Abstract:
The present study aims at analyzing EFL learners’ attitudes towards motivating factors in learning vocab- ulary. A mixed-methods approach was used to conduct the study. In the qualitative analysis, Iranian EFL learners’ attitudes towards learning vocabulary were investigated through a semi-structured interview en- compassing 36 participants. Subsequently, a 56-item ‘motivation for vocabulary questionnaire’ (MVQ) was devised by the researchers and administered to 70 language learners in the pilot study. However, the number of participants in the main study was 315. A factor analysis through the quantitative analysis ex- tracted three motivating factors as learners’ expectations factors, internal conditions of the learners’ fac- tors, and learners’ satisfaction factors. The results also indicated that, opportunities to use English, new technology, classroom activities, and teaching method were considered as the most significant motivating factors among Iranian EFL learners in learning vocabulary.
Machine summary:
The results also indicated that, opportunities to use English, new technology, classroom activities, and teaching method were considered as the most significant motivating factors among Iranian EFL learners in learning vocabulary.
On the basis of the attribution theory, a person’s failure or success in learning a language is attributable to some internal reasons such as learners’ own knowledge and efforts or external factors such as luck, fate, and other environmental issues like so- cial/cultural and physical factors (Weiner, 1986, as cited in Dornyei & Ushioda, 2011).
Table 2 Percentages of Motivating Factors (Inter- view) Factor Number Percentage RESULTS A semi-structured interview was conducted among 36 language learners at Iranzamin House Opportunities to Use English Words Teaching 22.
Teachers’ competence (good knowledge of Cronbach'sAlpha N of Items vocabulary) The analysis of the findings obtained from the interviews revealed that the major factors motivating the participants to learn vocabulary in English were opportunities to use English words, teaching method, new technology, class- room activities, teachers’ behavior, and finally teachers’ competence.
The results of the interview conducted at the very beginning of the study revealed that oppor- tunities to use English words, teachers’ teaching method, competence and behavior, materials, classroom environment, new technology, and attitudes towards English were the most signifi- cant sources of motivation in learning vocabulary among Iranian language learners.
The findings related to the second research question indicated that the most prominent com- ponents of motivating factors were opportunity to use English words, new technology, classroom activities, and teaching method respectively.