Abstract
Building English skills in English as foreign language settings requires sustained learning. Thus, learners’ motivation for learning English is the important aspects that educators need to consider. This study conducted a survey to investigate the types and degrees of motivation among Japanese engineering-major students learning English. The questionnaire was identical to the one proposed by Agawa and Takeuchi (2016b), consisting of twenty items corresponding to four motivational factors: intrinsic, identified, external, and amotivation. Respondents provided their answers on a five-point Likert scale, and the data from 125 students enrolled in English classes were analyzed. The exploratory factor analysis identified four factors, suggesting that the number and structures matched with the results of the previous studies. The factor correlations were also consistent. Intrinsic and identified, external and amotivation were positively correlated, and the other combinations showed negative correlation. Descriptive statistics indicated that the amotivation received lowest ratings, followed by intrinsic, external, and identified. The estimated psychological network demonstrated that each item clustered into the intended factors. The results indicate that the respondents were motivated extrinsically more than intrinsically. Also, it is suggested that fostering the intrinsic and/or identified motivation leads to the lower amotivation state.
