A Study On Students' English Learning Motivation In Senior High School

Motivation is the factor that stimulates people to reach certain goals and the impetus to propel people to move forwards. It is also considered as an internal force that activates, guides and maintains individual's behavior towards a certain aim, satisfying individual's requirement. English learning motivation is regarded as one of the dynamic factors for foreign language learners, as it can cultivate English learners'interests, set ambitious goals, overcome learning barriers and strengthen self-confidence and sense of achievements. The New Curriculum Standard has attached the importance of English learning motivation to the students'affection goal. Motivation can stimulate students'learning enthusiasm, making them participate in the classroom activities actively. Motivation teaching theories can also guide masses of English teachers theoretically and practically.This paper reviews varieties of significant motivation theories for teaching and learning, including enforcement motivation theory, hierarchies of need theory, attribution theory, and self-efficacy theory. The research introduces the motivation categories:intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, integrative motivation and instrumental motivation.The research is an empirical one mainly focusing on intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and attribution motivation. On the bases of the related theories and researches, the paper proposes a survey consisting of a series of questionnaires, and interviews with the teachers and students concerned by the means of SPSS and EXCELL in order to explore the features of senior high school students'English learning motivation and the main factors affecting English learning motivation. Eventually, some measures and suggestions are put forward in the following aspects:the cultivating of the interest, the classroom teaching process and evaluation, proper attribution and study worries relief and stimulating of integrative motivation, etc. I hope all these concrete methods can benefit English teachers and researchers.