A Study On English Learning Motivation And Stimulating Strategies For Art Students

There is no doubt that motivation is one of the most important factors that affect L2 learning. Research on motivation for foreign language learning was started in the 1950s by Canadian psychologists, Gardner and Lambert. Although research on motivation for foreign language learning started from the 1980s in China, it is still a relatively new area and few of the research mainly focus on art students.Given such present situation, the researcher administered a questionnaire on English learning motivation of 141 freshmen in DUT (Dalian University of Technology) and 138 freshmen in LAFA (Luxun Academy of Fine Arts). The research aims at exploring the motivation of art students and strategies to motivate them. The results of the questionnaire were put into computer and analyzed by SPSS. Such statistical procedure as descriptive analysis, independent samples T-test and correlation analysis are applied.According to the results of descriptive analysis and independent samples T-test, the motivation type of art students is the same as non-art students, that is, the mainly motivation is instrumental motivation. However, there exist great differences between art students and non-art students on motivational intensity, with the motivational intensity of art students much lower than that of non-art students, therefore the motivation of art students needs to be stimulated. As to the correlation analysis, the following results are obtained: motivational intensity correlates positively and significantly with achievement, motivational intensity correlates closely and positively with motivational variables, and motivational variables also have significant correlations with achievement. Thus, based on the results of the research, some stimulating strategies are put forward and an experiment was conducted to testify these strategies. Two classes, the control class and the experiment class were involved in the experiment. The experiment lasted for 17 weeks, applying the strategies suggested in daily teaching. At the end of the semester, the two classes took another Band-A test and the motivation part of the questionnaire was conducted in the experiment class again. The results of the questionnaire demonstrate there is a little increase in integrative motivation in experiment class and the results of the test prove greater improvement in the experiment class. Thus such a conclusion can be drawn that the stimulating strategies are effective in motivating students in learning English.