A Study On English Learning Motivation Types And Intensity Of Students In Technician Institutes

As an important communication tool, English has penetrated into many aspects of modern society. Viewed as a key factor that influences English learning effect, motivation has captured great attention of language acquisition researchers. Although there have been considerable researches related to motivation home and abroad, the researches on English learning motivation of students in technician institutes are few. Technician level students are expected to understand English prompts, instructions, manuals, etc. and have the competence to receive the leading technical training and learn advanced technology abroad.However, in the present, English levels of most students in technician institutes can not meet the above requirement. In order to know about their practical English learning motivation, the author focused on the following research questions:(1) the major motivation types and intensity; (2) the effect of gender on motivation types and intensity; (3) the effect of English proficiency on motivation types and intensity.Aiming at these questions, the author made an English proficiency test and a questionnaire among 142 students from Shandong Technician Institute. The questionnaire adopted in this survey is designed by professor Gao Yihong (2003), which is to investigate English learning motivation of undergraduates. The author makes descriptive analysis, means comparison and correlation analysis according to the data collected. The findings are as follows:1. Among the seven types of motivation, social responsibility, personal development and information media are the leading motivation. The overall motivation intensity of participants is middle and lower level. The whole English level of participants is not high.2. Means of females in internal interest, social responsibility and personal development motivation are higher than those of males, and the difference is significant (p<0.05). The overall motivation and motivation intensity of females are higher than those of males, but there is no significant difference between them. 3. English proficiency test scores have strong positive correlations with internal interest, personal development, information media motivations and motivation intensity (p<0.01), proficiency is also positive correlated to social responsibility motivation (p<0.05). While test scores of students have negative correlations with achievement motivation.Based on the results of this research, the author proposes that teachers should try their best to cultivate and develop students'intrinsic motivation, maintain and strengthen students'extrinsic motivation as well as create favorable learning situations. Through the above means, motivations of students are expected to be enhanced effectively and better teaching effect may be achieved.