Students' Motivation in an EFL Reading Class

Abstract

Students' motivation in EFL reading classes is typically low, but little research on students' motivation in EFL reading instruction has been done in Vietnam. There is an open-ended question to solicit the students' suggestions on how to increase their motivation and involvement in learning reading. This research is a case study examining the students' motivation for learning reading in an English-major class (n=34). The tool was adapted from Dörnyei's (2005, 2009) questionnaire of the L2 motivational self system, including ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, instrumentality-promotion and instrumentality-prevention, their attitudes, self-confidence, and intended effort toward learning reading. The findings revealed that the ideal L2 self was identified as the highest motivation, followed by instrumentality-promotion and instrumentality-prevention. Most of the students expressed positive attitudes and relatively high levels of confidence and effort in their learning reading. Finally, the paper offers several recommendations for boosting students' motivation and engagement in reading instructions.