Motivation and Demotivation in Foreign Language Learning: A Study of French Language Learners in Malaysia

Abstract

This research investigates the motivating and demotivating factors experienced by university students during foreign language acquisition. The questionnaire was given to 126 students learning French in Malaysia. A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was adapted from Gardner’s (2001) motivation framework and Horwitz et al.’s (1986) anxiety framework to measure motivating and demotivating factors. The survey consisted of three sections. Section A contained the demographic profile with three items. Section B focuses on motivating factors with 11 items, and Section C has 33 items directed at demotivating factors. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, and Pearson correlation. The result indicates a high level of motivation toward learning French (M = 4.40, SD = 0.61) and also a high tendency towards peer assistance when facing difficulties (M = 4.49, SD = 0.59). However, several anxiety-related factors were identified as sources of demotivation, such as communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation and, test anxiety. Students become nervous when they are asked questions without being prepared in advance (M = 3.83, SD = 0.97). The correlation analysis indicated no significant association between motivating and demotivating factors, r(124) = -.002, p = .979. These results indicate that motivation and demotivation may exist at the same time as distinct variables in foreign language acquisition.