A Study On The Relationship Between English Learning Motivation And Self-identity Changes Among Junior High School Students

Junior high school is a critical period of growth for students,during which they encounter many difficulties.Motivation plays an important role as it is an intrinsic driving force that helps individuals overcome difficulties and accomplish specific goals.During the English learning process,students also experience positive or negative selfidentity changes.Gao Yihong(2014)points out that motivation and self-identity changes influence each other.Therefore,the aim of this study is to explore the correlation between junior high school students’ English learning motivation and selfidentity changes through questionnaire and provide some suggestions.This study investigated 403 eighth grade students in a junior high school in Tianjin.The study focuses on three questions: 1.What is the overall situation of junior high school students’ English learning motivation? 2.What is the overall situation of junior high school students’ self-identity changes in the process of learning English? 3.Are there any relationships between their English learning motivations and self-identity changes? If so,what are they?After statistical analysis of the questionnaire data through SPSS,the following conclusions are obtained:(1)Junior high school students’ English learning motivation is at a medium level.Motivations from strong to weak are immediate achievement,information media,individual development,social responsibility,intrinsic interest,learning situation and go abroad.(2)Junior high school students’ self-identity changes is at a medium level.The changes from the largest to the smallest are self-confidence change,additive change,productive change,subtractive change,split change and zero change.(3)There is a significant and positive relationship between junior high school students’ English learning motivation and self-identity changes.Based on the above findings,this study provides some suggestions for how junior high school English teaching can stimulate students’ English learning motivation,develop positive self-identity changes and use English learning motivation to trigger positive self-identity changes.Firstly,teachers should motivate students by creating a positive learning atmosphere and consciously developing the learning interest.Secondly,teachers should trigger students’ positive self-identity changes through motivational assessment and cultural infiltration within the classroom.Finally,teachers should stimulate students’ learning motivation by establishing learning goals related to their own development and cultivating students’ interest in target culture,so as to trigger positive self-identity changes.