A Comparative Study Of L2 English Learning Motivation Between Rural And Urban Senior Middle School Students In The Rural-Urban Fringe Area

Motivation plays an essential role in students’ English learning.This study compares the rural and urban students’English learning motivation in a senior middle school,along with the correlations between their English learning motivation and some social factors,and some other learner factors.Specifically,the present study intends to address the following research questions:(1)How does rural senior middle school students’ English learning motivation develop across the grades?(2)How does urban senior middle school students’ English learning motivation develop across the grades?(3)What are the similarities and differences in the English learning motivation between rural and urban senior middle school students?(4)To what extent do other learner factors correlate with rural and urban senior middle school students’ English learning motivation?(5)To what extent do social factors correlate with rural and urban senior middle school students’ English learning motivation?The subjects of the study were 191 students ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 3 from Xiting Senior Middle School in Nantong(Gradel:67,Rural:36,Urban:31;Grade2:69,Rural:41,Urban:28;Grade3:55,Rural:34,Urban:21).The instruments were a set of questionnaires which included three sections:English learning motivation,learner factors,and social factor.All the data collected were then statistically analyzed via Excel 2003,SPSS 21.0 and jamovi 1.6.1.The results of the data analyses are as follows:1)All the senior middle school students’ English learning motivation decreased across the grades,i.e.,it reached the top in Grade 1 and declined to the bottom in Grade 3,but the declining degree between each grade was not significant.Both the rural and urban subjects seemed to share the same pattern of motivational development.2)There existed great similarities in English learning motivation development between rural and urban senior middle school students.Although both of the groups had a decline of motivation across the grades,there also existed some great differences,particularly,the rural subjects’ English learning motivation was much weaker than urban subjects’ in the overall development as well as in each grade,especially in the three categories:academic motivation,instrumental motivation and social trend motivation.3)Some learners’factors except motivation,such as the usage of English didn’t show significant correlation with rural senior middle school students’ English learning motivation.But for rural students,their desire to learn English well,importance of learning English,joy of learning English,expectation of learning English as well as their English performance of listening,speaking,reading and writing showed positive correlation with their English learning motivation.Whereas for urban students,some learners’ factors except motivation,such as desire to learn English well,usage of English,importance of learning English,joy of learning English and expectation of learning English all showed positive correlation with their English learning motivation,but some other learners’ factors such as their English performance of listening,speaking,reading as well as writing didn’t show significant correlation with their English learning motivation.Similarities in the correlation between English learning motivation and English learning interest were found both in rural and urban students,though the correlations were higher among the rural group.On the other hand,rural middle school students’ English learning motivation had great correlation with English proficiency while urban middle school students’English learning motivation had no significant correlation with English proficiency.4)Some social factors,such as parents’education,didn’t show significant correlation with rural senior middle school students’ English learning motivation,but for rural students,their satisfaction with English teachers,English textbooks and English teaching methods as well as their parents’ emphasis on the students’ English learning showed positive correlation with their English learning motivation.Whereas for urban students,their satisfaction of English teachers as well as their mothers’education level showed positive correlation with their English learning motivation.There existed some similarities between rural and urban middle school students.Both of them had significant correlation with satisfaction of English teacher,and neither of them had significant correlation with fathers’education levels.But there also existed lots of differences.Rural middle school students’ English learning motivation highly correlated with satisfaction of English book,satisfaction of English teaching ways and parents’ emphasis on students’ L2 learning while urban students didn’t.Meanwhile,urban students’ English learning motivation highly correlated with mothers’ education levels while rural students didn’t.The results above generate some pedagogical suggestions.First,English teachers need to have a better understanding of their students’ difficulties in English learning and the variation in the effects of social factors on rural and urban senior students’ motivation to learn English.Therefore English teachers should try their best to bridge the motivational gap between rural and urban students and adopt different stimulating methods to encourage both groups to learn English well.Second,parents should try their best to support and motivate their children to learn English well.Third,senior middle school students,either from the city or from the countryside,need to develop a more optimistic attitude towards English learning and commit themselves to study.