MOTIVATION AND PERCEPTION INFLUENCE THE ABILITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES COLLEGE STUDENTS IN LEARNING ENGLISH TO FACE INTERNATIONAL COMPETIVENESS

Abstract

Language is the primary tool for communication. Through language someone can express their feeling s , thought s and find information based on what they want to know. If someone is able to comprehend more than one language; it is easier for her/him to research for knowledge and information. Then, a language also becomes a need for a human (Wardah, n.d.). It means that, it is difficult for a human to live without communicating with others. One of the important language that should be mastered by people is English. English is an important language that should be mastered by people around the world. Furthermore, in this era of globalization people are expected to have acknowledged of English in order to be competitive internationally. This research wanted to know the students’ motivation and perception that influence their ability in learning English. It was descriptive quantitative research method. The populations were the first semester students of STIKes Fort De Kock. They were 270 students. All of them are chosen as the samples. The result of this research found that 134 of them had positive motivation in learning English, 132 of them had a good perception in learning English and 153 of the respondents stated that that they were less capable in mastering skills in English. In short, it can be concluded that the perceptions and motivation possessed by students greatly influenced their abilities. English ability may give the impact for their readiness to face the international competiveness.