Motivational Regulation in Business Undergraduates’ EFL Learning: A Self-Determination Theory Study

Abstract

Self-determination theory explains motivational quality through the satisfaction of autonomy, competence and relatedness. In business-college EFL, English functions both as a programme requirement and as a career resource, so students may pursue learning for mixed self-determined and controlled reasons.
This study aims to extend SDT-based measurement of motivational regulations and basic psychological needs among business-college EFL learners in Saudi Arabia, and to examine how need satisfaction relates to intrinsic motivation, internalised regulation and external regulation.
A cross-sectional survey will be administered to EFL students at the College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University (Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia). Instruments will measure motivational regulations and need satisfaction using SDT-informed EFL scales. Data will be analysed using factor analysis to validate the measurement structure and regression/structural modelling to estimate relationships between needs and motivation types. Reliability and construct validity will be examined using internal consistency and model-fit evidence.
The analysis is expected to support three motivation factors (intrinsic; identified/introjected; external) and three need factors (autonomy; competence; relatedness). Higher need satisfaction is expected to relate more strongly to intrinsic and internalised regulations than to external regulation, with autonomy showing a negative association with external regulation.
The study provides an SDT-based diagnostic workflow for business-oriented EFL programmes and identifies actionable need-support levers that can strengthen higher-quality motivation in Saudi higher education.
Validating SDT measures in this setting and modelling need–motivation links can inform targeted pedagogical support aligned with students’ academic and career goals.
Future research should complement cross-sectional evidence with longitudinal and classroom-intervention studies that strengthen autonomy support, competence-building feedback and relatedness in EFL instruction.