Abstract:
The issue of motivation continues to play a major role in the area of
EFL/ESL learning due to the fact that the types of motivation language
learners develop may actually be a function of their context. The current
study aims at exploring the motivation patterns of EFL college learners in
the city of Hebron/ Southern Palestine. Sample of the study consisted of
(127) students majoring in English and Engineering at Hebron University
and Palestine Polytechnic University respectively. The study has aimed
at investigating the influence of various variables such as the students'
major field, level of education, desired level of proficiency, and gender
on their motivation patterns. The researchers have utilized a
questionnaire followed by an interview with selected learners. Results show
that Palestinian students demonstrate types of motivation that are not
cited in the classical motivation studies conducted on immigrants in the
core English speaking countries. The motivation patterns dominant
among Palestinian students are extrinsic in nature, e.g., learning the
language because it is a compulsory requirement or learning the language
to protect one's culture from the influence of the target culture. None of
the participants has displayed an integrative or intrinsic motivation to
learn the language. Thus, the researchers recommend investing serious
effort in enhancing integrative motivation among Palestinian EFL
students since previous research has clearly shown that learners who
attain the highest levels of proficiency in the target language are those
who possess this type of intrinsic motivation.
