Demotivation is a relatively new issue in the field of second/foreign Language (L2) learning motivation. Recognizing and removing barriers can have a marked effect on motivation and attention to learning in general and ESL/EFL learning in particular. In the present study, an attempt has been made to distinguish the significant difference between EFL achievement of the motivated and demotivated Iranian seminary students. Fifty Iranian EFL seminary students were investigated using three validated questionnaires and tests. In the first stage 50 participants from among Iranian Islamic seminary students in Isfahan, Iran were selected through simple random sampling by the application of Oxford Placement Test (OPT, Allan, 1992) in order to select intermediate homogenous students. In the next stage, the modified version of Gardner's Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) questionnaire was applied to understand which students were motivated and which ones were not. Finally a general English proficiency test, namely, Interchange Objective Placement Test (IOPT) was administered to check the students' English proficiency. It was found that demotivation definitely affects EFL learning. The results of the t-test, which was run between the means of the IOPT (English proficiency), for the two groups also show that those students whose AMTB score was higher also scored higher in the proficiency test. Accordingly, devising skills to motivate students to the greatest extent should be seen as central to teaching effectiveness and English language teachers and policy makers should try to find out different strategies in this regard.
In the present study, an attempt has been made to determine the demotives affecting EFL learning of Iranian Islamic seminary students and also to distinguish the motivated and demotivated EFL learners in terms of their EFL learning as the major focus of this study. Fifty Iranian EFL seminary students were investigated using two validated questionnaires. First a modified version of The Attitude/Motivation Test Battery Questionnaire (AMTB) originally developed by Gardner (2004) was used to determine the degree of learners' motivation. Second a modified version of Warrington's (2005) questionnaire was administered to determine the demotivating factors from the students' point of view. Then, the IOPT (Interchange Objective Placement Test) was administered to measure the general proficiency of the subjects under study. The comparison of the IOPT score means of the two groups revealed a significant difference in the results of IOPT of students with higher scores in the AMTB and those with lower scores. That is, the more motivated the students were, the higher their IOPT scores were. Furthermore, factors such as the improper method of English teaching, frequency of classes in a week, problems in understanding listening materials and lack of use of English in students' real life were found to be the essential demotivating factors among Iranian seminary students. Having known the barriers of learning, the teachers and Islamic Propagation Office materials developers can organize their activities so that they would lead to better understanding of the lessons and improvement of teaching programs.
As collocations play an important role in second language learning, especially at intermediate-advanced levels, the present study not only seeks to examine distribution of Lexical collocations in three selected series of general English textbooks, Interchange Third Edition by (Jack C. Richards and Jonathan Hull, 2005), American Headway by (Liz and John Soars, 2003), American File by (Clive Oxenden and Christina Latham Koeing, 2008) (2008)
Resumen
Considerando que las colocaciones juegan un papel importante en el aprendizaje de un segundo idioma, especialmente en los niveles intermedio-avanzado, el presente estudio no sólo tiene por objeto examinar la distribución de las colocaciones léxicas en tres series seleccionadas de libros de texto de inglés general, Interchange Third Edition escrito por Jack C. Richards and Jonathan Hull, (2005), American Headway por Liz and John Soars, (2003), American File por Clive Oxenden and Christina Latham Koeing
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