|
چکیده
|
The present study attempted to probe demotivating and remotivating factors among Iranian BA and MA students studying English. The participants included 226 BA and MA Iranian students (120 BA, 106 MA: 90 males, 136 females) from different universities across the country. To collect the quantitative data Sahragard and Ansaripour’s (2014) questionnaire which contains 40 items on a 5-point Likert scale was used to unpack the demotivating factors. The original version was distributed among MA students and the researcher removed three items, as they ask about thesis and supervisors which are non-existent in a BA context, making it a 37-item scale for BA students. To collect the qualitative data, the researcher ran semi-structured interviews with 20 BA and MA students to examine their perceptions regarding demotivation in more detail and also for remotivating factor, semi-structured interviews with 20 BA and 20 MA students were run to examine their perceptions regarding remotivation. The results of the questionnaire revealed that for both BA and MA students, economic problems had the most influential effect while their professors' characteristics was found to have the least influential effect on demotivating them. On the contrary, the interview results showed that both BA and MA students believed that teachers and their attitudes were the most salient demotivating factor of learning English. For MA students, “encouraging students and boosting their self-confidence” and for BA students, ‘Improving teachers’ behavior and attitudes’ was the most important remotivating factor of learning English. The results also showed that male and female students differed in three demotivating factors, namely, the total demotivation level, facilities, and curriculum decisions. And they had the same view on other demotivating factors. Regarding remotivating factors, both male and female students had the same view concerning the role of the “creating different job opportunities, employing dif
|