대학 신입생의 영어 학습 동기 변화 양상 및 변화 기여 요소

Abstract

This study explores what patterns of motivational changes Korean college freshmen go through regarding their English learning and what factors contribute to those changes during their freshman year. A total of 104 freshmen taking mandatory English courses at a university located in Gyeonggi province participated in a questionnaire survey in December 2019. First, they were asked to draw a graph showing the levels of their interest and motivation in learning English from March to December, by choosing a number from minus 3 to 3 for each month. Then, they provided reasons why they possessed the high, moderate, or low levels of motivation at a particular time, by answering to an open-ended question. The findings indicated that a majority of the participants (about 65%) began the new semester with relatively high levels of L2 learning motivation, deriving from their new semester resolutions and expectations about new ways of L2 learning. However, their motivation gradually decreased, due to negative influences of assessment, comparisons with others, and dissatisfaction with the current learning methods. It also went down over time when the learners hardly found a sense of purpose or personal reasons for learning English. Based on the results, suggestions for helping college freshmen manage their English learning motivation were discussed.