ABSTRACT

Motivation is not only an outward strength to encourage students to learn, but also an inherent force to promote students’ constant learning. Motivation is one of the main elements that determine a learner’s foreign language learning achievements. Motivation can be categorized into different types according to different criteria, such as instrumental motivation and integrative motivation, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, and situational motivation.

Although it is generally believed that English majors must have stronger motivation than non-English majors to learn English, many English-majors complain that they are forced to learn English by their parents and think acquisition of English cannot help them to find a decent job. 

This study is designed to investigate English majors’ motivation in English learning. In this research, participants are 150 English majors from the School of Foreign Languages in Jiangsu University and a questionnaire and interview are designed to discover the different types of students EFL learning motivation. The findings show that students’ motivation of individual development is the strongest and the motivation of going abroad is the weakest. It is also found that the intrinsic motivation of English majors in Jiangsu University is not as strong as people commonly expect.

Some pedagogical implications are concluded according to the results. EFL teachers should pay more attention to reinforcing students’ self-confidence and arousing their learning interest. Teachers also need to create better learning environment for students, such as improving the quality of English class and selecting suitable textbooks.  

Key words: English learning motivation; English majors; pedagogical implications

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One INTRODUCTION-1

1.1 Research Background-1

1.2 Objective of the Present Study-2

1.3 Significance of the Study-2

1.4 Overview of the Study-3

Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW-4

2.1 Definition of Motivation-4

2.2 Classifications of Motivation-5

2.2.1 Integrative and Instrumental Motivation-5

2.2.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation-5

2.3 Previous Research on Motivation Abroad-6

2.4 Previous Research on Motivation at Home-7

Chapter Three  METHODOLOGY-8

3.1 Research Questions-8

3.2 Subjects-8

3.3 Instruments-9

3.3.1 Questionnaire-9

3.3.2. Interview-10

3.4 Data Collection-10

3.5 Data Analysis-11

Chapter Four RESULTS AND DISCUSSION-12

4.1 Results concerning Types of English Majors’ EFL Learning Motivation-12

4.2 Motivation Discrepancies between High- and Low-proficiency Groups-15

4.2.1 Formation of the Groups-15

4.2.2 The Motivational Differences between High- and Low-proficiency Groups-16

Chapter Five CONCLUSION-19

5.1 Pedagogical Implications-19

5.2 Limitations of the Current Study-20

5.3 Recommendations for Future Study-21

REFERENCES-22

Appendix I-24

Appendix II-26