it, and how long he perseveres.”[3]
If the students in Senior Grade 1 can study English with adequate motivation, they may produce positive effect on English learning result and pave the way for their future English learning in senior high school.
In the questionnaire of the investigation, question 3 is concerned with the students' motivation of learning English. The result is presented in table 1-1:
Table 1-1: the students’ motivation of learning English
For interest For college entrance examination For job others
Percentage 10% 85% 2% 4%
Number 20 168 4 8
The result of table 1-1 shows that 85% of the students in Senior Grade 1 study English for college entrance examination, and only 10% of them study English for interest. Are there any differences between the students who study English for interest and the students who study English for college entrance examination? How does motivation affect their behavior and learning?
Motivation is a complex phenomenon and includes many components: the individual drive, need for achievement and success, curiosity, desire for stimulation and new experience and so on. These factors play a role in every kind of learning situation. There are two aspects that are especially important for English learning, namely communicative need and attitudes towards the English language community. These are related to two kinds of motivation: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.
(a) Intrinsic Motivation: “It is the natural tendency to seek out and conquer challenges as we pursue personal interests and exercise capabilities. When we are intrinsically motivated, we do not need incentives or punishments, because the activity itself is rewarding.”[4] For example, a student may study hard for a text because he or she enjoys the context of the course. The result of the investigation shows that there are 10% of the students studying English for interest. It means that their English study motivation belongs to intrinsic motivation; they do not study English just as a school subject. They enjoy the English learning process. They enjoy English itself. So, they can study English actively. They are active in English class, and after class, they can finish homework on time and review the lesson in time. Therefore, intrinsic motivation often correlates with higher achievement in English study.
(b)Extrinsic Motivation: “When people do something in order to earn a grade or reward, avoid punishment, please the teacher, or for some other reason that has very little to do with the task itself, they experience extrinsic motivation. They are not really interested in the activity for its own sake; they care only about what it will gain them.”[5] For example, a student may study hard for passing an exam, or obtaining financial rewards. In the result of the investigation, there are 85% of the students in Senior Grade 1 studying English just for college entrance examination. It proves that most of the students' motivation belongs to extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is not stable. Therefore, at the beginning of their study in senior school, the students have clear targets. They are full of confidence and ambition. However, after the first exam in
