A Comparative Study On English-learning Motivation Of The Left-behind Children And The Non-left-behind Children In Rural Middle Schools

With the fast urbanization process, farmers are flocking into cities to seek jobs, which helps to bring about a special social group, the left-behind children. The long-time separation from their parents might lead to their misbehaviors and low grades at school. The thesis, based on former motivation theories, compares the differences in English-learning motivation types between the left-behind children and the non-left-behind children in rural areas and analyzes the factors influencing their English-learning motivation. Based on the results of the analysis, the paper puts forward some suggestions to stimulate learners’English-learning motivation, in the hope of improving students" passive English-learning situation. Several findings can be concluded from the present research;1) Rural Area Junior Middle School students present three types of motivation for their English learning, as well as eight sub-types of motivation.2) The left-behind students’English learning motivation is more likely to be influenced by the hopes of their parents and English teachers, learning anxiety and learning situation, while that of the non-left-behind students is more likely to be affected by inner interest and individual development. Therefore, the motivation of the left-behind students’can be sorted into the intrinsic motivation, while the non-left-behind students have both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.3) There are several factors influencing Rural Area Junior Middle School students:the social environment, background of the family, school education and students" personal factors. In the end, the author proposes some strategies of motivating rural area junior middle school students to learn English. It is hoped that this paper can widen the scope of the motivation research and provide some suggestions to the rural English teachers.