THE CORRELATION LAW BETWEEN LECTURERS’ MOTIVATION AND ATTITUDE, AND THE PERFORMANCE OF UNDERGRADUATES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

Abstract

Motivation has remained a significant factor in foreign language learning; however, attention of researchers has consistently been focused on how motivated students perform exceptionally in foreign language learning. Lecturers also need motivation to effectively teach the students and communication efficiently with them, which is also a significant predictor of lecturers’ attitude towards the undergraduates. This article pursues an understanding of how motivation of lecturers correlates with undergraduates’ performance in foreign language learning. The article further gains insight on how lecturers’ positive or negative attitudes affects performance of learning in foreign language lecture halls. The study community include 250 lecturers in the department of foreign languages drawn across different universities globally, and 300 undergraduate students in foreign languages across different universities. Questionnaire was distributed electronically to the study respondents, and the responses were analysed using various statistical measures such as the calculation of the frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviations and test of hypotheses with linear regressions. The findings indicate that over 74% of the study sample acknowledged that exceptional performance by undergraduates in their foreign language courses is indicative of a highly motivated lecturer. The result further revealed that 73% of respondents acknowledge that lecturers who exhibit strong motivation have a positive impact on fostering an interactive foreign language learning environment, ultimately resulting in improved academic outcomes. The findings of the study further revealed that more than 55% respondents acknowledged that the motivation level of lecturers is a robust determinant of their positive or negative attitudes in foreign language educational environments. It is thus recommended that university administrators must prioritize the motivation of lecturers in foreign language, if they must produce highly performing undergraduates.