Motivation Profile of Education Degree Students in English Language Learning

Abstract

The adoption of the English language as lingua franca, has increased the demand for English language teachers, however, the percentage of Education Degree students electing to specialize in English has dropped considerably. The objective of this research is two-fold: to tackle motivation factors which influence ELL in Primary and Early Childhood Education Degree students, and, to analyse any differences in motivation patterns between these degrees. Drawing on Dörnyei’s L2 motivation self-system (2005, 2009), a questionnaire was elaborated to explore 12 factors which influence motivation in ELL. 106 Education Degree students took part in this study. The results obtained showed that there were 7 factors which explain the model’s variance. While Primary Education Degree students opted for career opportunities abroad, living-abroad experiences, and previous L2 learning experiences; Early Childhood Education Degree students chose previous experiences in L2 learning, sociocultural interest and L2 anxiety.