Abstract
This paper, adopting questionnaire survey method, investigated 367 non-key local university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ demotivation to learn English. The collected data revealed that there were two main categories of demotivators: internal factors (lack of intrinsic interest, experience of failure and lack of confidence, and unclear study goal) and external factors (teaching material, teaching process and teaching content, significant others, teachers’ teaching competence and attitude of teachers, the relationship between teachers and students, teaching facilities and teaching environment). External factors are found to be more influential than internal ones in the participants’ demotivation to learn English. The current study adds to the literature in that unclear study goal is an important demotivator in Chinese local non-key university EFL students’ English study. The findings of this study will enrich the research of demotivation to learn English, and to provide an empirical basis for the needs analysis in English class and curriculum reform, as well as to provide reference for implementing central and local education policies.
Highlights
Research on demotivation has been the foci in second language acquisition in recent decades
The current study adds to the literature in that unclear study goal is an important demotivator in Chinese local non-key university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ English study
This study investigated the demotivators among Chinese EFL students from local non-key universities by using questionnaires
Summary
Research on demotivation has been the foci in second language acquisition in recent decades. Compared to studies on demotivation abroad, research in China started a bit late, but developed fast (i.e., Hu & Cai, 2010; Zhou & Wang, 2012). These studies have generated deep insight into demotivation to learn English. They mainly focused on the demotivation of students from the key universities. Little is known about those students studying English at non-key local universities. This paper aims to investigate the factors that might have caused demotivation to learn English among local university students. The findings will be implicative for teachers to take remedial measures to reduce the detrimental effects of demotivation in English class
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