한국 노인 학습자의 영어 학습동기와 탈동기

Korean elderly learners’ English learning motivation and demotivation

This exploratory mixed-methods study focused on elderly Korean EFL learners’ English learning motivation and demotivation in a lifelong education institute. For semi-structured interviews, three English teachers and nine elderly female EFL learners were invited. By using a grounded theory approach, these interviews were coded and thematically analyzed. Based on the interview analysis, a follow-up, 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire on EFL learning motivation and demotivation was constructed and administered to 393 elderly learners. The study findings suggest that the elderly Korean learners’ EFL learning motivation showed differences in quality from that of younger school-aged population. Desire to overcome everyday inconveniences and intrinsic motivation were found to be two major motivational factors. In terms of demotivation, the participants felt extreme stress in preparing for the Graduation Equivalency Test and showed a high level of anxiety in the difficulties of learning English. The elderly learners did not show a consistent decrease in their motivation, and the demotivation level decreased in a statistically significant manner as their years of learning increased. The findings imply that different English curricula need to be designed and special care must be taken for the elderly EFL learners. (188 words)