The Study Of EFL Motivation Of Non-English Majors In Classroom Setting

In the field of foreign language teaching and learning, motivation is considered by many theorists as a central factor along with language aptitude in determining success in L2 learning. Motivated students could achieve their potentials in foreign language learning and then improve their language proficiency. In China, English teaching and learning are mainly conducted in the class, so EFL teachers play a crucial role in the course. Therefore, the teachers need to know what kind of motivation their students have in language learning and what kind of difference exist between the students with different English proficiency. And they also need to know various factors that affect their students'learning motivation. Then improve the teaching effect by using suitable teaching method.Based on relevant theories proposed by the theorists, the study examined the motivation beliefs of 141 first-year non-English majors from Jilin University, Jilin Institute of Engineering and Architecture, Changchun University of Technology and Jilin Agricultural University. The data were collected and then processed by SPSS14.0. The results reveal that most College non-English majors'learning motivation is a combination of instrumental and integrative motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, but among which the instrumental and extrinsic motivation are stronger. In addition, there are many subtle differences between the students with high, middle and low level. The instrumental motivation of students with lower English proficiency is greater than that of students with high English level, whereas the integrative motivation of the latter is greater than that of the former in English learning. In the classroom the influence degree of the teacher on students with different levels are various. Generally speaking, students with high level are more inclined to be influenced by teachers'affective factors, elegant demeanor and personal qualities. However,the teaching method, the interesting content of courses and teachers'feedback could affect the learning motivation of students with lower level greatly.The result also indicates that students with high, middle and low English level attribute their unsatisfied learning effect to different reasons. Students with high level often attribute their failure in English learning to subjective factors such as their insufficient effort devoted to the study, whereas students with lower level are more inclined to attribute it to objective or external factors such as the learning environment. And there are also some problems in college English teaching. For instance, a number of students have rarely got any suggestion and encouragement, or have never been praised by the teacher. Quite a lot of students with different levels think that their teachers'teaching styles are not interesting or even boring.Based on the above-mentioned problems, the author puts forward some suggestions. First,the teachers should observe the students and understand their psychology, then stimulate the interest of them effectively by using suitable means. Second, in order to create a good classroom atmosphere which is a significant factor influencing students'learning motivation, the teachers should improve the ability of adjusting their mood and condition. And develop their communication skills to improve the teaching efficiency. Third, the teachers should help students set clear, reasonable and realistic goals in English learning according to their individual conditions. Fourth, the teachers also need pay much attention to give reasonable feedback and evaluation in different situations. Fifth, help the students set up correct attribution. Namely they should attribute the outcome of the behavior to their ability and effort they have made. Sixth, the teacher should make great effort to promote learner autonomy. Last, improving teachers'comprehensive qualities is also very significant and cannot be ignored.It's hoped that this detailed study of non-English major students'learning motivation would help college English teachers teach students according to their aptitudes, and enrich foreign language teaching researches.