Assessing Moroccan University Students’ English Learning Motivation: A Comparative Study

Otmane Omari, Mohammed Moubtassime, Driss Ridouani

Abstract


This study seeks to survey whether students are motivated to learn English or not and to evaluate the differences within and between three most known universities in Morocco, involving a private one, in terms of students’ English learning motivation. Moreover, factors that make a student more motivated to learn English were investigated. This study examines motivation of university students according to their institution, gender, and other variables. Assessment of university students’ motivation was by scores on items from the Academic Motivation Scale. The sample consisted of 329 undergraduate students from three different Moroccan universities. The most important finding was that participants in general are quite motivated to learn English with a score of (M = 3.80) with regard to the overall score using a 5-point Likert scale, and a higher level of introjected extrinsic motivation (M = 4.11), which means that they do such tasks because they are supposed or asked to do them. Moreover, factors such as how students consider university, their location during the academic year, and their decision behind choosing to go to university were found to affect students’ motivation.


Keywords


Motivation, learning motivation, English, Moroccan students, public university

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alivernini, F., & Lucidi, F. (2008). The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS): Factorial structure, invariance and validity in the Italian context. Testing, Psychometrics, Methodology in Applied Psychology, 15(4), 211-220.

Archer, J. (1994). Achievement Goals as a Measure of Motivation in University Students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 19(4), 430-446. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1994.1031

Baker, S. (2004). Intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivational orientations: Their role in university adjustment, stress, well-being, and subsequent academic performance. Current Psychology, 23(3), 189-202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12144-004-1019-9

Barkoukis, V., Tsorbatzoudis, H., Grouios, G., & Sideridis, G. (2008). The assessment of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and amotivation: Validity and reliability of the Greek version of the Academic Motivation Scale. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 15(1), 39-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09695940701876128

Bektaş-Çetinkaya, Y., & Oruç, N. (2010). Turkish students‘ motivation to learn English at public and private universities. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 4662-4666. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.746

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2271-7

Deci, E. L., Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). Motivation and Education: The Self-Determination Perspective. Educational Psychologist, 26(3-4), 325-346. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00461520.1991.9653137

Dev, P. C. (1997). Intrinsic Motivation and Academic Achievement: What Does Their Relationship Imply for the Classroom Teacher? Remedial and Special Education, 18(1), 12-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/074193259701800104

Dörnyei, Z. (1998). Motivation in second and foreign language learning. Language Teaching, 31(03), 117-135. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S026144480001315X

Dweck, C. S., Mangels, J. A., & Good, C. (2004). Motivational Effects on Attention, Cognition, and Performance. In D. Y. Dai & R. J. Strnberg (Eds.), Motivation, Emotion, and Cognition: Integrative Perspectives on Intellectual Functioning and Development (pp. 41-55). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

Engin, A. O. (2009). Second language learning success and motivation. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 37(8), 1035-1041. http://dx.doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2009.37.8.1035

Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation: Arnold.

Heyman, G., & Dweck, C. (1992). Achievement goals and intrinsic motivation: Their relation and their role in adaptive motivation. Motivation and Emotion, 16(3), 231-247. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00991653

Hidi, S. (2000). An Interest Researcher's Perspective: The Effects of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Factors on Motivation. In C. Sansone & J. M. Harackiewicz (Eds.), Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Search for Optimal Motivation and Performance (pp. 309-339). San Diego, CA, US: Academic Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-012619070-0/50033-7

Kyriacou, C., & Benmansour, N. (1997). Motivation and Learning Preferences of High School Students Learning English as a Foreign Language in Morocco. Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies, 2(1), 79-86.

Levesque, R. R. (2012). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. In R. R. Levesque (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence (pp. 1478-1479): Springer US. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_639

Lin, Y.-G., McKeachie, W. J., & Kim, Y. C. (2003). College Student Intrinsic and/or Extrinsic Motivation and Learning. Learning and Individual Differences, 13(3), 251-258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1041-6080(02)00092-4

Nawaz, H., Amin, M., & Tatla, I. A. (2015). Factors Affecting Students' Motivation Level to Learn English as a Second Language in the Pakistani University Context. Journal of Research & Reflections in Education (JRRE), 9(2).

Ngo, H., Spooner-Lane, R., & Mergler, A. (2017). A comparison of motivation to learn English between English major and non-English major students in a Vietnamese university. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 11(2), 188-202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2015.1094076

Omari, O., Bourekkadi, S., Slimani, K., Khoulji, S., & Kerkeb, M. L. (2017). Investigating Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes Towards English Mobile Learning. 2017, 5(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/tmlai.54.3210

Park, Y. (2011). How Motivational Constructs Interact to Predict Elementary Students' Reading Performance: Examples From Attitudes and Self-Concept in Reading. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(4), 347-358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2011.02.009

Pintrich, P. R., & Schunk, D. H. (1996). Motivation in education: Theory, research, and applications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Pintrich, P. R., & Zusho, A. (2007). Student Motivation and Self-Regulated Learning in the College Classroom. In R. P. Perry & J. C. Smart (Eds.), The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: An Evidence-Based Perspective (pp. 731-810): Springer Netherlands. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-5742-3_16

Reeve, J. (2012). A Self-determination Theory Perspective on Student Engagement. In S. L. Christenson, A. L. Reschly & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Student Engagement (pp. 149-172). Seoul, Korea: Springer US. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-2018-7_7

Rifai, N. A. (2010). Attitude, motivation, and difficulties involved in learning the English language and factors that affect motivation in learning it. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 5216-5227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.849

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000a). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000b). When Rewards Compete with Nature: The Undermining of Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Regulation. In C. Sansone & J. M. Harackiewicz (Eds.), Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Search for Optimal Motivation and Performance (pp. 13-54). San Diego: Academic Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-012619070-0/50024-6

Sansone, C., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2000). Controversies and New Directions—Is it Déjà Vu All Over Again? In C. Sansone & J. M. Harackiewicz (Eds.), Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Search for Optimal Motivation and Performance (pp. 443-453). San Diego, CA, US: Academic Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-012619070-0/50037-4

Sansone, C., & Smith, J. L. (2000). Interest and Self-Regulation: The Relation between Having To and Wanting To. In C. Sansone & J. M. Harackiewicz (Eds.), Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation–The search for Optimal Motivation and Performance (pp. 341-372). San Diego, CA, US: Academic Press.

Smirkou, A. (2015). Moroccan Female Rural Students’ Attitudes towards Learning English. Arab World English Journal, 6(4), 291-305.

Thompson, A. S., & Erdil-Moody, Z. (2016). Operationalizing multilingualism: language learning motivation in Turkey. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 19(3), 314-331. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2014.985631

Vallerand, R. J. (2007). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in sport and physical activity: A review and look at the future. In G. Tenenbaum & R. Eklund (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (3rd ed., pp. 59-83). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.

Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., Blais, M. R., Briere, N. M., Senecal, C., & Vallieres, E. F. (1992). The Academic Motivation Scale: A Measure of Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Amotivation in Education. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52(4), 1003-1017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013164492052004025

Wagner, D. A., Spratt, J. E., & Ezzaki, A. (2008). Does learning to read in a second language always put the child at a disadvantage? Some counterevidence from Morocco. Applied Psycholinguistics, 10(1), 31-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0142716400008407

Walker, C. O., Greene, B. A., & Mansell, R. A. (2006). Identification with academics, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy as predictors of cognitive engagement. Learning and Individual Differences, 16(1), 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2005.06.004




DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.9n.1p.81

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

2010-2023 (CC-BY) Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD.

Advances in Language and Literary Studies

You may require to add the 'aiac.org.au' domain to your e-mail 'safe list’ If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox'. Otherwise, you may check your 'Spam mail' or 'junk mail' folders.