components of learning in any environment. 

International students have higher values and educational motives at the initial stages of education (during their first two years of study). Motivation remains as one substantial aspect that influences different stages of foreign language acquisition. Thus, language teaching should result in the students understanding the foreign culture and acquiring positive attitudes and acceptance to the speakers of the foreign language and their cultures.

Although there is a huge research on the topic of socio-cultural impact on the formation of students’ motivation, we still see the necessity to describe some peculiarities and possible differences of the process in a certain region of Russian Federation as the percentage of ethnic minorities among students of Kazan Federal University has grown rapidly lately. The main aim of the research is to see what kind of diversity international and local students have in their motivational strategies. 

In the experiments reported here we applied the high school-oriented questionnaire by T. Ilyina (2011). Interviews were used to understand the contrasts in internal goals for achievement in students, to rate importance and frequency of different motivational strategies. Participants surveyed were first-year students of Foreign Languages Department of Elabuga Institute of Kazan Federal University (Russian Federation). The sample consisted of 207 students, aged between 18 and 20 (male – 37,4%; female – 62,6%; standard deviation – 0,9). The choice of age was not the result of random; it was based on the existent curriculum and the most obvious difference between first-year students (freshers). There were local and international students respectively. A qualitative case study paradigm was used in order to explore the motivational constructs and sociocultural aspects related to foreign students. The qualitative approach was chosen because of its focus on meaning as it is understood in the context of participants’ life experiences inside and outside of the auditorium. We used a variety of specifications to estimate the relationship between ethnic and socioeconomic status of students they had prior to their student life and their present motivational strategies. The students were being questioned during their first year of study, all through the semesters (2018-2019). They usually had three special English conversational classes a week, which comprised a half of their six scheduled English lessons weekly. Most interviews were held right at the lessons when students answered questions about their family ways, made up dialogues and situations about what their life used to be before they went to university. As a result or each study unit, the teacher delivered a final diagnostic test, during which students had an individual talk with their tutor and were supposed to revise all the studied material answering a list of questions on the topic. Thus they gave their tutor a chance to sum up their experience and analyze it. Every such poll finds out how exactly and why their intrinsic motivation is formed. All answer sheets turned out to be relevant. The standard error was ±2%. Data analysis further indicated the nature of family relations as one of explanatory factors in personal development and educational achievements.

This work makes a key contribution to the field’s knowledge about the potential impact of socio-cultural diversity on students’ motivation as evidenced from Russian Universities and provides a novel look at it. Research work with 207 students of Kazan Federal University has shown that international students (IS) coming to study from different countries (Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan and Turkmenistan) tend to experience mental and even physical discomfort, which strengthens their general belief in achieving their goal. 63% of IS claim that they are home-sick, and absence of relatives prevents them from focusing on formation of motivation, 14% of IS complain that they lack their habitual way of life and conditions, and 23% of IS can't formulate the exact reason. At the same time, 45% of local students (LS) consider that support of relatives and feeling at home allows them to feel motivated, 21% consider that an opportunity to lead their convenient life and normal conditions has direct influence on their motivation while 36% don't even try to examine the reasons for their motivation. Overall, our results indicate that due to considerable differences in climate, geography, religion, national food, culture, customs, international students at fist feel very stressed about the change of sociocultural environment. Another key finding is the difference between their motivational strategies. We tested the motivational scales for acquisition of profession, diploma and knowledge (0 to max.12,6 points) and found that international students are more likely to be diploma-oriented (IS 7,4 vs LS 5,6) compared to local students whose most important takeaway is knowledge (LS 8,4 vs IS 3,6). This implies that university policies should target more preventive approaches to identify motivational vulnerabilities rather than waiting until students suffer from cultural differences. Motivated studies result in high-quality learning and conceptual understanding, as well as enhanced personal growth and adjustment.

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