A Case Study Of The Impact Of Learning Experiences On The Motivation Of College Students' Foreign Language Learning

Motivation is the combination of effort,the desire to achieve the goal of learning the language and favorable attitudes towards learning the language.(Gardner 1985).Among all of the researchers' interpretations on the complex constructs of motivation,D?rnyei and Otto's Second Language Motivational Self System Theory(L2MSS)is the most influential one which contains three components,the Ideal L2 Self,the Ought-to L2 Self and Learning experience.It not only emphasizes learners' own desire to change from identity as-is to identity to-be but also expands the scope of motivation research in SLA.With its comprehensive examination of the multiple facets of motivation,the L2 MSS has generated empirical studies(e.g.,Al-Shehri,2009;Csizér &Kormos,2009;Taguchi,Magid,& Papi,2009).Some studies(e.g.,Taguchi et al.,2009)included all three components,while others(e.g.,Csizér & Kormos,2009)focused on one or two of the components.All of these studies are associated with the evidence to the validity of the proposed framework in different settings.However,L2 learning experience has not been systematically investigated in empirical studies,especially aiming at fulfillment of the framework of the theory.As a lingua franca,English has become a dispensable communication instrument in today's world of globalization and English learning is also an academic requirement for college students in China.Thus,the study will inform EFL teachers and educational administrators in the school of the factors that will influence students' learning motivation;therefore they could make accordant adaptations in their work.This study explores into the concept of and factors in L2 learning experience and their impacts on L2 learning.In this thesis,research questions are as follows: 1.Does college students' EFL learning motivation change over time? How does it change? 2.Does their learning experience impact on their EFL learning motivation? 3.What factors in their learning experience enhance their EFL learning motivations and what factors decrease them? In order to explore these questions,this research adopts qualitative methods such as semi-structured interview and open observation to collect the data and the grounded theory is used to analyze the data.Participants are four sophomore English major students who are selected based on the questionnaire of learning motivation and purposeful sampling,specifically intensity sampling and stratified sampling as well as teacher's recommendation.The major findings of this thesis are as follows: firstly,college students' EFL learning motivation exactly exchange over time.Inspired by the facilitative factors,their learning motivation could be enhanced and be diminished influenced by hindering factors.Secondly,their learning experiences have influence on their EFL learning motivation.Thirdly,according to the comparison and analysis of the selected records,it classifies those factors into these two categories and in each category there are many concrete factors concerning with teacher,student,and the academic learning environment around them.From the results of the thesis,some implications could be drawn.As the main participant of teaching,teachers should adopt mixed approaches,such as interesting and educational videos,role plays,adaptations of the text and role exchange with students.Furthermore,the second language learning experiences do impact the learners' EFL learning motivation,but they are the external factors.What really leads great role in inspiring their EFL learning motivation is their L2 proficiencies.These are the internal factors.Hence,the students should set up correct beliefs that they should spare no effort to reinforce their basic language skills instead of leaving excessive hope on learning experience.