Your browser does not support the PubReader view.
Go to this page to see a list of supporting browsers.
The Korean Association for the Study of English Language and Linguistics
[ Article ]
Korea Journal of English Language and Linguistics - Vol. 22, No. 0, pp.846-870
ISSN: 1598-1398 (Print) 2586-7474 (Online)
Print publication date 31 Jan 2022
Received 18 Jul 2022 Revised 20 Aug 2022 Accepted 31 Aug 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15738/kjell.22..202208.846

영어 학습자 동기 및 탈동기 요인분석: 학습동기 회고록 및 면담을 바탕으로

오신유 ; 김태영
중앙대학교
중앙대학교
EFL learners’ motivational and demotivational factors: An analysis of retrospective autobiographical essays and interviews
Shinyu Oh ; Tae-Young Kim
(1st author) Graduate Student, Dept. of English Education, Chung-Ang Univ., Tel: 02-820-5391 shnyh1424@naver.com
(corresponding author) Professor, Dept. of English Education, Chung-Ang Univ., Tel: 02-820-5392 tykim@cau.ac.kr


© 2022 KASELL All rights reserved
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This paper identifies how the factors that increase or decrease learners’ English learning motivation differ according to the upper and lower motivation groups. A total of six undergraduate students were selected among 41 students, with three highest motivators and the other three lowest. They reflected on their English learning processes over the past ten years from the third grade of elementary school to the third grade of high school with critical reflective essays, marking annual changes in their L2 learning motivation on the ‘motigraph.’ In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted, and all the data were comprehensively analyzed with Grounded Theory. The results present that learners with high learning motivation could maintain their motivation due to internal factors such as specific learning goals or learning experiences. In contrast, learners with low motivation were remotivated due to external factors such as learning situation and their acquaintances. Both groups commonly experienced a significant decrease in learning motivation during middle school due to excessive academic pressure or skepticism from test-oriented learning environments. However, it should be noted that both groups at the high school level assessed the ‘grade’-related factors differently as positive or negative, respectively. This paper emphasizes the crucial role of cognitive appraisal, goal-setting, and mindset.

Keywords:

English learning motivation, remotivation, demotivation, motigraph, semi-structured interview, retrospective autobiographical essay

References

  • Bang, I. and S-Y. Chun. 2011. An analysis of high school English curriculum implementation by the high school record rating system. CNU Journal of Educational Studies 32(1), 1-20. [https://doi.org/10.18612/cnujes.2011.32.1.59]
  • Butler, R. L. M. Lewis. 1974. Life-review therapy: Putting memories to work in individual and group psychotherapy. Geriatrics 29, 165-173.
  • Cho, H. C. 2011. The effects of academic motivation, self-determination, goal orientation, self-perception, implicit theory of intelligence, and self-regulated learning strategies on learning attitude, behavior, and outcomes. The Korean Journal of Educational Psychology 25(1), 33-60.
  • Crookes, G. and R. Schmidt. 1991. Motivation: Reopening the research agenda. Language Learning 41, 469-512. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1991.tb00690.x]
  • Deci, E. L. and M. R. Ryan. 1985. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-determination in Human Behavior. Plenum. [https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2271-7]
  • Deci, E. L. and M. R. Ryan. 1995. Human anatomy: The basis for true self-esteem. In M. H. Kerris, ed., Efficacy, Agency, and Self-esteem, 31-48. Plenum. [https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1280-0_3]
  • Dewaele, J-M. and P. D. MacIntyre. 2014. The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 4(2), 237-274. [https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5]
  • Dörnyei, Z. 2005. The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum.
  • Dörnyei, Z. 2009. The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dörnyei and E. Ushioda, eds., Motivation, Language Identity and the L2 Self, 9-42. Multilingual Matters. [https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847691293-003]
  • Dörnyei, Z., P. D. MacIntyre and A. Henry. (Eds.). 2015. Motivational Dynamics in Language Learning. Multilingual Matters. [https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783092574]
  • Dörnyei, Z. and S. Ryan. 2015. The Psychology of the Language Learner Revisited. Routledge. [https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315779553]
  • Dweck, C. S. 2006. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.
  • Dweck, C. S. and L. E. Legget. 1988. A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review 95(2), 256-273. [https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.95.2.256]
  • Gardner, R. C. 1985. The socio-educational model of second language learning: Assumptions, findings, and issues. Language Learning 38, 101-126. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1988.tb00403.x]
  • Gardner, R. C. and E. W. Lambert. 1959. Motivational variables in second-language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Psychology 13(4), 266–272. [https://doi.org/10.1037/h0083787]
  • Glasser, B. C. and A. L. Strauss. 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Adline.
  • Harper, J. 2014, September 28. Points of Information: How to Debate. Accessed 10 July 2022 at http://howtodebate.blogspot.com/2014/09/points-of-information-definition-and.html
  • Higgins, E. T. 1987. Promotion and prevention: Regulatory focus as a motivational principle. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 30, 1-46. [https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60381-0]
  • Higgins, E. T. 1998. Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review 94, 319-340. [https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.94.3.319]
  • Hwang, J. 2013. A case study of motivation types and motivation changes in the college EFL classroom. Journal of the Korea English Education Society 12(1), 97-121. [https://doi.org/10.18649/jkees.2013.12.1.97]
  • Jung, S-K. 2011. Demotivating and remotivating factors in learning English: A case of low level college students. English Teaching 66(2), 47-72. [https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.66.2.201106.47]
  • Kang, D-H. 2001. Foreign language learning (EFL) motivation revisited: A longitudinal study. Foreign Languages Education 8(2), 223-244.
  • Kim, H-D. 2003. Comparison of Korean university and secondary school students’ changes in English language learning motivation and learning strategies. Korean Journal of Applied Linguistics 19(1), 189-212.
  • Kim, K-J. 2004. A structural model for English achievement based on motivation, gender, and academic majors. Korean Journal of Applied Linguistics 20(1), 59-80.
  • Kim, K-J. 2016. Korean secondary school students’ EFL learning motivation structure and its changes: A longitudinal study. English Teaching 71(2), 141-162. [https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.71.2.201606.141]
  • Kim, K-J. 2019. Changes in English learning motivation of high school students: Motivation, demotivation, and remotivation. English Teaching 74(4), 249-270. [https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.74.4.201912.249]
  • Kim, T-Y. 2012. The L2 motivational self system of Korean EFL students: Cross-grade survey analysis. English Teaching 67(1), 29-56. [https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.67.1.201203.29]
  • Kim, T-Y. 2013. Recent Trends in English Learning Motivation Research. Hankookmunhwasa.
  • Kim, T-Y. 2015a. English Learning Motivation Research in South Korea. Hankookmunhwasa.
  • Kim, T-Y. 2015b. Enhancing English learning motivation and creating English self through languaging activities in Korean elementary and secondary schools: A mixed-methods. A Journal of Modern British and American Language and Literature 33(2), 147-175. [https://doi.org/10.21084/jmball.2015.05.33.2.147]
  • Kim, T-Y. 2021. Historical Development of English Learning Motivation Research: Cases of Korea and Its Neighboring Countries in East Asia. Springer. [https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2514-5]
  • Kim, T-Y. 2022. The longitudinal change of English learning motivation among English learners in South Korea: An analysis of critical reflective essay. English Language and Literature Teaching 28(1), 123-151. [https://doi.org/10.35828/etak.2022.28.1.123]
  • Kim, T-Y., E. J. Kim and H. Kim. 2011. Motivational types and transitions in students taking on-offline blended college English program. Modern English Education 12(1), 126-156.
  • Kim, T-Y. and Y. J. Lee. 2013. Korean students’ English learning motivation and demotivation through autobiographic essays: Retrospective reconstruction. Korean Journal of Applied Linguistics 29(1), 37-68. [https://doi.org/10.17154/kjal.2013.03.29.1.37]
  • Lee, G-R. and J-B. Hwang. 2017. A study on demotivating factors in Korean high school students’ English language learning. Secondary English Education 10(2), 43-73.
  • Lee, H. W. 1996. Effects of attitudes and motivation on learning English in Korean middle and high school students. English Teaching 51(2), 3-34.
  • Lee, S. 2021. The mediating effect of resilience on the correlation among grit and growth mindset, fixed mindset and grit for elementary school students. Journal of Brain Education 5(27), 95-117.
  • Lee, Y-J. and T-Y. Kim. 2019. The effect of languaging activity on Korean high school students’ English learning motivation and metacognitive strategy use. Secondary English Education 12(1), 25-51. [https://doi.org/10.20487/kasee.12.1.201902.25]
  • Lepper, M. R. and I. D. Cordova. 1992. A desire to be taught: Instructional consequences of intrinsic motivation. Motivation and Emotion 16, 187-207. [https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00991651]
  • Lincoln, Y. S. and E. G. Guba. 1985. Naturalistic Inquiry. Sage. [https://doi.org/10.1016/0147-1767(85)90062-8]
  • Locke, E. A., and P. G. Latham. 2002. Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717. [https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705]
  • Mang, E-K. 2001. The effects of motivation on language learning. Modern English Education 2(2), 157-170.
  • Markus, H. R. and P. Nurius. 1986. Possible selves. American Psychologist 41, 954-969. [https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.954]
  • Murray, B. 2007. Classroom motivation of Korean EFL students from the perspective of self-determination theory. English Teaching 62(4), 391-409. [https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.62.4.200712.391]
  • Na, E-J. 2003. The correlations of motivation and perceived social distance on English proficiency of middle school students. English Language Teaching 15(3), 223-251.
  • Sakai, H. and K. Kikuchi. 2009. An analysis of demotivators in the EFL classroom. System, 37(1), 57-69. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2008.09.005]
  • Strauss, A. L. and J. Corbin. 1998. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory (2nd ed.). Sage.
  • Smith, C. A. and L. Kirby. 2000. Consequences require antecedents: Toward a process model of emotion elicitation. In J. P. Forgas, ed., Feeling and Thinking: The Role of Affect in Social Cognition, 83-106. Cambridge University Press.
  • Song, B. and T-Y. Kim. 2017. The dynamics of demotivation and remotivation among Korean high school EFL students. System 65, 90-103. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.12.010]
  • Van Lier, L. 2000. From input to affordance: Social interactive learning from an ecological perspective. In J. P. Lantolf, ed., Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning, 245-259. Oxford University Press.
  • Van Lier, L. 2004. The Ecology and Semiotics of Language Learning: A Sociocultural Perspective. Kluwer. [https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-7912-5]
  • Williams, M. and R. Burden. 1997. Psychology for Language Teachers. Cambridge University Press.