Abstract:
The literature on language teaching and learning has mostly
accentuated motivation as one of the crucial factors
influencing learners, but demotivating factors can be of crucial
importance as well. In this vein, considering a grounded theory
approach, this study has tried to investigate the demotivating
factors influencing Iranian university students of non-English
majors utilizing an interview and a questionnaire. For this
purpose, thirty undergraduate students were interviewed from
three different universities: State University, Islamic Azad
University, and Payame Noor University. Based on the elicited
responses from the interviews, a 35-item questionnaire was
developed. Applying principal factor analysis, this research
has brought forth the shared perception of demotivating
factors in language learning among Iranian university students
and documented them as a five-factor model in which the
factors of “setbacks in system of education” and “lack of
extrinsic motivation” were the most and the least influential
ones, respectively. The other factors also included “methods
and personality of teachers”, “lack of self-esteem and intrinsic
motivation”, and “lack of given importance in society”.
Machine summary:
In this vein, considering a grounded theory approach, this study has tried to investigate the demotivating factors influencing Iranian university students of non-English majors utilizing an interview and a questionnaire.
Hence, perceiving a grounded theory approach, this study has tried to present a framework for the demotivating factors influencing the university students of Sirjan, Kerman, Iran in their learning English.
2. Objectives and Research Questions While most of the literature on teaching and learning languages focuses on students’ motivation to learn a language, the high extrinsic motivational context and the failure of students to adequately learn foreign languages (especially English) under those conditions, suggest that motivation alone may not be a sufficient explanation for understanding and treating the current FL learning problems found in such contexts and the demotivating factors as an important cause should also be investigated.
Dörnyei (1998, as cited in Dörnyei, 2001) conducted a research on fifty secondary school students in Budapest, Hungary who were studying English or German as a foreign language and identified nine demotivating factors as follow: 1) Teachers’ personalities, commitments, competence, and teaching methods 2) Inadequate school facilities (very large classes, not the right level, or frequent change of teachers) 3) Reduced self-confidence due to their experience of failure or success 4) Negative attitude towards the foreign language studied 5) Compulsory nature of the foreign language study 6) Interference of another foreign language that pupils are studying 7) Negative attitude towards the community of the foreign language spoken 8) Attitudes of group members 9) Coursebooks used in the class (p.