Discrepancies Between Rural Students’ and English Teachers’ Perceptions of Motivational Strategies
Centre for General Education, Kainan University
ABSTRACT
This study examines the differences between first-year junior high school students from rural areas and their English teachers regarding beliefs about the importance of motivational strategies and perceptions concerning frequency of use. Eighty-nine students and their three English teachers from a rural junior high school in central Taiwan participated in this survey. The results indicate that these rural students and their teachers had different perceptions of the ten domains of motivational macrostrategies, elaborated in Dörnyei and Csizér’s survey. The results also show that the rural students are fond of learning in a pleasant environment, whereas teachers consider recognizing students’ effort as the priority. Concerning frequency, students and teachers had similar perceptions of the motivational macrostrategies teachers used. Findings also indicate that strategies regarded as important are underutilized in the classroom, though there seems to be a slight difference between what teachers believe and what they actually do. Implications and suggestions for motivating learning are articulated in this study for the rural EFL teaching and learning context.
KEYWORDS
Rural High School, EFL, Student Motivation, Motivational Strategies