A Case Study Of The Motivation In Language Learning With Special Reference To Students Majoring In Arts

Motivation is considered by many researchers to be one of the main determining factors of success in developing a foreign language. It determines the extent of the effort to learn a new language and personal involvement in learning the foreign language. Unmotivated students are insufficiently involved in foreign language learning and therefore unable to develop their potential foreign language skills.Till now, many learners have done a lot of researches on foreign language learning motivation, among whom Lamber and Gardner are the most famous ones. The theoretical researches on motivation experience mainly three stages: the external environment control, individual cognitive factors and social cognitive orientation. Since the 1970s, the interest in foreign language teaching has changed from teachers'teaching into students'learning. The research on foreign language learning motivation is just one of the important signs of this turn.Although much domestic attention has been paid to the study of learning motivation, most studies are focused on the students in general, such as primary students, middle school students, and college students, with little attention to the arts students. In order to train qualified arts personnel for our country, it is of theoretical importance and practical significance for the arts institutes to improve the motivation and activeness of arts students in their foreign language learning.The research makes an investigation of the learning motivation of 90 students majored in painting and design in Jilin College of the Arts by questionnaires and semi-open interviews, so as to obtain the true picture of the arts students'learning motivation. Through the investigation, it is found that: 1. most students obviously own instrumental motivation, with the only hope to pass exams and get good jobs by learning foreign language, so they care less about learning process; 2. some students are afraid of foreign language learning, even intend to give it up to avoid failures, which we think is the result of learned helplessness; 3. some other students are bored of learning foreign language because of their teachers'improper attitudes and teaching methods; 4. the rest students spend more time and energy in studying arts, leaving little time and energy to learn foreign language. The thesis subsequently gives an analysis of the reasons why the arts students have lower motivation in language learning: lack of clear objective, lack of self-confidence, improper distribution of time and energy between arts study and language learning, inappropriate way of language learning etc.Finally the thesis gives the following strategies and suggestions on how to raise the arts students'motivation in foreign language learning: 1. arouse the students'interests in foreign language learning; 2. establish long-term objectives; 3. strengthen the extent of their motivation; 4. try to use appropriate teaching materials and methods; 5. help students adopt effective learning methods and strategies.It is hoped that the research can improve the foreign language teaching in arts institutes and the motivation and activeness of arts students for the purpose of further developing their language skills and language proficiency.