A Study Of Senior High School Students’ Directed Motivational Currents In English Learning

Motivation is an important field of research in the study of second language acquisition.The theory of directed motivation currents absorbs the findings of previous studies in the second language motivation field and regards it as a multi-dimensional,multi-disciplinary,and multi-level overall system,which opens up a new perspective for the study of SLA motivation.DMC theory relates goals to long-term motivation behavior,focusing on how individual SLA motivation is stimulated in a dynamic process.It also motivates people to achieve productive learning outcomes in the long-term pursuit of their goals or visions.It is a new attempt to study the status quo of senior high school students’DMCs in English learning,which has important implications for the overall English learning motivation process and also has significant application value at the level of individual long-term motivation.246 senior high school students participated in this study.The present study adopts mixed methods,including both quantitative and qualitative methods.Questionnaires and interviews are used as research tools to answer the following questions:(1)What is the status quo of the senior high school students’ DMCs in English learning?(2)What is the correlation between senior high school students’ DMCs in English learning and their English achievement?(3)What are the possible factors influencing senior high school students’ DMCs in English learning?Through detailed analysis of the collected data,the main findings are presented below.Most senior high school students have experienced and have a high level of DMCs.At the same time,although the DMC level of girls is slightly higher than that of boys,there is no significant difference between male and female students.Second,there was a significant positive correlation between the level of senior high school students’ directed motivational currents and their English achievement.Third,the influencing factors of DMCs among senior high school students include personal factors(i.e.,expectation of reward,individual learning routines,and emotional loading)and contextual factors(classroom teaching,school atmosphere).Based on the above findings,this study makes corresponding suggestions for teachers,students,and schools,aiming to promote and maintain DMCs of senior high school students and improve their academic performance in English.