A Study On English Learning Motivation And Influencing Factors Of Junior Middle School Students

In recent years,with the continuous progress of education reform,more and more educational research projects have shifted from “how to teach” to “how to learn”,which reflects the increasingly prominent subject status of students.Foreign language learning is generally regarded as a learning process affected by many variables,and learning motivation is one of the important factors.Learning motivation,as a non-intellectual factor,can stimulate and maintain individual learning activities,as well as make learning behaviors move towards certain learning goals.However,learning motivation is not immutable,and it can also be influenced by factors such as schools,classes,or teachers.Therefore,this thesis focuses on the investigation of English learning motivation and its influencing factors.In this study,277 students from six classes in grade eight of No.17 Middle School in Nanning were taken as the subjects.Based on professor Gao Yihong’s research on English learning motivation classification,this study investigates the English learning motivation and influencing factors through questionnaire and interview in seven dimensions,including intrinsic interests,achievement,learning situations,going abroad,social responsibility,individual development and information media.The research questions are as follows:(1)What are the characteristics of junior middle school students’ English learning motivation?(2)What are the differences in learning motivation among English learners with different scores?(3)What are the main factors that influence English learning motivation?Based on the analysis of this study,the major findings are as follows: 1.The current English learning motivation of junior middle school students is at the upper-middle level,among which the motivation types of individual development,social responsibility and achievement are high,while the motivation types of intrinsic interest and learning situation are insufficient.2.As for English learners with different scores,the motivation intensity of the high achievers is significantly higher than that of the low achievers,and there are significant differences in the four motivation types of intrinsic interest,individual development,social responsibility and going abroad.In addition,compared with high achievers,low achievers show a stronger correlation between academic scores and motivation.3.In the analysis of influencing factors,it is found that learning purpose and psychological quality in personal factors,as well as the classroom atmosphere,teacher encouragement and teaching methods in environmental factors have a great impact on students’ learning motivation.Finally,in order to get the structure of students’ learning motivation to be reasonably adjusted and stimulate their learning enthusiasm,this study puts forward the following educational implications in combination with the major findings and analysis results.First,the student’s interest in learning should be aroused to cultivate his intrinsic motivation.Second,English learning context should be created for the cultivation of his language ability.Third,the cultural knowledge should be infiltrated into his English learning to enhance his cultural awareness.Fourth,a friendly teacher-student relationship should be established to contribute to a relaxing and comfortable learning atmosphere in the classroom.