A Study On The Relations Among English Learning Motivation Types,Self-identity Changes And English Achievements Of Grade Eight Students

So far,motivation has been widely studied by scholars.As an important emotional factor in the process of foreign language learning,motivation is closely related to results of learners’ language learning.Researches on English learning motivation have been carried out extensively in recent years.There are a certain number of studies on motivation and self-identity changes in English learning,of which the most prominent one is Gao Yihong’s study on undergraduates’ English learning motivation and self-identity changes.Nevertheless,few researches have been carried out on the relations among Grade Eight students’ English learning motivation,self-identity changes and English achievements.This study aims to survey the current situation of English learning motivation and self-identity changes of Grade Eight students by means of questionnaire and interview,and discuss the relations of motivation,self-identity changes and English achievements among them.The survey was made among the Grade Eight students in Class Seven and Class Eight in one junior high school in Fuzhou.Findings of the study are as follows:1)The main motivation type of Grade Eight students is the personal development motivation.They have not started to work,yet they have experienced the pressure from many aspects,and they are short of intrinsic interest motivation in learning English.2)After learning English,their positive self-identity changes are bigger than passive ones,and the most obvious one is the change of their self-confidence.Even so,some students still experience the sense of conflict in cultural identity and negative identity changes after learning English.3)Learners’intrinsic interest motivation,going abroad motivation,personal development motivation,information medium motivation all have a positive correlation with positive self-identity changes,while achievement motivation,learning situation motivation and information media motivation have a negative correlation with zero change.4)Grade Eight students’English achievements have a significant correlation with intrinsic interest motivation,achievement motivation,going abroad motivation,personal development motivation and information medium motivation.Among them,the most significant is intrinsic interest motivation.5)Grade Eight students’ English achievements have a significant correlation with positive changes,while no significant correlation was found between the students’English achievements and negative changes.In this study,some suggestions are put forward to cultivate the intrinsic interest motivation and positive self-identity changes of junior high school students,aiming to provide some enlightenment for English teaching in junior high school.