scholarly journals Motivational Factors to Learn English among University Students in An Urban Area

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-202
Author(s):  
Reza Anggriyashati Adara

Motivation can be considered as one of influential factors in foreign language (FL) learning as it helps to sustain learner’s interest during long and tedious learning process of FL. According to Deci and Ryan (2000), motivation can be categorized into two types; intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The present study aims to investigate intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors of a group of university students in an urban area to learn English. The present study applied a mixed method approach by administering a set of questionnaires and interviews. In addition to a relatively high level of motivation among the participants, the findings of present study show an interest in English language skills and positive attitudes to native speakers of English, English speaking countries, and English learning as intrinsic motivational factors to learn English. On the other hand, the chances of getting better jobs and personal development as extrinsic factors which motivate students to learn English. The present study recommends English teachers as well as educational institutions to provide teaching and learning materials which suited to improve students’ motivation.

Author(s):  
Maja Radović ◽  
Nenad Petrović ◽  
Milorad Tošić

The requirements of state-of-the-art curricula and teaching processes in medical education have brought both new and improved the existing assessment methods. Recently, several promising methods have emerged, among them the Comprehensive Integrative Puzzle (CIP), which shows great potential. However, the construction of such questions requires high efforts of a team of experts and is time-consuming. Furthermore, despite the fact that English language is accepted as an international language, for educational purposes there is also a need for representing data and knowledge in native language. In this paper, we present an approach for automatic generation of CIP assessment questions based on using ontologies for knowledge representation. In this way, it is possible to provide multilingual support in the teaching and learning process because the same ontological concept can be applied to corresponding language expressions in different languages. The proposed approach shows promising results indicated by dramatic speeding up of construction of CIP questions compared to manual methods. The presented results represent a strong indication that adoption of ontologies for knowledge representation may enable scalability in multilingual domain-specific education regardless of the language used. High level of automation in the assessment process proven on the CIP method in medical education as one of the most challenging domains, promises high potential for new innovative teaching methodologies in other educational domains as well.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Muhammad Din

Revolutionary changes have been brought about in teaching and learning environment with the introduction of electronic formats in classrooms. Mobile dictionaries are potentially valuable learning tools today. This study has strived to get insight into the prospects of using mobile dictionary in an EFL classroom of university students of Pakistan with reference to teachers’ perspective. The aims of this study are to know foreign language teachers’ point of view regarding the use of mobile dictionary in English class, investigate the challenges in introducing this e-tool and explore the benefits EFL learners can have through the use of mobile dictionaries in English class. To achieve the objectives of this quantitative study, the researcher has got a questionnaire filled by fifty English language teachers working at different government colleges in Pakistan. The questionnaire which was used to collect data from college teachers consisted of two sections. The first section comprised of fifteen questionnaire items on five-point Likert scale the second section consisted of two open-ended questions. The reliability of the first part of the questionnaire was computed through SPSS (XX). It has been found that most of the college teachers are of the view that the use of mobile dictionary in an EFL class of university students will help them learn vocabulary, pronunciation of words and word origin. These EFL learners can also access authentic content and develop their language competence through the use of mobile phone dictionary in the class. Apart from this, the participants have also pointed out some problems which can be a hindrance in using mobile dictionary in an EFL classroom in the context of Pakistan.


Author(s):  
Vincent Pang ◽  
Pei Ling Lee

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between motivational factors in continuing education and academic achievement of adult learners. The study is conducted due to a lack of research pertaining to academic achievement among adult learners particularly in Malaysia.   Methodology – A random sample of 150 part-time adult learners from a public university in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, represented 202 part-time adult learners in the areas of social sciences and humanities at the university. A thirty-item questionnaire, adapted from Boshier’s Education Participation Scale(EPS) (1991) and Neill’s The University Students Motivation and Satisfaction Questionnaire 2 (TUSMSQ2) (2004) was used to examine their motivational factors i.e. personal development, career advancement, social pressure, social and communication improvement, and escapism. Self-reported cumulative grade point average (CGPA) was utilized as the measurement of academic achievement. Rasch analysis reaffirmed the content validity of items in the questionnaire.   Findings – The findings indicate that personal development and social pressure are the best predictors of academic achievement among adult learners. The motivational factors that are not significant as predictors are career advancement, social and communication improvement, and escapism. Adult learners with higher motivation for personal development (intrinsic motivation) perform better academically. Conversely, adult learners with higher motivation based on social pressure (extrinsic motivation) perform lower academically. Intrinsic motivation seems to be more powerful in enhancing academic achievement of adult learners as compared to extrinsic motivation.   Significance – This finding is crucial for program planners and adult educators. They will be able to lead adult learners to be more intrinsically motivated in continuing education. In this way, they will optimize their learning outcomes and develop quality human capital in Malaysia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Famogbiyele O. Taiwo

<p><em>This study investigated whether it is the learners’ attitudes in the northern geopolitical zone of Nigeria which impede them from achieving high level of proficiency in the study of English language as compared to that of their counterparts in the southern geopolitical zone.</em><em> Three research questions were </em><em>generated to guide the study. </em><em>28-item questionnaire adapted from Gardner’s (1985b) </em><em>Attitude Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) were used to elicit the data needed. The descriptive survey research design that was adopted for the study comprised of four-part Likert-type statements. 610 students (male and female) registered for SSCE examination were selected from 18 government-owned public secondary schools in the Northern and Southern geopolitical zones using stratified random sampling technique. The data collected were analyzed using simple mean scores and percentages. The result of the study showed that </em><em>students in the </em><em>Northern geopolitical zones,</em><em> in fact, have high positive attitude towards the learning of English but were not motivated to learn it and that </em><em>language anxiety had a pervasive impact on the language learning experience of the students. </em><em>The study recommends amongst others that, language teachers need to </em><em>evolve effective teaching and learning strategies</em><em> that generate the attitudes and motivation most conducive to the production of more successful learners of English language.</em><em></em></p>


Author(s):  
Thach Pham ◽  
Vijay Thalathoti ◽  
Eva Dakich

<p>This study examines the frequency and pattern of interpersonal interactions between the learners and instructors of an online English language learning course offered at a Vietnamese university. The paper begins with a review of literature on interaction type, pattern and model of interaction followed by a brief description of the online environment and its learners and instructors. The online messages extracted from the communication forums were analysed using simple descriptive statistics and content analysis techniques in the light of Salmon’s (2003) model of online teaching and learning to explore the frequency and pattern of interaction. The results of the study indicate that after a high level of engagement at the beginning of the course, the learners’ interaction dropped and different patterns interaction were found in the three communication forums of the online course.</p>


Author(s):  
Yustinus Calvin Gai Mali

Researchers in the past have explored practices of Project Based Learning (PBL) in various educational contexts. Nevertheless, previous studies that examine project-based learning in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts are still limited in numbers particularlythrough the eyes of Indonesian university students. This study aims to look into meanings of PBL in learningSecond Language Acquisition (SLA) at English Language Education Program, Dunia University Indonesia. The study specifically described how three students in the class felt about PBL as implemented in two main classroom projects, how they experienced doing it, and how they provided meaning to it. The students’experiences were recalled through an in-depth phenomenological interview. The results of the study were the experiences in the form of narratives and myinterpretation of emerging themes in the narratives as the meanings of PBL in learning SLA. The study appeared to continue positive trends of PBL practices in Englishlanguage teaching and learning specifically in content-based instructions.Keywords: Project Based Learning, Projects, SLA,Phenomenological Study


Author(s):  
Harun Rashid ◽  
Wang Hui

The article discusses issues concerning the development of future English teachers' communicative competence. It considers the idea that developing communicative competence benefits not only the learner's interactive abilities from an educational standpoint, but also the learner's psycho-emotional characteristics and sociocultural development as a person. As previously stated, communicative competence refers to the ability to interact effectively with others, and competence is defined as a collection of language skills an individual possesses in order to learn a foreign language. This potential contributes to his/her ability to perform at a high level. This paper discusses the theory of communicative competence and several of its models; the significance of developing communicative competence in future English teachers; and the implications of communicative competence in English language teaching and learning. Additionally, the work suggests fundamental methodological principles for developing future English teachers' communicative competence.


Author(s):  
Maija Ročāne ◽  
Alīda Samuseviča

Nowadays, in the process of the implementation of student-centered learning paradigm, not only the knowledge, skills and attitude formation has been updated, but a new quality of teaching and learning as well. Thus significant learning approach has been promoted, leading to the each student's personal development and providing new resources and opportunities. The publication describes the productive dimension of significant learning in the English language learning process revealing the educational opportunities and a potential of the innovative learning method – debating. The prerequisites of significant learning for students have been analyzed as well as the possibilities to develop learning skills through students engaging in the process of debating. Empirical research data confirms the value of the learning method – debating: it promotes self-discipline, the increase of interest in learning, student responsibility as well as raising students‟ motivation


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Ajab Ali Lashari ◽  
Ghulam Mustafa Mashori ◽  
Abdul Malik Abbasi ◽  
Quratulain Talpur

The present study aims to investigate the motivational factors which are directly involved in learning English language among Bachelor of Science (B.S) first year undergraduate students of Institute of English Language and Literature, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Sindh Pakistan. The study focuses on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors, which motivate students to learn English language. The questionnaire has been administered among students (N=70) which are based on 30 Likert scale items. Attitude Motivation Test Battery/AMTB (Gardner, 2004 English version) has been used in this regard. SPSS has been used to quantify the data. The semi-structured interview has been conducted by using purposive sampling for in-depth study from (N= 6) students. The results reveal that the students have extrinsic reasons as dominant factors for motivation to learn the target language. The dominant extrinsic factors which were investigated among the students are to get a good job and to qualify exams. The intrinsic factors such as learning English for developing self-image and communication skills in English with proficiency in their daily routine work are responsible for motivating students to learn English language.


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