A Study on English Learning Motivation and Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Excellent English Graduates

Vocabulary is the basic building block of language, and the acquisition of a language relies on vocabulary. In acquiring vocabulary, the adoption of vocabulary learning strategies is an important affecting factor. The relationship between vocabulary learning strategy and vocabulary knowledge has been the focus of researchers. Motivation also has a significant impact on language learning. The paper aims to explore excellent English graduates’ English learning motivation and vocabulary strategies. Two separate questionnaires are used to investigate different motivations and vocabulary learning strategies of English majors. In designing the motivation questionnaire, Gao Yihong’s questionnaire is used as a reference and in designing the vocabulary learning questionnaire, the paper mainly follows O’Malley and Chamot’s study. Through analysis, the study reveals the following findings: Firstly, with the least mean value exceeded 2.4, all kinds of vocabulary learning strategies were adopted by excellent English majors while learning vocabulary. Meta-cognitive (M=3.614035088) strategies and cognitive (M=3.633684211) strategies were preferred. Secondly, for the situation of learning motivations, situational motivations (M=3.858695652) were the highest. With the mean value of 3.432065217, instrumental motivations were the lowest motivation among the three types of motivations. Especially achievement motivation, it was the least held motivation by excellent English majors.

Perceptions of Non-English Major College Students on Learning English Vocabulary with Gamified Apps

As gamified English vocabulary learning Apps are increasingly popular among Chinese English learners, this study explores how non-English major college students, who may lack initiatives in foreign language learning, perceive those Apps. Following a qualitative approach, this study analyzed interview data from fifty-three students who have used gamified English vocabulary learning Apps in latest 12 months. The major findings of this study include: (1) the preferred game settings included challenge, team, leaderboard, competition, coins, and badges; (2) students perceived the motivation activation effects of the apps by receiving instant feedback, enjoyment, and sense of achievement, and inactivation effects considering the attention distraction, additional competitive pressure, and imperfect words matching; and (3) students believed that the apps helped to form vocabulary learning habits because of its convenience, rewarding mechanism, and group setting, while others did not because they had fixed learning routines. Then, this study explained and discussed the findings considering factors from or related to both the gamified Apps and students. This study explored the potential of the popular vocabulary learning Apps in enhancing students’ English learning motivation and learning habits and extended the scopes of research on gamification in foreign language education.

Analysis On Motivation In Learning English Among Pesantren Students And Its Correlation With English Language Proficiency

This quantitative descriptive research investigates correlation between English learning motivation among Pesantren students and their English language proficiency. Pesantren community is a unique environment to learn foreign language combining the process of nurturing Islamic values and discipline. 25 students of X grade from IPS (Social) major are involved in this study. A questionnaire measuring type of motivation and its value is used to collect data related to the motivation, while the English proficiency is measured through School based examination score and independent English language proficiency designed by the researcher. Analysis on the collected data is done through SPSS version 26. The finding revealed that there are four types of motivation among Pesantren students in learning English, those are: [1] Instrumental; [2] Integrative; [3] Extrinsic; and [4] Intrinsic. Each of these type has been proven to have a significance correlation with students English language proficiency. Thus it strengthen the previous theory stating that motivation plays significant role in learning. The most dominant type of motivation among Pesantren students is instrumental motivation.

Camera Roll, Action! Non-specialist Undergraduate English Learners’ Perceptions of Using Video Production in Learning English

This paper reports on non-specialist undergraduate English learners' perceptions about the use of video project in learning English, which was adopted to counter students’ low English learning motivation. Data were collected from the first-semester students of Hinduism Education Department in a state university in Indonesia. The students were taught English using group-based video projects where they developed their own scenarios, shot, edited, and presented their videos by themselves. Video production was used to enable the learners to use English actively and improve learners’ motivation to learn English in the future by promoting the learner’s sense of achievement. Using a questionnaire and interview, the researcher obtained data on students’ perceptions of the use of video project in learning English. The study results showed that the learners have a positive perception of the impact of video production on their English learning (dimension mean of 4.07). The learners also reported that video production improved their confidence in their English and increased their motivation (dimension mean of 4.17). Lastly, the learners considered video production as a feasible, enjoyable, and affordable way to learn English (dimension mean of 4.29).