A Study On Junior High School Students’ Demotivation In Online English Learning

Demotivation,as the negative opposite of motivation,has a negative impact on students’ foreign language learning.Researchers have been concerned with the study of demotivation in foreign language learning since the 1990 s.At present,a mature research system has been formed in foreign countries on the study of demotivation in foreign language learning.Compared with foreign countries,domestic research in this area started late and has started to flourish in the past two decades.The current research in this field in China mainly focuses on college and university students and senior high school students,and is mainly concerned with the demotivation of students under the context of offline foreign language courses.Little attention has been paid to the demotivation of students,especially,junior high school students,in online foreign language learning context.In recent years,with the development of education informatization in China,coupled with the fact that online teaching is a necessary measure for epidemic prevention and control,online teaching has become a necessary way to teach in junior high schools,and it is crucial to study the phenomenon of students’ demotivation to participate in online English learning and propose corresponding strategies to solve it.This study investigates the demotivation of online English learning among students in three junior high schools in city B.The aim was to answer the following research questions:(1)What is the status quo of demotivation of junior high school students when learning English online?(2)What are the main factors on students’ demotivation?(3)What strategies are available to help address students’ demotivation when engaging in online English learning?The research subjects of this study consisted of 405 second-year students and six teachers of three junior high schools in City B mentioned above.This study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods by administering questionnaires to students and then conducting interviews with randomly selected teachers and students to obtain the specifics of students’ demotivation and the corresponding strategies for teachers and students.For the quantitative data,the author used SPSS to conduct data analysis,including descriptive statistical analysis,factor analysis,and multiple regression analysis.For the qualitative data,the author organized and summarized the data through the recorded video.The study revealed that(1)demotivation is a common phenomenon that junior high school students have when they participate in online English learning;(2)there were eight factors influencing students’ demotivation,including teachers’ misbehaviors,metacognitive strategies,learning anxiety,equipment support,eye protection,peer influence,community environment,and curriculum;(3)students’ strategies for dealing with their own demotivation mainly included self-regulation,help-seeking,environmental control,and negative strategies.Teachers’ strategies for dealing with students’ demotivation mainly include improving teaching,strengthening supervision,reminder and encouragement,awards and punishing.In order to help students improve their demotivation,this study proposes corresponding strategies,hoping to provide some insights for teachers and students involved in online English courses to improve the quality of teaching and learning,and to provide theoretical support and practical basis for the development of education informatization in China.