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Title
Differences in English Learning Motivation among
University EFL Learners in Taiwan
Presenters
Ching-ning Chien* & Li-hua Kao***
Abstract
This study aims to conceptualize the English learning motivation of 954 students at different proficiency levels with different majors in a northern Taiwan university, the purpose being to correlate various kinds of motivations with English proficiency levels, and the motivational intensity for English proficiency progress after 60 classroom lessons. The extensive analyses support the conclusions that (1) external motivation plays the most important role in English learning compared to intrinsic and integrative motivations for the EFL learners; (2) different kinds of English learning motivations or various degrees of motivation intensity are observed for subject majors in the Science/Engineering or Design and Humanities or Business Departments; (3) higher motivation intensity leads to higher English proficiency and higher proficiency enhancement; and (4) the improvement in the learners’ score is more correlated with external motivation than intrinsic but their proficiency level is highly correlated with intrinsic motivation; and (5) those with a higher level of intrinsic motivation make greater progress than those with a higher level of external motivation. The study provides statistical evidence to verify the importance of motivation intensity in language learning. The findings suggest that EFL instructors need to help their students by skillfully implanting intrinsic motivation in them as to promote the enhancement of their learning and further change their learning behavior as the ultimate goal.
Key words: English Proficiency Levels; External Motivation; Integrative Motivation; Intrinsic Motivation; Motivation Intensity
The authors are full-time faculty in Chung Yuan Christian University, Taiwan (CYCU).
Ching-ning Chien earned her two M.A. degrees in Special Education from Tennessee Technological University in 1968 and in English Education from the Ohio State University in 1985 and her Ph.D. degree in Education from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England in 1998. Since 1979, she has joined in the faculty at Chung Yuan Christian University, where she is an associate professor in Applied Linguistics. She is mainly responsible for teaching listening, speaking and reading to freshman students. Her research interests include foreign language listening comprehension, foreign language learning and teaching, bilingualism, phonological awareness and second language acquisition.
Li-hua Kao earned her M.A. in Finance in 1988 and M.S. in Applied Statistics in 1992 and Ph.D in Applied Statistics in 1994 from University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. In 1994, she joined in the faculty at Chung Yuan Christian University, where she is an associate professor in the Accounting Department. She is mainly responsible for teaching Research Methods, Econometrics and Statistics. Recently, her research interest is on issues related to management in business using structural equation modeling.
contact asian_efl_journal@yahoo.com
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