The Relation Between Mothers’ English Learning Involvement and the English Learning Motivation of High School Students: A Qualitative Interview Study

Abstract

Based on Deci and Ryan's (1985) Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examined (1) which factors of mothers’ learning involvement influence the creation and changes of English learning motivation of high school students, and (2) how high school students’ perception of mothers’ learning involvement influences English learning motivation. Four mothers and four students in Incheon Metropolitan City participated in semi-structured interviews. All participants met with the researcher privately one-on-one and were interviewed twice, 40-50 minutes each section, for three weeks. After interviews, calls or text messages were used for one week to ask more further questions. A common factor regarding the mothers’ learning involvement was autonomy about learning English, causing an interpersonal divide between mothers and sons. It demonstrated that students regarded conversation as a negative second language learning experience. Students’ avoidance from conversations with their mothers could affect their English learning motivations by consolidating the perception of the conversation as interference, confusion, and guilty consciousness. All students had different extrinsic motivations based on their idiosyncratic experiences. It provided that extrinsic motivation depended on learners’ internalization for their external experiences and English learning content.