ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING DEMOTIVATION AT UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Abstract
The theories on second language acquisition (SLA) differently estimate the importance of individual factors in language acquisition. Within those factors, the importance of motivation as well as demotivation is essential. Motivation is extremely important during demanding learning process. The first objective of this study is focused on determining the correlations between factors of demotivation (DM) during learning English as a foreign language (LEFL) with factors of motivation (M), as well as with chosen relevant variables. The second objective is focused on determining the differences between factors of demotivation during LEFL in relation to the gender, the year of study and the programme of study. The study was conducted among the students enrolled in 3-year undergraduate study programmes at two University Departments: Maritime Department and Mass Communications Department. As the research instrument, the Questionnaire for Measuring Type and Intensity of Motivation of Croatian Students for Learning English as a Foreign Language by Mihaljevic Djigunovic1 was applied. The results indicate the absence of statistically significant differences in DM factors, according to the gender, the programme and the year of study. However, statistically significant, moderately high and negative association of pragmatic-communicative and affective factors of motivation with demotivation has been established, while the other correlations between DM and M are very low. On the other hand, statistically significant, negative and low correlation with DM factors has been found for the final grade only. The findings suggest the need for further research based on a context-specific approach to understanding demotivation in LEFL.
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