Factor Analyses Of The Instructional Motivation Needs Of Pupils Learning English As A Foreign Language

This study illuminated some issues in the field of Chinese pupil's motivation in learning English as a foreign language. The major purpose of this study was to report specific motivational requirements in learning English within each motivation category identified in Keller's ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) Motivational Model based on the collected data on students' reactions to English lessons that incorporated motivational strategies. The knowledge from this study was expected to embellish the motivational design approach and to extend the understanding of a student's perspective about what constitutes motivational requirements for young English learners in China.Questionnaires, interviews and observation were employed to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data. Two hundred and five pupils from an elementary school in Haidian district participated in answering the questionnaires (the return rate was approximately 96.5% (totallyl98), and about 3.5% of the returned sheets were discarded due to incomplete or out of range responses). A motivational treatment incorporating Keller's Motivational Design was developed for another 36 pupils enrolled in a class from the same elementary school in which interviews and observations were applied for collecting data that was regarding instructional motivation perceptions of these pupils.The results of the study supported the assumption that instructional treatment for motivating English learning requires consideration of the four motivational categories, and the strategies based on these categories are all essential elements in the process of learning English in elementary school.The findings suggested that 1) pupils' attentional requirements mainly stayed at the level of perceptual curiosity; 2) the most effective relevance strategies were those closely related to their personal interests; 3) pupils had a strong desire for teacher's care and trust which would help them build their confidence greatly; 4) pupils were mainly extrinsically motivated, teachers' praise and gifts were big rewards for them,however, the major enjoyment in learning English items was the provision of the chances that they could use what they had learned in real language environment.Based on the findings of this study, the paper gave some implications for future English teaching and recommendations for further research as well.