An Empirical Study Of Learning Motivation Of English For Non-english Major Postgraduates From The Perspective Of L2MSS Theory

Learning motivation correlates with learning performance closely.Generally speaking,if one has stronger learning motivation,he will have better learning grades.Studies about the motivational theory are conducted from many different aspects.Since Gardner and Lambert(1972)investigated motivational theory from the perspective of social psychology,researches about motivation have become popular in the field of second language teaching and learning.Early studies about motivation mainly concentrated on the discrimination between integrative motivation and instrumental motivation.In fact,the development of motivation is dynamic rather than static.It is always in the process of changing.Quite a few L2 learners just treat English as a subject or a tool to achieve their goals instead of integrating themselves into other groups or cultures,so integrative motivation shows its restriction.Due to the lacking of a scientific theory as foundation,the studies of L2 learning motivation came to a deadlock.At that time,many scholars tried to overcome the limitation and redefine L2 learning motivation,among them,Dornyei’s(2005)theory got most scholars’ support.After considering the limitation of traditional motivation and combining mainstream psychological motivation theory,Dornyei put forward L2 Motivational Self System(L2MSS)theory.L2 MSS theory was supposed to have improved the irrationality of the traditional motivation.Dornyei(2005)further converted the traditional instrumental motivation into instrumentality prevention and instrumentality promotion and put forward the concept of L2 ideal self,which made the whole theory more comprehensive and reasonable.L2MSS theory includes three items: ideal L2 self,ought-to L2 self and L2 learning experience.Compared with the traditional theory,LSMSS theory can better explain L2 learning motivation under different cultural backgrounds.Empirical studies about L2 MSS theory are mostly conducted abroad up to now.In China,studies about L2 learning motivation mainly focused on its inner structure,development pattern,brief review,types,relationships with learning grades,learning strategies,self-identity and so on(Liu,2012).In recent years,L2 MSS theory has gradually come into sight of domestic scholars.Most of them verified the rationality from the theoretical aspect,however,empirical studies based on this theory are still insufficient.Besides,there are very few studies which take postgraduates as subjects.With the expansion of the number of postgraduates,the academic achievements of this group have brought about widespread attention in society.In China,English is a compulsory course for non-English major postgraduates.Paying special attention to this group’s learning situation can not only provide suggestions for postgraduates’ English teaching,but also attract more scholars to be concerned with this group.In terms of English learning,people commonly believe that female learners can learn better than male learners,but there isn’t much evidence to prove this phenomenon.This paper tries to verify whether there is a difference between females and males in English learning performance.Supposing that there indeed exists the difference,it’s reasonable to assume that the learning motivation between females and males is different since motivation is closely correlated with learning grades.From the perspective of L2 MSS,to figure out which aspect is reflected in females’ and males’ difference needs further verification.In order to fill the research gap in the studies of postgraduates and provide evidence for the gender difference,104 non-English major postgraduates of Grade 1 are selected out to conduct the research,among whom there are 46 males and 58 females.Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies are integrated in this research.The specific methods include questionnaires,interviews and participants’ English achievements of final examination.Referring to Dornyei’s(2005)design of questionnaire,by means of abridging and adapting according to learners’ real situation,the final questionnaire has formed.In addition,6 males and 6 females were chosen to participate in a semi-structured interview,participants can answer the questions based on their own true opinion.The grades of English final examinations in December are regarded as one of the measurement variables,which are used to analyze the relationship between L2 MSS and English learning grades.All of the data are analyzed by SPSS16.0 and the questionnaire passed Alpha reliability coefficient.Three research questions are put forward to lead the study:Research Question 1: Among the three components of L2 Motivational Self System,which one plays a relatively dominant role in learners’ English learning? What are the reasons?Research Question 2: What is the relationship between the student’s English learning motivation and their English achievements?Research Question 3: Is there any difference concerning three components of L2 Motivational Self System for different genders? If there is,what causes the difference?The results are revealed as follows: firstly,L2 MSS is common among the postgraduates and affects their grades;secondly,both ideal L2 self and L2 learning experience have a positive relation with learners’ learning grades,whereas no significant relation is found between ought-to L2 self and grades.Thirdly,there exist differences in L2 MSS between males and females and females have relatively higher levels of motivation than males.This research result is hoped to provide some pedagogical implications for English teaching and learning in the aspect of ideal L2 self and L2 learning experience.