A Qualitative Inquiry on EFL Learning Demotivation and Resilience: A Study of Primary and Secondary EFL Students in Sout
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A Qualitative Inquiry on EFL Learning Demotivation and Resilience: A Study of Primary and Secondary EFL Students in South Korea Tae-Young Kim1
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Youngmi Kim1 • Ji-Young Kim1
De La Salle University 2017
Abstract This paper presents the components influencing English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning demotivation and resilience. Semi-structured interview data from 23 EFL students and nine teachers were thematically analyzed guided by the Grounded Theory approach after systematic reiterative comparative reviewing. The major demotivators were teachers’ lack of clear delivery for elementary school students, excessive afterschool learning programs at private institutes for junior high school students, and impractical EFL lessons focusing on grammar rather than spoken English for high school students. In order to curb these demotivators and maintain high EFL learning motivation levels, four distinctive components influencing their resilience were identified: social support, emotional regulation, a clear learning goal, and tenacity in EFL learning. This study illustrates that emotional regulation, not negative emotions such as anxiety, is crucial, and students’ clearly stated short-term learning goal is a crucial component in maintaining high academic resilience. Participants cultivated specific components influencing resilience as they advanced academically. Additionally, high-proficiency
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-017-0365-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. & Tae-Young Kim [email protected] 1
Department of English Education, College of Education, Chung-Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul 156-756, South Korea
EFL students exhibited greater tenacity and utilized various coping strategies. We argue for the necessity to refine the sub-constructs of EFL learning demotivation and resilience and recommend the need for a follow-up confirmatory study to prove the conceptual validity of these constructs. Keywords Resilience Demotivation English as a foreign language Interview methods
Introduction Recent research has focused on unique psychological constructs to reduce second language (L2) learning demotivation, leading to positive L2 learning behavior, and resilience is receiving renewed attention in the field of L2 learning (Kim and Kim 2017). Conceptualizing resilience as a psychological construct began with the question of why some people are vulnerable to adversity while others are resistant (Franklin et al. 2012). As L2 learners also experience difficulties in their L2 learning, which usually takes years of continuous effort, it is worth exploring how learners overcome learning challenges and recover from L2 learning demotivation from the perspective of resilience. In this paper, we make the theoretical assumption that applying the concept of resilience to English as a foreign language (EFL) learning would shed new light on L2 learning (de)motivation studies. Howeve
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