Fun Feature – Motivation Logic Problem

Motivation Logic Problem

By Clin Lei and Catherin Pham

There are many reasons why someone might want to learn a language. Internal motivations include things like a desire to understand your favorite singer’s lyrics or communicating with family members. External motivations include things like learning a language to move to the next level at work or fulfill a degree requirement. Learners often have multiple reasons for learning a language, and their motivations may change over time. The logic problem below helps you think about various things that might motivate people to learn a language. As you complete it, think about how the reasons may relate to your own reasons for learning a language.

Imagine that you are an academic adviser at a university. All students at your university are encouraged to take foreign language courses, and part of your job is to help make sure they are registered for these courses. Unfortunately, there was a mix up with the paperwork, and it is not clear which courses your students Isabel, Sabina, Anthony, and Pedro were registered for. Using the clues given, figure out the language course each student is taking and their primary motivation for learning that language. (NOTE: Each student is only learning one language.)