The Structural Relationship between Demotivational Factors and English Achievement for High School Students

The aim of this study was to identify demotivating factors and establish a structural equation model (SEM) that best explains the relationship between demotivation and L2 achievement for Korean EFL high school students. It also investigated the gender differences in the structural model. A total of385 students (179 boys, 206 girls) at two high schools completed a questionnaire containing 28 Likert-scale items. The results of the factor analysis produced six demotivating constructs: difficulty of English learning, teachers ’ teaching styles, dissatisfaction with English lessons and grading system, inadequate learning contents, lack of motivation and interest in learning English, and inadequate learning environment. The students’ demotivation was attributed more to external factors than internal ones, indicating that difficulty of English learning and dissatisfaction with English lessons and grading system were the two strongest demotivators. The final SEM showed that both difficulty of English learning and lack of motivation and interest in learning English were significant, direct, and negative predictors of L2 achievement. The study also found that student gender moderated the causal effect of demotivation on L2 achievement. The implications based on the findings were presented for better L2 instruction.