A Study On Motivation Of English Major Undergraduates

With the pioneering study of motivation by Gardner and Lambert (1959), the research of motivation has been attracting the attention of scholars and educators. Many empirical studies demonstrate that motivation plays a primary role in language learning (Gardner, Tremblay, & Masgoret, 1997; Crooks & Schmidt, 1991; Gardner, 1985). But the research of motivation began much later in China since 1980s, and most studies focus on the motivation of non-English majors. The study is based on the previous study with the focus on the motivation of English major undergraduates. The overall purpose is to identify the motivation types among English majors, explore whether there are differences in motivation between males and females, high-achievers and low-achievers as well as students of different grades, and determine whether there are correlations between motivation types and motivation intensity. Accordingly, the research questions are presented as follows:1. What is the classification of the motivation types among English majors?2. Are there any differences in students' motivation based on gender, English proficiency and grade?3. Are there any correlations between motivation types and motivation intensity?4. What are the main factors that influence students' motivation?A total of 162 English major undergraduates were chosen. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in the study. The quantitative study aims to investigate students' motivation with Gao Yihong's (2004) motivation questionnaire as the instrument, and the qualitative study attempts to identify factors influencing students' motivation by the way of interview.The study reveals that:A. Seven types of motivation exist among English major undergraduates, including use or medium, individual development, situation, achievement, going abroad, interest, and required. Students show strongest motivation in individual development, and lowest in going abroad.B. Males and females show significant differences in interest motivation and use or medium motivation. High-achievers and low-achievers show significant differences in motivation of achievement, going abroad, interest, required, and motivation intensity. Seniors and juniors show significant differences in individual development motivation, and seniors show greater interest in English learning than juniors. Thus, to cultivate and maintain interest motivation is worth educators' attention.C. Motivation intensity correlates positively with motivation of use or medium, individual development, going abroad, and interest. Negative correlations exist between motivation intensity and motivation of situation, achievement, and required.D. Both internal and external factors can have effect on students' motivation. Internal factors consist of learner interest, learner attitude, learner achievement and self-confidence, while external factors are compromised of parents, personal development, and teaching. It is hoped that the study can help the teacher understand the students' motivation more deeply, and realize the importance of motivation in language learning. Moreover, by discussing the main factors that influence students' motivation, some ways to stimulate the students' motivation are advanced to give the teacher some hint to improve teaching and make English learning more efficient.