A Study On Developmental Pattern Of Non-English Major Postgraduates' Motivation In Learning English

Motivation is one of the main factors that influence language learning. With reference to western motivational theories, more and more researches have been implemented to investigate English learning motivation in the Chinese context. Although there have been considerable surveys and studies related to motivation in second language acquisition, almost no empirical researches on the developmental pattern of non-English major postgraduates' motivation in learning English.Thus, the present study is designed to make an investigation of non-English major postgraduates' motivation, and how it changes by comparing the first-year, second-year and third-year non-English major postgraduates. The aim of the study is to explore the developmental pattern of non-English major postgraduates' motivation in learning English. Based on the research results, the author has put forward some suggestions for the teachers to stimulate the postgraduates' motivation effectively, in hopes to improve teaching effectively.In order to fulfill the research purpose, the author has conducted a survey among 245 non-English major postgraduates of different grades from the College of Information and Electrical Engineering of Shandong University of Science and Technology by means of a questionnaire to investigate their motivation in English learning. It mainly focuses on the following three research questions:(1)What is the developmental pattern of non-English major postgraduates' motivation in learning English? (2)What is the influence of language proficiency on learners' motivation? (3)What is the relationship between the learners' motivation and the gender? The findings are summarized as follows:Firstly, in general, the non-English major postgraduates have a moderate degree of motivation in English learning. More specifically, as they move into a higher grade, their English learning motivation gets higher. And there are no significant differences among the different stages.Secondly, there are significant differences between the postgraduates' learning motivation and their English proficiency. And this study confirms a positive correlation between English learning motivation and language achievements.Thirdly, female postgraduates have higher motivation than the males. There are significant differences between male and female postgraduates in the English learning motivation in the second-year and third-year postgraduates' stage, but there exist no evident differences in the first-year postgraduates' stage.In the light of this research, the thesis also provides some suggestions for enhancing postgraduates'learning motivation. What English teachers need to do is to adopt appropriate teaching approaches and try to guide the postgraduates to develop their English learning motivation. As for postgraduates, they must take responsibility for their own learning and performance. They should build up self-confidence, try to be self-motivated and exchange learning experiences.