전문대학교 보건계열 학생들의 영어 학습 동기 변화

Changes in English learning motivation of junior college students in health sciences: Motivation and demotivation

Junior college students specializing in health science fields may have different goals for learning English than college students in general. This study attempted to analyze the changes in English learning motivation of health sciences students from their retrospective perspectives, and to examine the motivating and demotivating factors in their learning English. The participants were asked to check the high and low points of their motivational histories from elementary school to community college and to complete a questionnaire. In addition, amotivation, ideal L2 self, and ought-to L2 self were analyzed as motivational factors. The results showed that the students had the highest motivation in the 4th grade, and then continued to decline as they advanced through school, showing the lowest score in the 12th grade. Moreover, the students mentioned negative evaluation of oneself, a sense of purpose for English learning, social/achievement pressure, the teacher’s role and learning environment as major reasons for their demotivation. The implications of the study results highlight the importance of developing English for specific purposes courses for students in health sciences.