<p>The aim of the present study is to examine how the development of <i>syntactic complexity</i> and <i>accuracy</i> in spoken Spanish L2 is related to two parameters, <i>motivation</i> and <i>aptitude</i>, in which <i>individual differences</i> are often claimed to correlate with successful second language learning (Dörnyei and Skehan 2003). The study shows how an understanding of the relationship between progression in second language proficiency and motivation is gained through the study of longitudinal data and the assessment of motivation in discourse. The development of syntactic complexity and accuracy in oral performance has been chosen as main indicators of <i>proficiency level</i>. <i>Correlations</i> have been computed between proficiency levels, <i>development coefficients</i>, quantitative outcomes of aptitude tests and quantified assessment of motivation. The study is based on longitudinal data consisting of recorded interviews and conversations in Spanish in Swedish upper secondary school. </p><p>The results from the progression analysis show that the whole group develops syntactic complexity, and that individual learners concentrate on either syntactic complexity or accuracy in their development. </p><p>Discourse analytical methods have been applied to the in-depth interviews in order to identify motivational types expressed by the learner and the strength of each type. These have been represented in terms of values on a self-determination scale, the extreme points of which are '<i>intrinsic</i>' vs. '<i>extrinsic</i>' motivation. An aptitude test (<i>Lat03</i>, Meara 2005) has also been administered to the participants and analysed . </p><p>Correlations (Spearman) have been further calculated between the relevant parameters. The results indicate that self-determined, intrinsic motivation correlates with progression. Analytic aptitude, however, does not predict progression to the same extent as intrinsic motivation seems to do at this level. </p>

The aim of the present study is to examine how the development of syntactic complexity and accuracy in spoken Spanish L2 is related to two parameters, motivation and aptitude, in which individual differences are often claimed to correlate with successful second language learning (Dörnyei and Skehan 2003). The study shows how an understanding of the relationship between progression in second language proficiency and motivation is gained through the study of longitudinal data and the assessment of motivation in discourse. The development of syntactic complexity and accuracy in oral performance has been chosen as main indicators of proficiency level. Correlations have been computed between proficiency levels, development coefficients, quantitative outcomes of aptitude tests and quantified assessment of motivation. The study is based on longitudinal data consisting of recorded interviews and conversations in Spanish in Swedish upper secondary school. The results from the progression analysis show that the whole group develops syntactic complexity, and that individual learners concentrate on either syntactic complexity or accuracy in their development. Discourse analytical methods have been applied to the in-depth interviews in order to identify motivational types expressed by the learner and the strength of each type. These have been represented in terms of values on a self-determination scale, the extreme points of which are 'intrinsic' vs. 'extrinsic' motivation. An aptitude test (Lat03, Meara 2005) has also been administered to the participants and analysed . Correlations (Spearman) have been further calculated between the relevant parameters. The results indicate that self-determined, intrinsic motivation correlates with progression. Analytic aptitude, however, does not predict progression to the same extent as intrinsic motivation seems to do at this level.