Exploring the Motivational Factors for Learning English in Aceh

Abstract

This study investigated the motivational factors of tertiary students for learning English in Aceh, Indonesia. It further examined the year of study and urban/rural provenance influences on their levels of motivation. Approximately 56 university students participated in this research. The research instrument was a closed-ended questionnaire consisting of 10 items adapted from the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (Smythe & Gardner, 1981). Three types of motivation were measured: intrinsic, extrinsic/instrumental and integrative (Noels, 2003). The findings showed that integrative motivation/international posture was the popular motive for learning English (M=5.369), followed by intrinsic (M=4.991) and extrinsic/instrumental motivations (M=4.732). This indicated that English was learned in order to converse and associate with foreigners from other countries who speak English. We further presume that this may have also been triggered by the increasing number of foreigners who are entering Aceh either for work or tourism after the earthquake and tsunami disaster which struck the province in 2004 and “opened” to the world the previously “closed” province due to political conflicts. Therefore, the year of study and the areas in which they came from did not affect their levels of motivation as both showed no significant differences between these variables.