Changes in Task Motivation and Their Relationship With Oral Performance in Audiovisual‐Based Continuation Tasks

Motivation has received sustained attention from second language (L2) researchers for decades, but task motivation in situated contexts remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the changes in Chinese English as a Foreign Language students’ task motivation in audiovisual‐based continuation tasks, and examine the relationship between task motivation and oral performance. Seventy‐two second‐year Business English majors completed eight speaking tasks that required them to complete, extend, and create speeches or role‐plays after watching incomplete videos over one academic year. Data were collected from task motivation questionnaires, students’ continued speeches, and reflective journals. It was found that (1) while overall task motivation remained relatively stable, the constructs of “content and novelty” and “efforts” exhibited significant variations across eight tasks; (2) the correlations between task motivation and oral performance varied depending on the level of task motivation, task type, and other variables. The findings shed light on how task motivation can be fostered in second language learning.