The Impact of Basic Psychological Needs Frustration on L2 Achievement among Language Learners

Abstract

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) asserts that fulfilling three basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—is essential for individuals to thrive and achieve optimal performance. In educational contexts, including second-language learning, SDT research demonstrated that satisfying these needs is critical for enhancing motivation, personal growth, and well-being. However, existing studies indicated that need satisfaction alone does not fully explain students’ motivation and academic success. Therefore, investigating the impact of need frustration on language learning is necessary to clarify the relationships among psychological needs, motivation, learning outcomes, and achievement. This study employed quantitative methods to examine how frustration of basic psychological needs affects second-language learners at a public university in Saudi Arabia. The sample consisted of 222 male and female university students enrolled in English for Academic Purposes courses. The findings indicated that frustration of these basic psychological needs was a significant psychological factor in language learning for university students. The results highlighted the importance of competence and, to a lesser extent, autonomy in second-language learning. Furthermore, students who experienced greater need frustration tended to report slightly lower perceptions of their English abilities, and no meaningful gender-based differences in need frustration were found. This paper outlined educational implications and recommendations for future research.