Motivation and learning strategies used by Taiwanese Applied English majors in an elective English course

This research emphasized finding the correlation between language learning strategies and motivation orientation when Taiwanese Applied English majors participated in an elective course named "English Journalism." The researcher also investigated the correlation between motivation orientation and learning strategies to some demographic factors such as gender variation and duration of English studying.;The research subjects in the quantitative approach were 94 Applied English majors at a private college in southern Taiwan. Five quantitative research questions were created and examined concerning language learning strategies and motivation orientation used by Applied English majors in four "English Journalism" classes. The research subjects in the qualitative research were four identified high-achieving students and four identified low-achieving students who were recommended by course instructors depending upon their mid-term grades and class performance. Three qualitative research questions were created and examined concerning these eight interviewees' perceptions and experience of their strategy and motivation orientation used in the English Journalism course.;The researcher used the mixed method approach to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data. The MSLQ (Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire) and interview were utilized for data collection. For data analysis, quantitative data techniques such as the Spearman rank correlation, One-way ANOVA, and Two-way ANOVA were applied to analyze the quantitative data from the MSLQ. Qualitative data techniques such as transcribing data, coding, and comparing and contrasting the data were used for analyzing the qualitative data from the interview.;The quantitative findings indicated that a positive correlation (r s = .77, p<.05) existed between Applied English majors' learning strategies and motivation orientation when they participated in the English Journalism course. In addition, the length of time studying course materials or English was proven to be a factor affecting students' motivation orientation and learning strategy use. Applied English majors who spent more time studying English or course materials possessed higher motivation and learning strategies than students who spent less time studying. However, the findings showed there was no significant difference between males' and females' use of learning strategies and motivation orientation in the English Journalism course.;The qualitative findings showed that most interviewees used intrinsic motivation in this course, especially low-achieving students. Over half of the interviewees thought the course materials could help them improve their English competency. The findings also showed that the identified high-achieving students used more rehearsal and help-seeking learning strategies than the identified low-achieving students did.