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The Role of Motivation in Teaching and Learning English Language

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 Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM)
ISSN: 2251-6204
www.mjltm.org

The Role of Motivation in Teaching and Learning English

Language
Ali Akbar Khansir
Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi
Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran

Abstract

The aim of this research paper is to deal with The Role of Motivation in Teaching and Learning English Language in Iran. In
recent years, various studies have found that motivation is very strongly related to achievement in second and foreign language
learning and teaching over the world. This project aims to investigate whether motivation can be used as one of the learning
strategies in order to make more effective on the EFL learners in their learning English in their classrooms. This article is
intended to get more information from medical students through motivation role as one of the characteristics of the language
learning and teaching. Our sample in this research paper consisted of 164 first medical students studying medical subjects at
Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in Bushehr city. The present research collected data through questionnaires. This study
has been done based on Descriptive Design. The result of this article shows that motivation is an important factor for learning
English in medical classroom and can help the medical learners achieve language learning.

© 2017 The Authors. Published by EBSCO.

Key words: motivation, instrumental motivation, integrative motivation, English as foreign language, Iranian EFL learners,

Introduction

This study focuses on motivation as one of psychological factors in learning and teaching of English as foreign
language at Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in Iran. This paper is intended to find out whether motivation
as a learning strategy has effected on learning and teaching English language learners in their classrooms. This study
provides the teachers with some insights into the teaching and learning English language through motivation.
Khansir (2014a) mentioned that in the history of English language teaching, several methods, techniques, and
approaches have been used by English teachers in ELT classrooms. Materials, syllabus, and curriculum made by
syllabus designers to promote knowledge of English language learners in their life situation. Motivation as one of
psychological factors has always played a crucial role in language teaching and learning. Khansir (2014b) argued
that one of the important factors in learning a language is psychological factor. Psychology involves in the study of
human behavior and experiences. The main aim of psychology in learning language is that focuses on how a
language is stored in the mind of human.

The history of the study of language learning motivation came back to the work of Gardner and Lambert in 1959 in

© 2017 The Authors. Published by EBSCO.

2 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi/ Vol.7 , Issue. 9 ,September (2017) 072–085

Canada. From the time, there have been research works to motive language learners in order to attain useful
language learning. Many of the research works along with the definition of motivation are described in this
paragraph. Thus, motivation “provides the primary impetuous to initiate learning the second language and later the
driving force to sustain the long and often tedious learning process” (Dörnyei and Otto, 1998, p. 117). Motivation,
however, is “a complex” and “multifaceted construct” (Gardner, 1985; Williams & Burdoen, 1997). Richards et al
(1992) defined motivation as the factors that determine a person's desire to do something. In second language and
foreign language learning, learning may be affected differently by different types of motivation. Two types of
motivation are sometimes distinguished: 1) instrumental motivation: wanting to learn a language because it will be
useful for certain "instrumental" goals , such as getting a job, reading a foreign newspaper , passing an examination;
2) integrative motivation: wanting to learn a language in order to communicate with people of another culture who
speak it. Gardner (2007) stated that when discussing the roots of motivation to learn a second language in the school
context it is necessary to consider it from the point of view of both the educational context (as we would for any
school subject) and the cultural context (which is generally not that relevant to most other school subjects). Most
language teachers believe that motivation is a key factor for success in language learning. There is no doubt that
motivation is a potent force in language acquisition (Ellis 1994). Gardner (1985) defined motivation as a
"combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes towards
learning the language" (p.10). Hadfield and Dörnyei (2013, p. 1) argued that language teachers frequently use the
term' motivation' when they describe successful or unsuccessful learners. Another linguist, Ushioda (2013)
mentioned that motivation is widely recognized as a significant factor influencing success in second or foreign
language learning.
With the increasing the role of English language as foreign or second language over the world today; the role of
motivation as one of the major important factors in learning English language can be regarded as a ‘device’ the
learners of English use it in order to learn English. Researchers have provided empirical evidences pointing to
emphasis on learners’ motivation as an effective device of improving language of learners. It is generally felt that
the second and foreign language learners need more motivation in learning language in general and in particular in
the English language. The researchers of this study believe that there is a great need for such a study to point out
why the students face problems in learning English psychologically and then we need to bring out a few remedial
measures through motivation in order to enable the students to improve their English language and use English for
their communication. However, in Iran, it is also felt that the learners have not properly developed their skill in
English language. So far it has been observed by the researchers that the medical students of English at Bushehr
University of Medical Sciences seem to have not acquired competence in English skills. This research may help the
medical students improve their problems through motivation involved in acquiring the English language as a
university subject in the university.
In discussion of this paper, motivation as one of the important factors in learning of language in general and English
language in particular has always played a vital role among linguists, language teachers, researchers and syllabus
designers in EFL and ESL settings over the world. Iranian as one of the important countries in the Middle East area
has been involved in learning and teaching of English language in recent years. Persian language is Iranian mother
tongue, according to this sentence, Khansir and Tabande (2014) mentioned that the role of Persian language as the
mother tongue of the Iranian EFL learners in promoting knowledge of English of the learners has been very vital,
because; in Iran, Iranian teachers still use of Grammar Translation Method in their EFL classroom settings.
Therefore, researchers of this study as the English language teachers at Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in
Iran have got more than 7 years experiences in teaching their children in this university, they hope that this project
will try to show how motivation as one of the language learning factors help the medical learners, directly or
indirectly, in getting the knowledge of English language. In this paper, two questions and two hypotheses are
formulated as follows:
1. Can motivation facilitate teaching and learning English for Iranian EFL learners?
 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi / Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM) ISSN: 2251-6204 3

2. Can motivation be considered as a psychological factor to effective English language Teaching?

1. Motivation can facilitate teaching and learning English for Iranian EFL learners.
2. Motivation can be considered as a psychological factor to effective English language teaching.

Literature Review
The following are some of the researches related to the motivation field undertaken by specialists and research
scholars in language teaching are considered in this part of this research.
Bernaus et al (2009) examined learners' motivation and achievement in English language and then they investigated
the relation of student motivation and achievement to teacher motivation and strategy use in the classroom. They
selected thirty one teachers in Catalonia (Spain) and the 694 students in their classes. The findings of their research
work showed that teacher motivation is related to teacher use of motivating strategies, which in turn are related to
student motivation and English Achievement. Therefore, they believe that promotes higher levels of teacher
motivation is related improved levels of education of the students.
Wong (2010) investigated upper secondary students of Hong Kong Chinese regarding their motivation orientations
for learning English language. He analyzed both male and females learners based on ‘extrinsic and intrinsic
motivation’ theoretical framework of Gardner and Lambert’s (1972) in order to get the most revealing findings from
the data of the study. Thus, he selected 82 female learners and 74 male learners in the age range of 15 to 19 at upper
secondary students from 2 different secondary schools as his subjects in this study. The results of this study can
have meaningful implications for pedagogy, and thus it helps educators identify strategies more appropriate to
distinct Chinese-speaking second-language student groups. Zendehboodi, et al (2015) examined the motivational
factors of ten Iranian EFL learners at Payame Noor University in Bushehr city, Iran in English learning. The
findings of the research work showed the temporal and changing nature of motivation in learning English for Iranian
EFL learners. Daftarifard et al (2014) investigated the possible dynamicity of reading motivation across time. They
used the reading motivation questionnaire developed by Mori (2002). Thus, they selected sixty four male and thirty
seven female Iranian EFL learners at the Islamic Azad University. In addition, Mori questionnaire consisted of four
components of reading motivation such as Intrinsic Value of Reading (11items), Extrinsic Utility Value of Reading
(7 items), Importance of Reading (5 items), and Reading Efficacy (4 items). The outcome of this study showed that
reading motivation does not have a fixed construct. They added that different components of reading motivation
might change in nature across time. Khansir et al (2016) analyzed an Iranian motivation research work based on this
topic "relation between socio-economic status and motivation of learners in learning English as a foreign language.
In this paper, two hundred and thirty Iranian students were selected for the purpose of this study. In addition, the
subject of this paper was chosen of ten high schools in Bushehr, in Iran. Outcome of this paper showed that there is
a strong relationship between socio-economic status and motivation in language learning.

METHODOLOGY

Design

The present research collected data through questionnaires. This study has been done based on Descriptive Design.
In this research, two kinds of the questionnaires were designed for the first Medical students at Bushehr University
of Medical Sciences. The test consisted of 1) Background Questionnaire was used to elicit information on subjects
such as age, sex, social class, mother tongue and subjects …etc. 2) Motivation Test was used to explore students '
motivations towards the learning English process in Bushehr University of Medical Sciences.

Participants
4 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi/ Vol.7 , Issue. 9 ,September (2017) 072–085

The population for the research paper was 164 first year Iranian medical learners were studying medical courses at
Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in Iran. In addition, they studied medical subjects such as Medicine, Public
Health, Nursing, Anesthesiology, Dentistry, Medical Library, Nutrition, and Environmental Health. They were in
the age range of 18 to 29 and thus, they were a mixture of males and females. All the students belong to the middle
class in Iran, speaking one language which is Persian. Persian language is the medium of instruction in all Iranian
schools and universities. English language is used as foreign language in Iranian educational system. The age of the
students are classified in the following table:
 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi / Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM) ISSN: 2251-6204 5

Table 1: Age of the Sample

Age Frequency Percent

18 19 11.6

19 60 36.6

20 58 35.4

21 16 9.8

22 4 2.4

23 1 .6

24 2 1.2

28 2 1.2

29 2 1.2

Total 164 100.0

The groups of the subjects were comprised of 100 females and 64 males who were selected for computer analysis
from Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. The average of females in this paper was 61%, whereas the average
of the males was 39%. The distributions of the selected students are shown in the following table:

Table 2: The Distribution of the Sample

Participants Frequency Percent

Female 100 61.0

Male 64 39.0

Total 164 100.0

Instruments

In this study, two instruments in the process of data collection were used as follows:
6 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi/ Vol.7 , Issue. 9 ,September (2017) 072–085

1. Background Questionnaire. The background questionnaire for the research paper was designed to elicit
information on medical learners. The questionnaire developed by the present investigators consisted of 10 questions
which were related to their age; language use, sex, social class, subjects, information about the parents. 2.
Motivation Test. Motivational test has always been used as one method for collecting data in field of language
learning. Motivational tests are designed to measure learner's motivation in an academic research work. In language
teaching work, the aim of this test is to explore students ' motivations towards the learning language processes. This
test consisted of thirty questions was developed by the researchers based on Gardner's AMTB (Attitude /Motivation
Test Battery) (1995), and experiences of the researchers in teaching English language and thus, it was translated into
Persian language. This test has been reviewed by the Bushehr University of Medical Sciences committee. This test
is also sent to many great language teachers and researchers in Iran in order to examine this test and reliability of it,
they approved this test as a motivational test with high reliability. In addition, the test has been reliability through
CIR and CVI; thus, the impact of each question for reliability this test was more than 1.5; thus, it was acceptable
along with high reliability. According to the examination of the teachers and researchers, CIR of this test was 100%
and CIV was more than 90%.

Procedure

The procedure of this study was included of Development of the background questionnaire; and its administration;
Development of the motivation Test; and then its administration, and finally, the last item was data collection.
Before giving the motivation test which plays the crucial role in this study, the researchers developed and
administered the background questionnaire and then developed and administered motivation test as the main test of
this study. In addition, before the collection of data, we have completed the ethics procedure in order to do this
research project and collect data from the participants of the Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. We made
proposal of our research and submitted to the Bushehr University of Medical Sciences committee. The members of
the committee have reviewed it and then they approved their consent for completing this project. To probe the
consent of this project, the present researchers were required to reliable of their test; the researchers sent their test to
the Iranian great teachers and researchers in order to approve the test based on the decision of the members of the
committee of the Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. The Iranian great teachers and researchers reviewed the
test and then they approved the test with high reliability. In the process of administration of these tests; the Bushehr
medical students were informed that the aim of the project was to examine a research work (motivational work) and
the result of this research would not affect their examination results. The Motivation Questionnaire for this project
was designed to find out the role of motivation in English language learning of the Bushehr medical students in Iran.
The researchers cleared the learners’ doubts during the test. In addition, 164 Iranian medical students were studying
medical courses at the Bushehr University of Medical Sciences were selected in order to answer to the
questionnaires of this project. 100 of them were females and the rest of them were males who were selected for
computer analysis from the eight subjects: Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Anesthesiology, Dentistry, Medical
Library, Nutrition, and Environmental Health after they took Questionnaires Test. The number of the students of the
eight subjects is classified as follows:
 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi / Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM) ISSN: 2251-6204 7

Table 3: Education of the Sample

Subjects Number (%) Percent

Dentistry, 22 13.41

Medicine, 51 31.9

Nutrition 9 5.4

Environmental Health 7 4.2

Public Health 15 9.14

Nursing 33 20.12

Medical Library 8 4.8

Anesthesiology 19 11.5

Total 164 100

Table 3 indicated that, the total number of Iranian medical students was studying medical courses at Bushehr
University of Medical Sciences in Bushehr city. The statistical population of this study was 164 of medical learners.
In addition, table 3 showed that the largest number of students in this research work belongs to Medicine department
and the minimum number of students of this project was from Environmental Health department.

Results and Discussion

For several decades, motivation has dramatically impacted almost every aspect of language learning. Farhady and
Delshad (2007, p. 218) mention that "motivation is believed to be one of the key factors to learning." Motivation in
foreign or second language teaching has vital role as one of language learning strategies. For many English language
learners around world; motivation represents a useful means for learning English language. Regarding to the
previous sentences, we believe that language learning in general, and English language learning in particular is a
complex process that has been issues of study by many great teachers, syllabus designers, and linguists for a long
time. The present motivation questionnaire part 1 was made in order to identify the results of the various analyses
regarding to the subjects responses in this research. Fifteen statements were answered that are considered as follows:

Table 4: Motivation Questionnaire Part 1

Strongly Disagree Tolerate Agree Strongly

disagree agree
Statements
Frequenc Frequency Frequency Frequency Frequency
y
 8 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi/ Vol.7 , Issue. 9 ,September (2017) 072–085

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent

2 20 40 61 41
1.Motivation is used in our English
1.2 12.2 24.4 37.2 25.0
classes

2. In English classes I am motivated to 3 23 36 71 31

communicate in English
1.8 14.0 22.0 43.3 18.9

3. I have really interested in English language in my 2 10 27 72 53

classes.
1.2 6.1 16.5 43.9 32.3

4.I find it very difficult to understand if the lecture 17 43 32 51 21

is delivered in English
10.4 26.2 19.5 31.1 12.8

5. English teachers do not have enough interest to 14 31 58 50 11

motivate the learners in English language classes
8.5 18.9 35.4 30.5 6.7

6. English teachers do not motivate their students in 6 33 62 51 12

English classes, because, students are not interested
3.7 20.1 37.8 31.1 7.3

7.Studying English is important because it will 1 2 10 43 108

make me more educated in our subject
.6 1.2 6.1 26.2 65.9

8. I like my English class so much; I look forward 3 14 26 65 56

to studying more English in the future
1.8 8.5 15.9 39.6 34.1

9.Studying English is important, because, it will be 1 3 14 55 91

useful in getting my job
.6 1.8 8.5 33.5 55.5

10.I feel confidence when asked to speak in my 6 45 37 43 33

English class
3.7 27.4 22.6 26.2 20.1
 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi / Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM) ISSN: 2251-6204 9

11.English is one of important subject in medical 2 1 6 45 110

course
1.2 .6 3.7 27.4 67.1

12.My teachers try to help me to learn English 2 8 38 73 42

1.2 4.9 23.2 44.5 25.6

13.Motivation in the English language classes is 2 1 15 61 85

good for the medical students
1.2 .6 9.1 37.2 51.8

14. I want to learn how to develop English language 1 7 19 68 69

skills (writing, reading, listening, and speaking)
from my English classes. .6 4.3 11.6 41.5 42.1

15. It is only English teachers who can motivate the 8 36 52 44 23

medical students to develop the medical students'
four skills (writing, reading, listening, and 4.9 22.0 31.7 26.8 14.0
speaking).

As seen in Table 4. According to response to statement number 1, Motivation is used in our English classes 61 of
the participants agreed with the statement number 1which came to 32.2 and only 20 of them disagreed which came
to 12.2. The next statement, In English classes I am motivated to communicate in English, 71 of Iranian learners
agreed with this statement which came to 43.3 and 23 of the learners disagreed with it which came to 14.0. The third
statement of this questionnaire, I have really interested in English language in my classes, 72 of the students agreed
with this statement which came to 43.9 and thus, 10 of them disagreed with third statement of this research test came
to 6.1. The following statement, I find it very difficult to understand if the lecture is delivered in English, 51 of the
medical learners agreed with the fourth statement which came to 31.1 and 43 of them disagreed with it came to 26.2.
For the fifth statement, English teachers do not have enough interest to motivate the learners in English language
classes, 50 of the learners agreed with the statement which came to 30.5 and 31 of them disagreed with the fifth
statement which came to 18.9 and therefore; 58 of the learners tolerated with it came to 35.4. The sixth statement,
English teachers do not motivate their students in English classes, because, students are not interested, 51 of the
students agreed with the sixth statement which came to 31.1 and 33 of them disagreed with the statement which
came to 20.1. In fact, the highest percentage of a tolerance for this questionnaire was statement sixth with 37.8. For
the seventh statement of this test, Studying English is important because it will make me more educated in our
 10 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi/ Vol.7 , Issue. 9 ,September (2017) 072–085

subject, 43 of the students agreed with the statement which came to 26.2 and 2 of them disagreed with the statement
which came to 1.2. The eight statement of the questionnaire, I like my English class so much; I look forward to
studying more English in the future, 65 of the Iranian medical students agreed with this statement which came to
39.6 and 14 of them disagreed with it came to 8.5. The next statement, Studying English is important, because, it
will be useful in getting my job, 55 of the students agreed with this statement came to 33.5 and thus, 3 of them
disagreed with this statement. For the tenth statement, I feel confidence when asked to speak in my English class, 43
of the medical learners agreed with this statement which came to 26.2, but the highest percentage of a disagreement
for this questionnaire was statement tenth with 27.4. The next statement, English is one of important subject in
medical course, 45 of the subjects agreed with the statement which came to 27.4 and 1 of them disagreed with it
which came to .6, but the highest percentage of strongly agreement for this questionnaire was statement 11 with
67.1. According to response to statement 12, My teachers try to help me to learn English, the largest number of the
learners (73) agreed with this statement which came to 44.5 and 8 of them disagreed with it which came to 4.9. The
next statement, Motivation in the English language classes is good for the medical students, 61 of the Iranian
Medical subjects agreed with the statement which came to 37.2 and 1 of them disagreed with this statement which
came to .6. For the fourteen statement, I want to learn how to develop English language skills (writing, reading,
listening, and speaking) from my English classes, 68 of the samples agreed with the statement of this test which
came to 41.5 and 7 of them disagreed with the statement which came to 4.3. Lastly, statement fifteen, It is only
English teachers who can motivate the medical students to develop the medical students' four skills (writing,
reading, listening, and speaking), 44 of the Bushehr medical learners agreed with the statement which came to 26.8
and 36 of them disagreed with it which came to 22.0.

Collecting the results of this table indicated that motivation is an important factor for learning English language
by the majority of the participants in Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in Bushehr city. The fact is well
analyzed by table number 4, which shows that the most subjects agreed and strongly agreed with the statements.

This test in this study was designed to examine the results of the various analyses regarding to the participants
responses in this paper. The motivation questionnaire part 2 is classified into fifteen statements as follows:

Table 5: Motivation Questionnaire Part 2

Strongly Disagree Tolerate Agree Strongly

disagree agree
Statements

Frequency Frequency Frequency Frequency Frequency

Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent

1. I become nervous to communicate in English 22 55 39 35 13

13.4 33.5 23.8 21.3 7.9

 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi / Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM) ISSN: 2251-6204 11

2. I only want to pass the university exam and so 11 13 22 66 52

I do not need to speak and learn English in
English classes. 6.7 7.9 13.4 40.2 31.7

3. I have a strong desire to know the four skills of 2 12 17 73 60

English language in English classes.
1.2 7.3 10.4 44.5 36.6

4. My English class is really a waste of time. 13 9 17 71 53

7.9 5.5 10.4 43.3 32.3

5. Knowing English language is not an important 8 21 22 67 45

goal in my life
4.9 12.8 13.4 40.9 27.4

6. I hate English language 5 7 14 54 84

3.0 4.3 8.5 32.9 51.5

7. I really enjoy learning English in classes 2 8 36 65 53

1.2 4.9 22.0 39.6 32.3

8. If teachers continue motivating in English 1 3 24 72 63

classes for a few months, the students will start
understanding English better. .6 1.8 14.6 43.9 38.4

9. I feel that I am given importance in the society 4 6 30 79 44

2.4 3.7 18.3 48.2 26.8

10. I wish I were fluent in English language. 1 2 8 55 97

.6 1.2 4.9 33.5 59.1

 12 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi/ Vol.7 , Issue. 9 ,September (2017) 072–085

11. I enjoy meeting people who speak English 2 2 13 68 79

language
1.2 1.2 7.9 41.5 48.2

12. I am sometimes anxious that the other 27 47 35 30 25

students in class will laugh at me when I speak
English. 16.5 28.7 21.3 18.3 15.2

13. When I leave university, I will give up the 7 14 25 59 59

study of English because I am not interested in it.
4.3 8.5 15.2 36.0 36.0
speak English.

14. Students who claim they get nervous in 12 31 66 36 19

English classes are just making excuses.
7.3 18.9 40.2 22.0 11.6

15. I love learning English language in English 7 8 25 71 53

classes
4.3 4.9 15.2 43.3 32.3

As seen in Table 5. According to response to the first statement, I become nervous to communicate in English, 35
of the subjects agreed with the statement number 1which came to 21.3 and 55 of the students disagreed with this
statement; thus, the highest percentage of a disagreement for this questionnaire was this statement with 33.5.
Therefore, the lowest percentage of strongly agreement this questionnaire was the statement number 1 with 7.9. The
second statement, I only want to pass the university exam and so I do not need to speak and learn English in English
classes. 66 of the participants agreed with this statement which came to 40.2 and 13 of them disagreed with it which
came to 7.9. The next statement, I have a strong desire to know the four skills of English language in English
classes, 73 of the Iranian Medical subjects agreed with the statement which came to 44.5 and 12 of them disagreed
with this statement which came to 7.3. For the four statement, My English class is really a waste of time, 71of the
learners agreed with this statement which came to 43.3 and 9 of the learners disagreed with it which came to 5.5.
The fifth statement, Knowing English language is not an important goal in my life, 67 of the medical students
agreed with this statement which came to 40.9 and 21 of them disagreed with it which came to 12.8. The statement
number 6 , I hate English language, 54 of the Iranian medical students agreed with this statement of this test which
came to 32.9 and 7 of them disagreed with this statement which came to 4.3. The next statement, I really enjoy
learning English in classes, 65 of the medical students agreed with the statement which came to 39.6 and only 8 of
them disagreed with this statement which came to 4.9. The eight statement , If teachers continue motivating in
English classes for a few months, the students will start understanding English, 72 of the participants agreed with
this statement which came to 43.9 and 3 of them disagreed with it which came to 1.8. For the ninth statement, I feel
that I am given importance in the society, 79 of the Iranian medical students agreed with this statement; thus, the
 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi / Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM) ISSN: 2251-6204 13

highest percentage of an agreement for this questionnaire was this statement with 48.2 and only 6 of them disagreed
with this statement which came to 3.7. The next statement, I wish I were fluent in English language, 55 of the
students agreed with this statement which came to 33.5 and 2 of them disagreed with it which came to 1.2.
According to response to statement 11, I enjoy meeting people who speak English language, 68 of the medical
learners agreed with this statement which came to 41.5 and only 2 of them disagreed with it which came to 1.2. For
the statement number 12, I am sometimes anxious that the other students in class will laugh at me when I speak
English, 30 of the participants agreed with this statement which came to 18.3 and 47 of the participants disagreed
with this statement which came to 28.7. For the next statement, When I leave university, I will give up the study of
English because I am not interested in it, 59 of the subjects agreed with this statement which came to 36.0 and 14 of
them disagreed with it which came to 8.5. The fourteen statement, Students who claim they get nervous in English
classes are just making excuses, 36 of the participants agreed with this statement which came to 22.0 and 31 of them
disagreed with it which came to 18.9; thus, the highest percentage of a tolerance for this questionnaire was this
statement with 40.2. According to response to the last statement, I love learning English language in English
classes, 71 of the subjects agreed with the statement which came to 43.3 and only 8 of them disagreed with it which
came to 4.9.

Totaling the results of the above table showed that motivation is indeed an important factor for learning foreign
language (English) in the Iranian medical classroom. In addition, the participants of this study showed that
motivation can be used a psychological factor to effective English language learning and teaching in the Iranian
medical education.

Conclusion

In the field of English language learning and teaching, there have been arguments about the role of motivation in
learning a language and consequently the use of motivation in learning and teaching a language has been the topic of
serious discussion among the experts ( e.g. Gardner and Lambert, 1972; Gardner, 1980; Khan, 1991). In addition,
they supported the role of motivation to achievement in language learning. In other words, Naiman et al., 1978)
argued that motivation is very important for learning language.

Based on table number 6, totaling the results for the statements in this paper are relatively high at 85% and the rest
of them are moderate at14%. They are classified in the following table:

Table 6: Total Statement Results

Statements Frequency Valid Percent

Moderate 25 15

High 139 85

Total 164 100

The results of this research showed that motivation can facilities teaching and learning English for Iranian medical
learners in Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. The first hypothesis was accepted. However, this research
14 Ali Akbar Khansir , Fatemeh Ghani Dehkordi/ Vol.7 , Issue. 9 ,September (2017) 072–085

showed that motivation can be considered as a psychological factor in order to impact on English language teaching
in EFL classroom in Iran. Therefore, in this study, the second hypothesis also was accepted. Based on the results of
this research work, the researchers believe that the teachers, syllabus designers, researchers in English language
learning should focuses on more motivation as a learning strategy in their works.

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