FACTORS THAT AFFECT

MOTIVATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH

AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR
MEXICAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Research Paper

KAREN ADELINA GONZÁLEZ GONZÁLEZ

 Index
Justification……………………………………………………………………...2
Hypothesis……………………………………………………………………….2
Theory…………………………………………………………………………….3
Research (field) |
Survey……………………………………………………….8
Results……………………………………………………………………….….14
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...16
Bibliography……………………………………………………………………17
Appendix………………………………………………………………………..18

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 Justification
The purpose of this research is to examine the factors that affect motivation in Mexican
university students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in the English
classroom setting. While there are many studies regarding the role of motivation in EFL
classrooms and many more that have identified and studied the types of motivation
behind language learning in general, there is a lack of focused knowledge about the
personal points-of-view of students. Specifically, in Mexico and at the university level,
and how these students feel and are motivated in their English classes.
As Mexican society faces an increased globalization, the students of today getting a
university education are in most cases required by their institutions to have a certain
level of English in order to graduate and get a good spot in the job market. The results
of this project may provide insight into students’ motivation learning EFL. Specially in
the English classroom setting, which is the environment in which most Mexican
university students learn the language. With the changes regarding the requirement of
English competence in Mexican universities’ graduates, understanding students’
motivation when learning English is beneficial to EFL teachers all over the country.
The method chosen for this study was a quantitative approach in the form of an online
survey with 10 multiple choice questions that were used to collect data. The participants
of this research were 20 university students of the Computer System Engineering
Department of the Technological Institute of La Laguna, that at the time of the research
are studying English at varying CEFR levels. Therefore, because this focus group is
small and confined to a certain type of academic major, it is acknowledged that the
results of this study may not be applicable to the whole population of Mexican university
students learning EFL in the country.
However, this paper and its data will be based on many proven concepts about
motivation, EFL learning, and the English classroom setting, that shall regardless be
applicable and useful to a broader context. Because what this study ultimately wants to
answer is the question of generally; how do different factors affect motivation in learning
EFL for Mexican university students?

Hypothesis
What this study expects to find is that the factors that affect motivation in learning EFL
for Mexican university students are both equally intrinsic and extrinsic, integrative and
instrumental, as well as significantly influenced by the student’s emotions and the
classroom environment.

2
 Theory
INTRODUCTION
Despite a long tradition of research on human motivation and the myriad contributions
which have been made to it from various perspectives over the course of several
centuries, it was only thirty years ago that this concept began to be systematically
investigated from psychological and educational viewpoints. Nevertheless, it is still a
complex area to approach/tackle.
The term motivation is usually defined by psychologists as the set of processes which
involve the arousal, direction, and sustaining of behavior (conduct). It is employed to
indicate, for instance, a subject’s persistence and his/her pervasive work on certain
tasks and not on other activities.
When we employ the term “motivation”, we should be aware of its limitations and
problems:
1. We cannot directly observe a person’s motivation; all we can observe is that person’s
behavior and the environment in which (s)he acts. Motivation is something inside the
individual, and it acts reciprocally with the environment. In general, we consider that it
stimulates, directs, and sustains behavior.
2. We often seek to explain why individuals behave in a specific manner, although in
fact, we can only describe their behavior when they act reciprocally with their
environment. After all, we can only describe individuals’ behavior with the help of certain
instruments of control: direct observation, questionnaires, interviews, reactions to
certain stimuli, etc.
3. It is also worth remembering that motivation is merely one more element – and not
the only one – which determines behavior. Furthermore, it is above all a question of
degree, hence the fact that we often speak of “degrees of motivation”. Motivation
involves several processes.
4. By manipulating and controlling the students’ motivation in the classroom, the teacher
is helping to shape the students’ personality. The teacher’s behavior as well as his / her
way of organizing the class cause changes in the student’s motivation.
WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
Different theories have attempted to define and explain the construct of motivation from
diverse points of view. Some approximations share various principles, but others differ
partly or wholly in their postulates. However, they all coincide in their striving to explain
the motivations of human beings when they think and behave in particular ways. These
different theories can be grouped into three main categories. In first place, we should
mention Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and Hull’s drive theory, both of which consider
that stress reduction exerts a considerable influence on behavior.
A second group of theories established by Weiner (1989) includes Lewin’s field theory,
Atkinson’s achievement theory, and Rotter’s social learning theory. According to the

3
three of them, behavior is dependent on the individual’s expectations of attaining
success, as well as on his / her incentives to reach the goal.
The third and final group comprises the theories of attribution and humanistic
psychology. Although these differ on considerable counts, they both maintain that
human beings struggle to understand themselves and their surroundings and that
growth processes are an integral part of human motivation.
MOTIVATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING
The study of motivation in connection with FL learning in formal classroom contexts
compels us to focus on the topic in a more restricted manner, taking into account the
main factors in the teaching-learning process of the second language (L2), namely, the
students, the teacher, the curriculum, and the teaching-learning processes which
develop when implementing it.
Motivation in L2 Acquisition Theories
Several theories of L2 acquisition have acknowledged the importance of motivation.
The first of them is Krashen’s Monitor Theory, which includes the Affective Filter
Hypothesis, based on the significance of emotional factors and motivation as key
elements which control language acquisition processes (Dulay, Burt, and Krashen,
1982: 4): "When a student is exposed to a new language, the first internal hurdles are
posed by the individual’s emotional state and motivations ... filtering sources are the
individual anxiety levels, peer identification, and general motivation to learn a language.
Together, they make up what we have called the “Affective filter” or simply “Filter”. The
Filter acts to control entry to further mental processing".
Secondly, Carroll’s conscious reinforcement model uses reinforcement as an efficient
motivating resource which facilitates learning through successive habit formation: "...
reinforcement involves an increment to an individual’s perception of the appropriateness
of the behavior to a specific context" (Gardner, 1985: 128).
Reinforcement has two consequences: on the one hand, it increases the probability that
the response be repeated in similar situations and become habitual, and, on the other, it
provides information on the suitability of the responses in the situations in which they
are used.
In third place, in Bialystok’s model on the role of strategies in second language learning,
motivation once again has a key role in the transformation of explicit linguistic
knowledge into more intuitive, spontaneous, and automatic implicit linguistic knowledge.
Such a transformation is intensified in motivated subjects, as they seek out more
communicative situations in which to.
In turn, Schumann’s acculturation theory considers that social and affective factors,
such as the degree of assimilation of the foreign culture, personality, and motivation,
affect the level of competence in the L2. Amongst the most relevant social factors,
Schumann cites motivation, defined as “the reasons the learner has to try to learn the
L2”.

4
Two further models – Lambert’s (1974) psycho-social one and Clément’s (1980) social
context one – include motivation as a central factor in L2 learning. The extent to which
the L2 is learnt is held to depend on the subjects’ anthropological inclinations, on their
attitudes towards the foreign community and towards L2 learning, and on their degree of
motivation. Clément even goes as far as to claim that motivation determines the level of
competence achieved by the subjects.
Late history of L2 motivation theory
According to Dörnyei, second language learning (L2) motivation´s foundation lays in
social psychology. From the 1960s onwards, L2 experts have discarded social
psychology cognitive theories which determine intention or attitude as being the key
influential factor to behavior. Instead, L2 researchers have developed social psychology
´s expectancy-value theories which consider motivation as being the product of two key
factors: “the individual´s expectancy of success in a given task and the value the
individual attaches to success in that task”.
In L2 research, within the expectancy-value theories framework, the attribution theory
which directly connects past experiences with future achievements was of particular
interest to L2 researchers in the 1990´s. It is, however, the goal theories which became
dominant in L2 research because the assumption that for human action to take place,
“goals have to be set and pursued by choice” fits language learning as it is a lengthy
and complex activity. Thus, language learning motivation covers a wide range of
concepts not only because researchers have brought forward different accounts on how
motivation emerges and materializes, but also because of “the multifaceted nature and
roles of language itself”.
Gardner proposed that Second Language Learning (SLA) is “a social psychological
phenomenon” and that a “motivation organism” combines the desire and the effort to
achieve a goal with favorable attitudes towards it. For Dörnyei, motivation is rather a
“process whereby a certain amount of instigation arises, initiates action, and persists as
long as no other force comes into play to weaken it and thereby terminate action, or
until the planned outcome has been reached”.
Integrative and Instrumental Motivation
According to Dörnyei, the integrative component of motivation has been treated
differently by motivational experts in different fields. For Dörnyei, integrative motivation
involves a positive “disposition toward the FL group, the desire to interact and (…)
become similar to valued member of that community”. Thus, openness to, respect for
and sometimes identification with, the community are elements of integrative motivation.
Carreira outlines Dörnyei´s definition by stating that integrative motivation refers to
“positive attitudes and feelings toward the target language group”.
The concept of integrative and instrumental motivation precedes Gardner´s seminal
work. Gardner disagrees with his predecessors by stressing that integrative and
instrumental motivation is not dichotomous. For Gardner, integrative motivation
supersedes instrumental motivation and his theory is based on the integrative aspect of

5
motivation because “Motivation involves an attitudinal component [as well as] a goal-
directed behavior”.
Instrumental motivation on the other hand, does not lead to any debate among experts:
It is defined as referring to “the potential utilitarian gains of L2 proficiency, such as
getting a better job or higher salary”.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
The concept of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in language learning derives from social
psychology as well. The controversies among social psychologists regarding the
definition of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation might be the reason for L2 researchers´
late integration of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors to L2 motivation research. Debates
among experts continue because the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation and integrative and instrumental motivation is ambiguous.
For Carreira and Dörnyei, intrinsic motivation is directly linked to an individuals´
pleasure and satisfaction when they perform an activity. Carreira states that intrinsic
motivation means doing an activity for its own sake. Additionally, Dörnyei stresses that
intrinsic motivation must endorse autonomy “as a prerequisite for any behavior to be
intrinsically rewarding”. Extrinsic motivation on the other hand is, according to Dörnyei
and Carreira, directly linked to external rewards or threats. Carreira agrees with
researchers who sustain that “intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are not dichotomous,
but continuous”.
The present study is based on Dörnyei and Carreira´s attitudinal (Intrinsic/extrinsic) and
socially (integrative/instrumental) oriented definitions. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations
are reward-oriented (performing the activity for itself for example). Integrative and
instrumental motivations such as communicating with members of a group or obtaining
a better salary for example are socially oriented.
THE CASE OF EFL LEARNING IN MEXICO
In Mexico, English proficiency can be seen as a route to upward economic mobility. The
economies of the US and Mexico are intertwined and social, cultural, and historical
influences of the two countries are enormous. The extraordinary economic partnership
between the US and Mexico has motivated (and at times forced) many Mexicans to
learn English in order to advance economically. Yet after decades of efforts by the
Mexican government, relatively few Mexican adolescents and adults have sufficient
linguistic skills to be employed in jobs that require high levels of proficiency in English.
English has long been highly regarded among the middle and upper classes of Mexican
society, and parents with economic means have the opportunity to send children to
private bilingual and immersion schools with teachers who are highly proficient in
English.
As for public schooling, the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) established the
“English in Primary School Program” with the clear understanding that in a global
market, knowledge of English benefits the Mexican economy. English, which had been

6
taught in secondary schools for decades, began in 1993 to appear in elementary school
curricula as well.
However, such public-school instruction may be very limited. English instruction typically
begins at the early stages of children’s education in Mexico, yet it focuses primarily on
vocabulary and simple phrases. The narrowness of the English curriculum is due in part
to the shortage of teachers who have sufficient proficiency in English to teach more
complex communicative aspects of English.
The lack of communicatively proficient English teachers in Mexico is due to a number of
factors, including the type of English training given at the university level. Sierra and
Padilla (2003) focused on the reason’s university students study English in Mexico and
the relationship that exists between students’ attitudes toward the US and desire to
learn English. The authors noted that educational objectives of institutions of higher
education are not necessarily compatible with students’ purposes for learning English.
Sierra and Padilla called for research that can shed more light on the impact of English
in Mexico and the power that the US exerts to influence Mexicans to learn English.
Nevertheless, few researchers have investigated the teaching of English in Mexico and
in spite of the Mexican government’s mandates to promote the teaching of English to
students across grade levels, little has been published on this topic. For instance, a
small number of studies have focused on the challenges that students face as they are
introduced to English in schools and what teachers of English view as important factors
to support students’ development in English.
In their research on Mexican teachers of English, Borjian and Padilla (2010) noted that
Mexican students take English classes for various reasons and that their motivation for
learning this language is complex. The researchers found that some students pursue
learning English because they are intrinsically motivated and had cultural connections
with English-speaking people. They further noted that the global economy is pressuring
Mexicans to learn English as better job opportunities are tied to knowing English.
Borjian and Padilla also reported that parents’ encouragement was an important factor
influencing the learning of English in Mexico.
THE CURRENT STUDY
Method
The method chosen for this study was a quantitative approach in the form of an online
survey conducted through Google Forms, where 10 multiple choice questions were
used to collect data. This questionnaire can be found on the appendix.
The ten questions are divided into five parts. In the first part of the questionnaire, the
students provide information on their opinion regarding their classroom surroundings,
the number of times English is utilized in the classroom, and their view about the
materials used in class to teach English.
In the second part, the students provided information on how speaking English is for
them and what they feel like when they have a chance to actually speak it. In the third

7
part, their reasons for increasing their English skill and their view regarding the job
market as a motivating factor for learning English.
In the fourth part, the students provide information on their nervousness and how to
overcome their emotions when speaking in English. And on the last part, the students
provide information regarding their motivation aid in increasing their English skill.
The participants of this research were 20 university students of the Computer System
Engineering Department of the Technological Institute of La Laguna, that at the time of
the research are studying English at varying CEFR levels.

Field Research | Survey

In Respect of the English Classroom Setting

Figure 1: Pie Chart of Question Number 1

Figure 1 describes the English classroom surroundings. 75% (15) students feel it’s
interactive, 15% (3) students agree that it is welcoming. 5% (1) students regards it strict
and the other 5% (1) find it unfriendly.

8
 Figure 2: Pie Chart of Question Number 2
Figure 2 constitutes the findings of how often students utilized English in the classroom.
35 % (7) students frequently utilize English in their classroom. 30% (6) students utilize
English at all times. 25% (5) students frequently utilize English. The rest 10% (2), hardly
ever utilize English in their classroom.

Figure 3: Pie Chart of Question Number 3

Figure 3 depicts the answers regarding the materials used in teaching English. 50 %
(10) students maintain that the materials are appealing, 35% (7) students agree that

9
they are effective. 10% (2) students view the materials are uninteresting, and 5% (1)
students consider that the materials for teaching English are complicated.
In Respect of Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivation

Figure 4: Pie Chart of Question Number 4

Figure 4 clarifies the students’ opinion regarding speaking in English. In order to know
their view concerning their speaking skill in English, a question is created to discover
the students’ motivation intrinsically. The majority of the students 50% (10) consider that
speaking in English is an exciting thing to do. 25% (5) regard that speaking in English is
a difficult job. 20% (4) students think that speaking English is a pastime or hobby. And
5% (1) students consider it an annoyance.

10
 Figure 5: Pie Chart of Question Number 5
Figure 5 shows the students’ own feelings when they are speaking in English. Most of
them 55% (11) feel nervous when speaking in English. 20% (4) students feel confident.
15% (3) of students feel afraid and 10% (2) of students feel ashamed when speaking in
English.
In Respect of Integrative/Instrumental Motivation

Figure 6: Pie Chart of Question Number 6

11
Figure 6 shows the first findings regarding extrinsic motivation. Questions are made to
know students’ reason in increasing their English skill. 50% (10) students want to
increase their English skill with the aim of visiting a foreign country where grasping
English is a necessity. 35% (7) students have the aim of obtaining a better job. 10% (2)
of students want to enter a master's degree abroad and 5% (1) students only increase
their English aptitude because it is obligatory for their university.

Figure 7: Pie Chart of Question Number 7

Figure 7 describes that 50% (10) students strongly agree and 45% (9) just agree with
the statement. That leaves 5% (1) who disagrees. Then (0%) none of them strongly
disagree with the statement that the occupation market motivates them to learn English.

12
 In Respect of Students’ Emotions

Figure 8: Pie Chart of Question Number 8

This Figure 8 gives insight regarding students’ emotion, particularly their nervousness
when speaking in English and the reason behind it. Based on the diagram above, 55%
(11) students feel nervous due to their poor vocabularies, 20% (4) students are nervous
because English is not their first language. 15% (3) due to their poor pronunciation, and
10% (2) students feel nervous because they are afraid of being mocked.

13
 Figure 9: Pie Chart of Question Number 9
Figure 9 tells us about how the students think they might overcome their nervousness.
45% (9) of them feel that by frequently practicing English with their friends and family
they can better cope with nerves. 30% (6) by upgrading their English vocabulary. 15%
(3) students by speaking alone like in front of a mirror. And 10% (2) of students think
that by calming themselves and being confident it’s the best way of overcoming
nervousness.

14
 In Respect of Motivation Aid

Figure 10: Pie Chart of Question Number 10

Figure 10 depicts the students’ way on how they like to improve their English
proficiency. 50% (10) students improve their English skill by watching TV shows in
English, 30% of them chose the option of relying on teacher’s assistance, 15% (3) by
reading books in English, and lastly, 5% (1) of students read grammar books to improve
their English.

Results
In the first part of the survey the questions were formulated to take into account the
classroom environment (which teachers and the curriculum are part of); as seen in
Figures 1, 2 and 3. From those it may be inferred that Mexican university students find
their English classroom very interactive, that the usage of English within the classroom
varies almost equally but is mostly frequently used, and that the materials used in
teaching English are more appealing and effective than uninteresting or complicated for
them.
This information tells us that there is a positive class environment in which students feel
more supported and therefore have a better base in which motivation can stand on.
In the second and third part, 4 questions were formulated to take into account the
intrinsic/extrinsic and integrative/instrumental motivations of the students toward
speaking and learning English; as seen in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7. From Figure 4 its

15
observed that most students either find it exciting to speak English or a hobby, both
options reflect a greater degree of intrinsic motivation towards English. Also, a
significant amount of them (30%) feel it is difficult or annoying to speak English, which
most likely hinders their feelings of motivation when learning, but it means they may be
more extrinsically motivated.
Figure 5 shows that most students feel nervous when they get a chance to speak
English, an aspect that may affect the intrinsic motivation of a student. However, there
was also a notable number of students (20%) that felt confident when speaking English;
more research into why is needed, but we may guess that because of the other factors
affecting motivation the students feel secure enough that they can feel confidence when
they get to finally use their knowledge and speak English out loud.
Figure 6 clarifies the students’ reasons to improve their English skill, half of them
unexpectedly have a very integrative motivation; they wish to visit foreign countries
where English is a necessity, while the other half has instrumental motivations like
obtaining a better job, a master’s degree abroad or because of obligation by the
university.
Figure 7 describes that most if not all of the students strongly agree or just agree with
the statement that the job market motivates them to learn English, a deeply
instrumental/extrinsic motivation toward learning English. Very few consider their
motivation not influenced by the job market; and therefore, are less integrative or
intrinsically motivated.
In the fourth part of the survey, the students’ emotions are taken into account; as seem
in Figures 8 and 9. Figure 8 gives an insight into the reason behind the students’
nervousness when speaking English. Most experience nerves due to a self-perceived
lack of vocabulary. And the rest feel more comfortable with their mother tongue than
with English, have bad pronunciation, or are afraid of being mocked.
Figure 9 shows us the ways in which students try to overcome their nerves. Almost half
of them do so by practicing English with their friends and family, while another
significant amount of them (30%) do so by trying to upgrade their English vocabulary.
The remaining students prefer more personal ways to deal with their nerves, like
speaking alone or just by calming themselves and trying to be confident.
The information obtained from this fourth part of the survey demonstrates that emotions
play a significant role in the relationship between Mexican university EFL learners and
the way they might be motivated to do better. For example, in Figure 8 most of the
nerves came from a lack of vocabulary and in Figure 9 most feel the need to practice
with others and learn more vocabulary to feel less nervous, vocabulary and practice that
their English education is failing to provide more of, so that they might more confidently
speak English and ultimately feel more motivated to keep learning.
In the fifth and final part of the survey only one question was asked regarding the
motivational aid the students like to use to further improve their English. In Figure 10 we
can observe that half of the students watch TV shows in English. And surprisingly a

16
good amount of them (30%) like to have a teacher’s assistance to improve. The minority
of them like to read normal or grammar books.
These results tell us that there is indeed a cultural influence of English media that helps
Mexican EFL university students improve their English in a more entertaining and
relevant way. And the surprising want of a teacher to help improve, tells us that the
students still feel like their educators motivate them and make them do better than they
would otherwise do alone.

Conclusion
The present study has examined the factors that affect motivation in EFL learning for
Mexican university students, and has found that the value of intrinsic and extrinsic, and
integrative and instrumental motivations, are evenly matched for most of the target
population. As well as shown that the students’ emotion and their classroom
environment also have a key role to play in the degree of motivation.
The qualitative data gathered in this study shows that for university learners, the English
language is directly connected to the progress and betterment on the personal and
social levels. Furthermore, the qualitative and quantitative data shows that despite their
high degree of instrumental motivation, participants, whether they want to associate with
the L2 group or not, are influenced by the social impact that English has in Mexico
(media in English and the job market).
We may say that students have an interest in learning English for instrumental reasons
built by external powers while still enjoying the learning of English and eventually
develop integrative motivations.
This study has not approached other elements of motivation such as aptitude, cognitive
and learning styles, as well as strategies that are considered as important for experts
and teachers to explore in order to anticipate and predict individual success. Hence,
further research in aptitudes and learning style and strategies could give a new
orientation to the study of motivation in order to firstly, understand university learners of
English motivation and secondly, provide adapted pedagogical techniques and material
to university EFL learners in Mexico.

17
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Appendix
Questionnaire on the factors that affect motivation in learning English as a
foreign language for Mexican university students.
1. What do you think about the English classroom surroundings? It is:
a) Welcoming
b) Interactive
c) Strict
d) Unfriendly
2. How often you utilize English in the classroom?

19
 a) At all times
b) Sometimes
c) Frequently
d) Hardly ever
3. The materials that have been used in teaching English are:
a) Appealing
b) Uninteresting
c) Effective
d) Complicated
4. In your opinion, speaking English is:
a) An exciting thing
b) A hobby
c) A difficult job
d) An annoyance
5. When you have a chance to speak in English, you feel:
a) Confident
b) Ashamed
c) Afraid
d) Nervous
6. You desire to increase your English aptitude because you:
a) Want to enter a master's degree abroad
b) Want to obtain a better job
c) Want to visit foreign countries where grasping English is a necessity
d) It is obligatory for my educational institution
7. “The job market motivates me to learn English.” What do you think of that statement?
a) Strongly Agree
b) Agree
c) Disagree
d) Strongly Disagree
8. When you are speaking in English, you may get nervous because:

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 a) It is not my mother tongue
b) My vocabulary is very poor
c) I am scared of being mocked
d) My pronunciation is very bad
9. You consider you may be able to overcome your nervousness by:
a) Calming myself and being confident
b) Frequently practicing speaking English with my friends and family
c) Upgrading my English vocabulary
d) Speaking alone such as in front of a mirror
10. I like to improve my English aptitude by:
a) Watching TV shows in English
b) Reading books in English
c) Reading grammar books about English
d) Teachers assistance

Structured, sequenced, well written and displayed. Just as a tip, next time you make a
survey, try to make sure all the elements follow the same structure… either all questions
or all statements and colons.  But that’s it.

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